TEACHING FUTURE MILITARY COMMANDERS INTERNATIONAL

HUMANITARIAN LAW

Jeroen C. van den Boogaard

Amsterdam Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2022-01

Amsterdam Center for International Law No. 2022-01

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4014322

Teaching Future Military Commanders International Humanitarian Law

Forthcoming in: Barrie Sander and Jean-Pierre Gauci (eds), Teaching International Law
(forthcoming).

dr. Jeroen C. van den Boogaard 1

1. Introduction

In this chapter I address the issue of how future commanders may be taught international law,
and aim to describe more specifically how they may successfully be engaged in their classes on
international humanitarian law (IHL).

Teaching future military commanders IHL is necessary not just because it is a treaty obligation
for all States in the world, 2 but also because certain IHL rules are explicitly addressed to “those
who plan and decide on attacks”. 3 In practice, lower level military commanders, at the so called
tactical level, are often responsible for applying the rules of IHL on the battlefield. Although
individual soldiers and non-commissioned officers may also make decisions, it is often up to
young officers, for example lieutenants or an equivalent rank, to act as a platoon-commander
and make decisions to attack the opponent in a certain way. These officers thus carry an
enormous responsibility, including for their subordinates, once they are engaged in military
operations during armed conflicts. Prior to becoming officers, these individuals have usually
been trained in military academies, where they are referred to as ‘cadets’. These cadets are
typically non-lawyers. I discuss in this chapter how international law, particularly IHL, can be
taught successfully to cadets and which factors, in my experience, help in motivating these
cadets to learn IHL. I draw in this chapter from my first-hand experience, having taught the
core IHL course to all army, air force, marines, military police and naval cadets at the
Netherlands Defence Academy for a number of years. 4

The discussion in this chapter proceeds as follows. First, I address why States teach IHL to
future military commanders. Second, I set out factors which may be expected to induce the
intrinsic motivation of military commanders to be educated in IHL. Next, I provide a few
examples of how IHL may be taught to future military commanders. I note in this regard the
importance of focusing on a limited set of principles of IHL as a tool to prepare cadets for their
future jobs as military commanders. In the last part of this chapter I address the need to repeat
training in IHL at different stages of the career of a military commander.

2. Why teach IHL to future military commanders?

One of the first points I would make during the first lecture of my IHL course is that a legal
obligation exists to teach IHL to future military commanders, and indeed to all members of the
military. As stipulated in all four 1949 Geneva Conventions, States “undertake, in time of peace
as in time of war, to disseminate the text of the present Convention as widely as possible in
1
Dr. Jeroen van den Boogaard is a senior legal adviser at the international law department of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a lecturer in international humanitarian law at the
Amsterdam Center of International Law of the University of Amsterdam and a reserve-military lawyer at the
Royal Netherlands Army.
2
See footnote 5 below.
3
For example in article 57 (2) (a) API.
4
This chapter draws from my experience teaching cadets at the Netherlands Defence Academy in (international)
law, as an assistant-professor of military law from 2008-2011 and 2016-2020.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4014322

their respective countries, and, in particular, to include the study thereof in their programmes
of military and, if possible, civil instruction, so that the principles thereof may become known
to the entire population, in particular to the armed fighting forces, the medical personnel and
the chaplains.” 5

This legal obligation complements other military and political reasons for States to provide
effective IHL training to their militaries, including future military commanders. As summarized
by W. Hays Parks in 1987, these include:

- Discipline as an essential part of effective behavior in combat;

- Violations of IHL detract from mission accomplishment by military forces;
- Violations of IHL often lead to decrease of public support for a military mission;
- Violations of IHL strengthen the resilience of the enemy, leading to greater resistance
and increased casualties on the own side. 6

Importantly, the obligation to teach IHL to the military, or indeed the entire population of States,
is not confined to situations where an armed conflict has started. The obligation is applicable
already in peacetime and is therefore one of the few provisions of the Geneva Conventions that
applies at all times and is not subject to the applicability clauses that are important for
determining whether an armed conflict exists and therefore the legal framework of IHL has
become applicable. Furthermore, this point also nullifies the relevance of first classifying an
armed conflict as either international or non-international to determine whether the obligation
applies, as would be necessary for many other treaty rules of IHL. 7

