you are here: > Articles of War > Article 08
 
1. War
 
  Article 08- Justice  
8.1 Justice  
  Just War theory is the attempt to distinguish between justifiable and unjustifiable uses of organized armed forces... Just War theories attempt to conceive of how the use of arms might be restrained, made more humane, and ultimately directed towards the aim of establishing lasting peace and justice.  
  Just War tradition addresses the morality of the use of force in three parts: (1) when it is right to resort to armed force (the concern of jus ad bellum) (2) what it is right to do in using such force (the concern of jus in bello). (3) justice of war termination and peace agreements, as well as the trying of war criminals (Jus post bellum)  
8.2 The principles of just use of force in War (Jus ad bellum)  
  These rules hold that to be just, a war must meet the following criteria before the use of force (Jus ad bellum):  
  (i) Just Cause: Force may be used only to correct a grave public evil (e.g. a massive violation of the basic rights of whole populations) or in defense;  
  (ii) Comparative Justice: While there may be rights and wrongs on all sides of a conflict, to override the presumption against the use of force, the injustice suffered by one party must significantly outweigh that suffered by the other;  
  (iii) Legitimate Authority: Only duly constituted public authorities may use deadly force or wage war;  
  (iv) Right Intention: Force may be used only in a truly just cause and solely for that purpose- correcting a suffered wrong is considered a right intention, while material gain or maintaining economies is not.  
  (v) Probability of Success: Arms may not be used in a futile cause or in a case where disproportionate measures are required to achieve success;  
  (vi) Proportionality: The overall destruction expected from the use of force must be outweighed by the good to be achieved.[3]  
  (vii) Last Resort: Force may be used only after all peaceful and viable alternatives have been seriously tried and exhausted.  
8.3 The conduct of a just war (Jus in bello)  
  Just War conduct should be governed by the principle of discrimination. The acts of war should be directed towards the inflictors of the wrong, and not towards civilians caught in circumstances they did not create. The prohibited acts include bombing civilian residential areas that include no military target and committing acts of terrorism or reprisal against ordinary civilians. Some believe that this rule forbids weapons of mass destruction of any kind, for any reason (such as the use of an atomic bomb).  
8.4 The justifiable ending A War: Jus Post Bellum  
  In recent years, some theorists have proposed a third category within Just War theory. Jus post bellum concerns the regulation of the process of terminating war, and the transition from war to peace. One of the main proponents of jus post bellum is Brian Orend, who proposes the following rules:  
  (i) Just cause for termination - A state may terminate a war if there has been a reasonable vindication of the rights that were violated in the first place, and if the aggressor is willing to negotiate the terms of surrender. These terms of surrender include a formal apology, compensations, war crimes trials and perhaps rehabilitation.  
  Right intention - A state must only terminate a war under the conditions agreed upon in the above criteria. Revenge is not permitted. The victor state must also be willing to apply the same level of objectivity and investigation into any war crimes its armed forces may have committed.  
  (ii) Public declaration and authority - The terms of peace must be made by a legitimate authority, and the terms must be accepted by a legitimate authority. Discrimination - The victor state is to differentiate between political and military leaders, and combatants and civilians. Punitive measures are to be limited to those directly responsible for the conflict.  
  Proportionality - Any terms of surrender must be proportional to the rights that were initially violated. Draconian measures, absolutionist crusades and any attempt at denying the surrendered country the right to participate in the world community are not permitted.  
     
     
     
 
 
Copyright © 2010 Modern-Warfare.org. All rights reserved.