Faculty Publications

On September 6, the United States announced it was sending 120 mm depleted uranium armor-piercing tank rounds to Ukraine for use in the 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks to be delivered this fall. In response, a Kremlin spokesman asserted that the United States’ use of depleted uranium “in the former Yugoslavia has led to ‘a galloping rise’ in cancers and other illnesses and affected the next generations living in those areas.”

In this post, we examine the issue, concluding that while both views are reasonable, the latter is more defensible as a matter of law. In arriving at that conclusion, we scrutinized Geneva Convention III and related conventions through the lens of treaty interpretation rules, case law, scholarship, and State practice. Our views on the issue are set forth in greater depth in a recently published article in International Law Studies.

Russia and North Korea are both fielding a novel type of naval weapon – nuclear-armed torpedo drones. These new weapons introduce a variety of strategic and operational challenges that further complicate a worsening threat environment. They also pose critical legal questions about whether their intended concepts of operation are lawful.

Although the measures taken by Russia to restrict navigation in the northwestern Black Sea may have the practical effect of denying neutral ships access to Ukrainian ports, none of these activities can be reconciled with the traditional concept of a naval blockade under the law of naval warfare.

In this post, we briefly examine the history of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, touching on its sporadic participation in non-proliferation talks and treaties. Next, we catalog the UN Security Council Resolutions prohibiting North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile tests. Finally, we explain how treaties and customary international law regulate missile tests at sea, in airspace, and in outer space.

On July 17, 2023, the Black Sea Grain Initiative expired after Russia refused to extend the term of the UN-brokered accord that has “facilitated the export of more than 30 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to global markets via three Black Sea ports.” Russia additionally withdrew its security guarantees for ships navigating in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.”

Just as no U.S. or combined force would go to war without knowing the law of armed conflict, none should face the uncertain and perilous situation in the western Pacific without a firm grasp of the legal principles that guide naval warfare. A new manual produced by an international team of experts lays out the rules—and fissures—in this important but too-little-understood area of the law.

Days after Russia’s renewed invasion, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation announced a call to digital arms on Twitter. Over a year later, the so-called IT Army has accumulated nearly 200,000 volunteers. These cyber operators have targeted the websites and networks of Russian companies and infrastructure through various cyber operations and used facial recognition software and social media to notify the families of dead Russian soldiers.

Nuclear Weapons Free Zones (NWFZ) are an attempt to prohibit the use or deployment of nuclear weapons within a nation’s territory. None of the signatories to these treaties possess nuclear weapons, where NFWZs stand as a pledge not to develop these weapons. The established nuclear powers of the world have similarly pledged to respect some NFWZs. It remains to be seen whether such pledges will be observed or dismissed as a simple “scrap of paper.”

The provision of military aid and assistance from States supporting Ukraine and Russia has been a salient theme in their international armed conflict following Russia’s renewed invasion in February 2022.

Although the prohibition of the use of force is a cornerstone of international law, our understanding of what constitutes a “use of force” under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter nonetheless continues to evolve. While the term was traditionally understood to mean armed force, emerging interpretations are expanding our understanding of the prohibition’s breadth.

This Q&A is part of a series following the 4th Annual Stockton Center Law of Armed Conflict Conference, Russia-Ukraine: Full-Spectrum Conflict and the Law, held at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island over December 13-15, 2022 and co-sponsored by the Norwegian Defence University College and the Swedish Defence University.

This Q&A is part of a series following the 4th Annual Stockton Center Law of Armed Conflict Conference, Russia-Ukraine: Full-Spectrum Conflict and the Law, held at the U.S. Naval War College.

This Q&A is the first in a series following the 4th Annual Stockton Center Law of Armed Conflict Conference, Russia-Ukraine: Full-Spectrum Conflict and the Law, held at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island over December 13-15, 2022 and co-sponsored by the Norwegian Defence University College and the Swedish Defence University.

The article begins with a discussion of a series of events at sea that preceded the Russian invasion in 2022, including the Kerch Strait incidents and interference with freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.