An additional underlying legal basis for the obligation to teach IHL to the military, including
future military commanders, arguably ensues from Common Article 1 to the Geneva
Conventions, which obliges States to respect and ensure respect for IHL. 8 The obligation to
include IHL in the curriculum during the education phase for members of the military serves to
implement the general obligation of States to ensure their militaries’ ability to comply with the
rules of IHL. 9

It may be safely concluded that teaching IHL to future military commanders is a legal obligation
for States, but the treaty text does not articulate its exact scope. Of course, “knowledge of the
law is an essential condition for its effective application”. 10 Although the general idea of
following rules may be assumed to make sense to any individual, it must be understood that
most soldiers are not lawyers. Indeed, without previous legal education, it may be difficult to
grasp some of international law’s general concepts. Soldiers may not be expected to master the
complete corpus of treaty-based IHL rules. Even more so than treaty rules, the category of rules
5
Article 47 GCI, 48 GCII, 127 GCIII, and 144 GCIV. These provisions are almost identical. Similar, but not
identical clauses are included in Article 83 API, 9 APII and 7 APIII (emphasis added). Furthermore, Article 19
of the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel states in a similar manner “that the
States Parties undertake to disseminate this Convention as widely as possible and, in particular, to include the
study thereof, as well as relevant provisions of international humanitarian law, in their programmes of military
instruction.”
6
W. Hays Parks, “Teaching the Laws of War” 1987 Army Lawyer, no. 6 (June) 1987, p 5.
7
The ICRC Commentary to article 47 of GCI notes that the obligation refers to the ‘text’ of the respective
Geneva Conventions, thus including Common Article 3 that regulates all situations of non-international armed
conflicts. In my view, that is a moot point because the obligation already applies in peacetime.
8
ICRC Commentary on GCI, p. 983. Extensive debate however exists regarding the scope of this obligation. See
for example Robson and Zwanenburg.
9
See ICRC Commentary to GCI, GA1, para 146, p. 44,
10
ICRC Commentary to GCI, para 2750, p. 981.

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of customary IHL may appear more elusive to the average soldier. Nonetheless, it must be
stressed that violations of IHL rules may lead to criminal prosecutions with the inclusion of
some of the very specific rules that are found, for example, in the detailed regulation of how
prisoners of war are to be treated. This is yet another reason to teach IHL to the military:
violations of IHL rules may lead to individual criminal responsibility. Furthermore, the system
of command responsibility leads to an additional legal basis for responsibility for violations of
IHL rules for military commanders. This underscores the necessity for both soldiers and those
commanding them to gain knowledge about their legal obligations during situations of armed
conflict. Violations of IHL can also lead to State responsibility. Therefore, States wishing to
prevent to be held responsible for violating IHL, need to prevent these violations by teaching
IHL to the members of their military forces.

3. Incentives for future military commanders to learn IHL

Teaching IHL at a military academy is nothing new. For example, the course ‘Customs of War’
was already part of the curriculum for future military commanders at the Royal Military
Academy in the Netherlands in 1885. 11 But aside from the question of why States would want
IHL to be taught to the military, it is also relevant why the members of the military would want
to learn IHL. The attentive reader may already have deduced a number of incentives for future
military commanders to learn IHL from the text above. In my experience, there is great value
in addressing these incentives for learning IHL to future military commanders at the outset of
an IHL course. Inciting an interest in the subject of IHL may lead to higher levels of
concentration and motivation for the students in question and thus better results in terms of the
knowledge of the students. The following incentives may be mentioned.

First of all, the raison d’être of military forces is ultimately the use of armed force. The rules
of IHL dictate whether soldiers may fire their weapons, drop bombs or deploy a weapons system
during hostilities. As such, IHL is the user’s manual for the weapons soldiers are trained to use.
Therefore, knowing the rules of IHL is essential for using their weapons outside the shooting
range. This is the case irrespective of the level of command concerned. Commanders at all
levels of authority will take the restrictions in using means and methods of warfare and the
presence of protected persons and objects into account when planning future operations and
during their execution. To do that, military commanders need knowledge of these IHL rules.
Once cadets realize this, they may be expected to be more receptive to learning IHL.

