law_war_manual15

Citation to a particular source should not be interpreted to mean that the cited sourcerepresents an official DoD position, or to be an endorsement of the source in its entirety. Forexample, parts of a source, such as an opinion by the International Court of Justice or acommentary published by the International Committee of the Red Cross, may reflect the DoDlegal interpretation, while other parts of the source may not. Similarly, the citation of thejurisprudence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights should not be understood toindicate that the United States has accepted the competence of the Inter-American Commissionon Human Rights to apply the law of war. 21.2.2.2 Use of Older Sources. Older sources are sometimes cited: (1) becausethat source is particularly influential; (2) to demonstrate the origin of a legal proposition; or (3)to illustrate that a particular rule or formulation has a long history.The citation of an older source should not necessarily be interpreted as an endorsementthat every aspect of that source remains current law. For example, the Lieber Code is acanonical law of war document for the United States, but parts of it no longer reflect currentlaw. 3 Moreover, an older document produced by a State does not necessarily reflect its currentlegal views. For example, the 1958 UK Manual, although a particularly influential law of warmanual prepared by distinguished experts Hersch Lauterpacht and Gerald Draper, has beensuperseded by subsequent UK Manuals, which reflect more recent developments in the law forthe United Kingdom (e.g., its ratification of AP I).1.2.2.3 Quotes Provided From Sources. Quotes from sources are sometimesgiven in parentheticals within footnotes. These parentheticals are provided to help practitioners,such as by facilitating comparison between the main text of the manual and the language used inthe sources. Every effort has been made to quote sources accurately. Practitioners, however,should verify quotations using the original source.Certain formatting rules have been followed for quoted material. Two spaces have beenplaced after each period ending a sentence. Footnote numbers and carriage returns have beenomitted from quoted text. Otherwise, quotes have not been changed unless noted through the useof ellipses, brackets, or parentheticals after the quotes indicating the changes made.1.2.2.4 Citation of Policies and Regulations. Policies and regulations of the U.S.Government or particular DoD components are sometimes cited as examples of past practice.This manual, however, seeks primarily to address the law and not to address applicableU.S. Government or DoD policies or regulations. Many policies and regulations are notaddressed in this manual, and the discussion of some policies, where relevant, should not beunderstood to indicate that other pertinent policies or regulations do not exist. Moreover,2 See, e.g., U.S. Additional Response to the Request for Precautionary Measures—Detention of Enemy Combatantsat Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Jul. 15, 2002, 2002 DIGEST OF UNITEDSTATES PRACTICE IN INTERNATIONAL LAW 1008, 1009 (“Put simply, the Commission’s jurisdiction does not includethe application of the law of armed conflict, the lex specialis governing the status and treatment of persons detainedduring armed conflict.”).3 Refer to § 19.3 (Lieber Code).3