Proportionality In Internationallaw Michaelnewtonlarrymay by Michael newton；larry may 9780199355037, 0199355037 instant download after payment.

Proportionality, along with distinction, necessity, and humanity, make 

up the chief principles that have been thought to govern armed conflict for hun-

dreds of years. There has been a close relationship between the work of philosophers 

writing in the Just W ar tradition and lawyers who work in international law, espe-

cially today in international criminal law. Proportionality is debated in these two 

domains but also, very importantly, in military academies and in boot camps where 

those who are assigned the task of fighting armed conflicts are told that if they act 

disproportionately they will face legal proceedings afterwards. Conduct later seen 

to be disproportionate also raises a host of political and operational complications 

that commanders know are best avoided if at all possible. It is our goal to provide a 

comprehensive and also understandable analysis of proportionality that is useful for 

those who often must make tragic choices during armed conflict.

The authors of this book bring diverse expertise to the topic of proportionality 

in international law. The book seeks to meld abstract philosophical and legal analy-

sis with very specific and highly emotive contemporary combat cases. The cases are 

discussed largely from the perspective of those who must make decisions, often in 

the midst of armed conflict. W e hope to bring to the proportionality debate both 

analytic rigor and also sensitivity to facts on the ground. W e will succeed to the 

extent that we impart more clarity to our readers about what proportionality has 

meant and what it could mean going forward as well as encouraging our readers to 

appreciate the very difficult task of making proportionality assessments, often while 

bullets whiz overhead.