A second factor may be described using the catchphrase ‘with authority comes responsibility’.
The armed forces of a State, as well as law enforcement agencies, are vested with the authority
to use armed force on behalf of the State. This authority is often provided for by law and
exercised under the control of an executive power mandated by the State’s citizens through
democratic elections in accordance with the rule of law. The use of armed force based on this
authority does not come unregulated, but is restricted by the applicable legal frameworks. These
legal frameworks are the conditions placed by society on exercising the authority to use armed
force on society’s behalf. For the situation of armed conflict, the applicable legal framework is
that of IHL. Therefore, in order to be able to execute the authority to use armed force during
armed conflict, soldiers are responsible for applying the legal frameworks connected to this
authority. Therefore, knowledge of the restrictions of IHL is necessary for executing that
authority and as such indispensable for soldiers. In my experience, the awareness that notions
of the responsibility of adhering to IHL during armed conflict on the one hand and the authority

11
K.A. Visser-Schönbeck, p. 275.

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to use armed force on the other are inseparable, is an important factor for future military
commanders to be motivated in learning IHL.

A third incentive for soldiers to learn about IHL and internalize its rules is the wish to avoid
criminal prosecution. The wish of the average soldier to avoid criminal prosecution, not to
mention criminal convictions, may work as an incentive to gain knowledge of the rules, in order
to be able to follow them. That is not to say that IHL rules are never violated, it is a well-known
fact that they are. 12 Nonetheless, it is not an attractive prospect for the average soldier to appear
before a judge and possibly face a criminal conviction because they broke IHL rules they did
not know existed. Cadets often mention this as an important motivation for them to learn IHL,
in order to minimize their chances of finding themselves indicted for violations of IHL.

Closely connected to the previous incentive is the concept of command responsibility. Future
military commanders need to be aware that they may be held responsible not only for their own
actions, but also for the actions of those they command during armed conflict. The rules related
to command responsibility increase the possibility that military commanders may end up in a
situation where their actions on the battlefield may be followed by criminal prosecution. In my
experience, asking cadets during class whether any of them is being trained to lead other
soldiers, always leads to a shared moment among them in which they seem to realise the
particular importance for them to learn about the rules of IHL. Obviously, while commanding
their units in the course of military operations during armed conflict, commanders cannot
continuously monitor every single shot that is fired by their troops. Instead, commands may
often not be expected to spell out every single detail in the plan. During the execution phase of
that operation, soldiers may have to improvise in the spirit of the objective of the operation.
Therefore, commanders will aim to leave some responsibility for how the goal of the operation
is reached to their soldiers. In order to either avoid violation of IHL rules during the operation
or to be able to take steps after the operation if violations do occur, military commanders need
thorough knowledge of the rules that apply to the operation. In other words: knowledge of IHL
is necessary for oversight over subordinates. Therefore, future military commanders may be
expected to be motivated on this ground to learn IHL.

A further incentive that may be mentioned in this chapter is that of IHL being part of the
professional code of soldiers. Often, there is a reason why cadets have chosen to join the
military and train to become a military commander after graduating from the military academy.
In my experience, many cadets are motivated by a desire to contribute to society. They take
pride in their status as a cadet and in being part of a certain branch of the military and there is
a sense of competition among cadets to be the best of their class. It may be argued that the rules
of IHL are an integral part of the professional code of a successful military commander and
therefore cadets may be expected to be particularly motivated to learn IHL, because it will
enable them to excel as military leaders.

As noted above, only disciplined military forces are able to fight effectively. Troops engaged
in boundless looting and destruction are less likely to be effectively commanded in order to
achieve the objectives of a military operation. Thus, there are also clear military operational
advantages for future military commanders to aspire that they are able to conduct their
operations in compliance with IHL. This is another reason why future military commander may

12
For an overview of reasons why IHL rules may be violated, see ICRC, The roots of behaviour in war study:
D. Muñoz-Rojas and J.-J. Frésard, “The Roots of Behaviour in War: Understanding and Preventing IHL
Violations”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 86, No. 853, 2004, pp. 189–206.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4014322

be incentivized to learn IHL and also to be motivated to pass this knowledge on to their
subordinates.

As a final point, considerably more banal than the previous factors, cadets simply need to pass
their exams before they may move on to becoming a military commander in practice. Therefore,
the final, (and perhaps for some cadets the ultimate) incentive is that they simply may be
motivated to study IHL because they need to in order to pass their exam. 13 This is a point that
applies to any student taking a mandatory course; also at civil institutes of higher learning. The
other incentives I mentioned, however, do not necessarily apply to all students at the university
taking an IHL course.

