Law of War Handbook 2005

nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military

action and whose total or partial destruction, capture, or neutralization, in the

circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage." The

components of this definition are discussed further in the section on

targeting.

C. Principle of Discrimination or Distinction. The principle of distinction is

sometimes referred to as the "grandfather of all principles," as it forms the

foundation for much of the Geneva tradition of the law of war. The essence of

the principle is that military attacks should be directed at combatants and

military targets, and not civilians or civilian property. GP I, article 48 sets out

the rule: "Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian

population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives

and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives."

1. GP I further defines "indiscriminate attacks" under Article 5 l(4) as those
   attacks that:

a.  are "not directed against a specific military objective" (e.g., SCUD

missiles during Desert Storm);

b. "employ a method or means of combat the effects of which cannot be

directed at a specified military objective" (e.g., area bombing);

c.  "employ a method or means of combat the effects of which cannot be

limited as required" (use of bacteriological weapons); and

d. "consequently, in each case are of a nature to strike military objectives

and civilians or civilian objects without distinction." See, A.P.V. Rodgers,

Law on the Battlefield, 19-24 (1 996).

D. Principle of Proportionality. The test to determine if an attack is proportional is
found in GP I, article 5 1 (5)(b): "An attack which may be expected to cause
incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a
combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and
direct military advantage anticipated" violates the principle of proportionality.
Note: this principle is only applicable when an attack has the possibility of
affecting civilians. If the target is purely military with no known civilian
personnel or property in the vicinity, no proportionality analysis need be
conducted.