Use of Force

Since at least the time of Hugo Grotius and his seminal work, THE LAW OF WAR AND PEACE (1625), international law has been organized around the existence of the two categories he refers to: war and peace. Of course there is no immutable, scientifically-definable line between these socially-constructed concepts, and, therefore, a perennial challenge for international law has been understanding what armed conflict is and determining when the rules relevant to armed conflict apply. In May 2005, the International Law Association created a new study committee to produce a report on the meaning of war. The committee submitted its work plan in June at the ILA meeting in Toronto (5-9 June 2006). The Committee held a preliminary drafting session in Berlin in December 2006. It plans a primary drafting session for Notre Dame, Indiana in September 2007 and will submit its final report at the biennial meeting in Rio de Janerio in 2008.