4. How can IHL be taught?

In this section, I highlight some aspects that work well in my teaching experience at the
Netherlands Defence Academy. But before I proceed, it may be useful to illustrate with a broad
brush how an initial military training typically proceeds, for those who have never been through
military training. 14

Joining the military entails more than training on the job. Not only are there basic military skills
cadets will need to master before they may be expected to pose a greater danger to the enemy
than to their own forces, military training also means getting accustomed to military customs.
Therefore, the first part of military training will consist of learning the ranks system, learning
to wear the military uniform and how to behave generally as a member of the military forces.
This will include skills such as marching, properly greeting superiors and understanding
military hierarchy. It means to learn that others, often generally referred to as ‘the civilians’
will look at cadets differently than before they joined the military. Members of the military
learn how to represent the military forces whilst wearing the uniform, even when off duty. This
military training consists of both practical skills as well as more theoretical components. IHL
is often addressed briefly during a theoretical component of the initial military training. In other
military academies, IHL may (also) be a separate component of a more theoretical part of the
education at the military academy. For example, at the Netherlands Defence Academy, IHL is
a separate and mandatory course taught to all cadets following the four-year bachelor
program. 15 There are however also tracks for cadets who have already obtained a bachelor or
even a master’s degree elsewhere. At the Netherlands Defence Academy, these cadets would
typically follow a shorter officer’s training. Cadets belonging to this group learn about IHL as
part of a broader course that also includes lectures on military disciplinary and criminal law and
military administrative law.

13
Here, I have observed a significant difference in motivation for those cadets that are in the first part of the
academic part of their (4 year) bachelor on the Netherlands Defence Academy (Army, Air Force, Navy and
Military Police), and those who have already endured a highly demanding training for officer of the Royal
Netherlands Marines: the latter category always seemed much more motivated. My guess would be that this is
because after having gotten through their particularly challenging and difficult military training, everything else,
including the IHL course, is simply something that can also be overcome.
14
This chapter relates to how military forces of States would generally be trained and does not address
differences between State armed forces and military forces belonging to non-state armed actors. See however the
efforts by Geneva Call, as exemplified by the ‘Fighter not killer’ training app, which is aimed at teaching IHL to
non-state military actors.
15
For a more detailed description, see K.A. Visser-Schönbeck, pp. 279-281. For an in-depth analysis of IHL
training in the British armed forces, see E. Stubbins Bates, “The British Army’s Training in International
Humanitarian Law” Journal of Conflict & Security Law, vol. 25 (2), 2020, pp. 291-315.
doi:10.1093/jcsl/kraa006

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This chapter is not the place to provide an overview of all the different possible ways in which
IHL training may be embedded in the training of future military commanders. However, as a
general point, it must be noted that the implementation of the obligation of States to disseminate
IHL among the members of the military, is left to the discretion of States. 16 Education and
training in IHL to the military is sometimes subject to standardization, for example by the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The NATO Standardization Agreements (STANAG)
2449 and 2597 provide for parameters to be used in teaching IHL and Rules of Engagement
and distinguish between different categories of members of the military forces of the member
states. 17 Ultimately, it may depend very much on the available time and capacity to teach IHL
within the military academy how IHL education is shaped.

As noted, I aim to highlight some aspects that work well at the Netherlands Defence Academy,
drawing mostly from my own experience, complemented by some best practices that have been
highlighted by others in academic literature.

The teacher
As noted above, cadets may be eager to hear about how they will need to apply IHL rules in
practice. Therefore, it is beneficial if the IHL course is taught by lecturers with some military
experience and knowledge of the way armed forces may operate during armed conflict. This
would suggest that (former) military lawyers may be well-placed for teaching IHL to future
military commanders. An additional advantage of military lawyers conducting IHL training is
that future military commanders are already familiarised with the crucial role of military
lawyers in contemporary military operations. 18 Operational experience as a military lawyer
and knowledge of IHL alone does however not guarantee that IHL education is conducted in a
successful manner. 19 Teaching is a skill in itself, which does not come naturally to everybody.
A mandatory course in didactics has in my experience proven to be indispensable for both
military and civilian IHL teachers.

