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Adapting the Law of War to
Twenty-First Century Conflicts
Since 9/11, international lawyers have debated
whether the post-WWII law of war, also known as
international humanitarian law (IHL), is anachronistic
in the twenty-first century. In an article forthcoming in
the Michigan Law Review, “Prologue to a Voluntarist War
Convention,” Professor Robert D. Sloane considers how the
so-called “Global War on Terror” differs from past wars as
a prologue to designing appropriate, effective and humane
principles of IHL for twenty-first century armed conflicts, in
particular, those waged against modern transnational terrorist
organizations such as al-Qaeda.
He identifies two characteristics—the absence of a shared
conception of non-combatant immunity and the network
structure of these organizations—that vastly complicate efforts
to adapt the inherited laws of war, a periodic ritual that has
historically followed major wars and crises. While recognizing
the need for change, Professor Sloane urges caution and
deliberation in modifying IHL given the manifest potential
for abuse. His current research focuses on how a core axiom
of the laws of war—the separation of the laws that govern
resort to force, jus ad bellum, from those that govern the
conduct of hostilities, jus in bello—has been compromised
recently: for example, in the application of proportionality
in the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon,
the contemporary politics of nuclear diplomacy, and the
resurrection of rationalized torture.
School. He also continued to practice international law as
a consultant, working on arbitrations conducted under the
auspices of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,
the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment
Disputes, the International Chamber of Commerce, and
specialized tribunals, as well as assisting with the preparation
of expert opinions for foreign sovereigns and
multinational corporations. Professor
Sloane has published in the fields of
public international law, human rights,
international criminal law, asylum
law and international arbitration. His
current research focuses on the laws of
war and the use and limits of criminal
law concepts in international law.
He teaches international law, criminal
law, international human rights and
transnational criminal law. Professor
Sloane also continues to
work pro bono for
Tibet Justice Center
and presently serves
as chairman of
its board of
directors.
Before joining BU Law, Professor Sloane served as a visiting
lecturer-in-law and Schell Fellow at Yale Law School, where
he taught international human rights and international
arbitration, and as an associate-in-law at Columbia Law
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