Oxford PIL Discussion Group Humanity, Inclusive Positivism & Law Armed Conflict 22 Oct 2020 12:45pm
Public International Law Discussion Group
Thursday 22 October 2020 at 12.45pm
Humanity, Inclusive Positivism and the Law of Armed Conflict
Nobuo Hayashi, Centre for International and Operational Law, Swedish Defence University
If you wish to participate in this (remote) seminar, RSVP is necessary. Please complete the form* by noon Wednesday 21 October and prior to the seminar, you will be sent a link to join. *If you have already indicated that you wish to join all sessions of the Michaelmas Term series, you need not complete the form.
The speaker will commence at 12:45 and should conclude before 2:00 pm. All are welcome. Convenor of the Oxford Public International Law Discussion Group: Tsvetelina van Benthem.
Abstract
Humanitarian personnel from time to time find themselves transporting desperate civilian residents forced out of besieged areas into long-term or even permanent displacement, although such removal is absolutely forbidden under the law of armed conflict (LOAC). Killing enemy combatants using lethal autonomous weapons may feel deeply offensive to humanity, yet it arguably remains in compliance with today’s LOAC. When faced with dilemmas such as these, what is an ethically sensitive and law-abiding actor to do? Can the law itself resolve them?
In his new book, Military Necessity: The Art, Morality and Law of War, Nobuo Hayashi develops two hypotheses regarding how concerns for humanity may override LOAC rules. In one, even if LOAC’s black-letter rules prohibit particular action, its compliance with what humanity demands may restore its lawfulness. Hayashi calls this hypothesis “Humantätsgebot geht vor kriegsmanier”, or “Humantätsgebot” for short. In the other hypothesis, doing what humanity condemns is sufficient to impair its conformity with LOAC’s black-letter rules and to render it unlawful as a result. He calls this latter hypothesis “counter-Humantätsgebot”.
Nobuo Hayashi is an Associate Senior Lecturer at the Centre for International and Operational Law, Swedish Defence University. He also holds visiting professorships at the UN-mandated University for Peace (San José, Costa Rica) and the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (Turin, Italy). Hayashi specialises in international humanitarian law, international criminal law, jus ad bellum and international weapons law. He has twenty years of experience performing advanced research, providing expert advice, teaching postgraduate students and training senior professionals in these areas. Hayashi’s work has been cited in international war crimes trials and diplomatic negotiations. His latest monograph, Military Necessity: The Art, Morality and Law of War, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2020.
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The discussion group’s meetings are part of the programme of the British Branch of the International Law Association and are supported by the Law Faculty and Oxford University Press.
The PIL Discussion Group hosts a weekly speaker event and is a key focal point for PIL@Oxford. Please note that for Michaelmas Term, this series will be held remotely. Topics involve contemporary and challenging issues in international law. Speakers include distinguished international law practitioners, academics, and legal advisers from around the world. The group typically meets each Thursday during Oxford terms. The speaker will commence at 12:45 and speak for about forty minutes, allowing about twenty-five minutes for questions and discussion. The meeting should conclude before 2:00. Practitioners, academics and students from within and outside the University of Oxford are all welcome.
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