The materials
Depending on the level of the IHL course, the materials can range from the national IHL manual
to an academic textbook. Translating the teaching material into the mother language may be
important in this regard, because cadets are generally accustomed to work and communicate
mostly in their mother tongue during armed conflict. 20 For the core IHL course at the
Netherlands Defence Academy, an introductory IHL textbook is used which is specifically

16
E. Stubbins Bates, “Towards Effective Military Training in International Humanitarian Law”, International
Review of the Red Cross (2014), 96 (895/896), p. 799.
17
A STANAG is a NATO standardization document that specifies the agreement of member nations to
implement a standard, in whole or in part, with or without reservation, in order to meet an interoperability
requirement. See NATOTermOTAN. STANAGs usually do not constitute legal obligations.
18
See for example M.A. Newton, “Modern Military Necessity: The Role & Relevance of Military Lawyers”,
Roger Williams University Law Review, vol. 12, 2007, pp. 877-903.
19
As Parks noted: “The instructor is the key to successful law of war instruction.” See the factors identified by
him: W.H. Parks, “Teaching the Law of War: A Reprise,” Israel Defense Forces Law Review, vol. 3, no. 1,
2007-2008, pp. 18-22.
20
See for this and more, the presentation by Vasilka Sancin, ‘Contextualizing IHL teaching to stimulate interest’,
Teaching International Law Webinar Series, panel: Teaching IHL in Crisis: A Strategic Response for Troubled
Times? British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 29 January 2021. Available on Youtube, see
Teaching IHL in Crisis: A Strategic Response for Troubled Times? - YouTube

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tailored for teaching at bachelor level and that has been published by the National Red Cross
organisation. 21

Using the principles of IHL

Of course, the average soldier or military commander (perhaps with the exception of the
military lawyer) will not carry their military IHL manual, IHL textbook and copy of the Geneva
Conventions in their backpacks. Nowadays, soldiers can simply install the ‘ICRC IHL’ app on
their smartphones and have the full text of the Geneva Conventions and other relevant IHL
treaties at hand at the push of a button, including the commentaries and the ICRC collection of
Customary IHL rules, though it is unlikely that soldiers would consult these texts in the midst
of a battle. The core IHL course at the Netherlands Defence Academy is designed on the basis
of five IHL principles. In my experience, this a very efficient way to teach IHL, for a number
of reasons.

An important reason for teaching future military commanders IHL using its basic principles is
that it enables the teacher to convey the logic of this branch of international law to the students.
With that I mean that it helps the cadets to understand that the hundreds of specific IHL rules
are based on a limited number of principles. These principles, in turn, are based on the idea that
the field of IHL is founded on its underlying foundations of military necessity, humanity and
traditions of chivalry. 22 These and other foundations of IHL play a crucial role in understanding
the logic of the legal framework of IHL. They shaped the careful balance between military
necessity and humanitarian considerations of IHL, but provide no independent legal
obligations. In other words, they lack the ability to set rules of IHL but explain its logic,
comparable to notions such as that the parties to an armed conflict do not have an unlimited
right to choose methods or means of warfare and the sharp divide between IHL and the ius ad
bellum.

In my view, it is efficient to focus on a limited number of legally binding IHL principles, from
which the more precise rules can be deduced. It may be debated how many, and which, IHL
principles are best fit to serve both the purpose of teaching IHL to future military commanders
and to serve as their guidance during armed conflict. In my view, it is important that the IHL
principles that are used are sufficiently general to find application in the most prevalent types
of military operation during armed conflict. For educational purposes, it may seem possible for
anybody to remember, understand and internalize at least five IHL principles. If these five
principles do not give sufficient guidance in a particular situation, this is a clear indicator that
the operator must descend to the level of the more specific rules, and possibly consult a military
lawyer for advice. These principles must be relevant for guiding military commanders in
conducting operations during armed conflict. It is therefore imperative that the IHL principles
taken as the starting point for teaching IHL to future military commanders include both norms
for the conduct of hostilities as well as for the treatment of those persons who do not, or no
longer participate in the hostilities. As such both classical IHL branches of Hague law and
Geneva law are represented. In my view, the IHL principles that could be selected as guiding
IHL training for future military commanders include those of distinction; precautions; the
principle not to use means and methods of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary

21
A. Vermeer et al. “Inleiding Humanitair Oorlogsrecht”, 2017, Het Nederlandse Rode Kruis/Asser Press. For an
overview of the manner in which national Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies contribute to IHL dissemination
and training on the domestic level, see R. Bartels, “National Red Cross /Red Crescent Societies and International
Humanitarian Law”, Israel Defense Forces Law Review, vol. 3, no. 1 (2007-2008): pp. 58-69.
22
For a proposed taxonomy of IHL norms, see https://lieber.westpoint.edu/reimagining-ihl-principles-part-i-
wrong-principles/

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suffering; protection and humane treatment. 23 Other sets of principles have however been used
by different militaries in the past. Compare, for example, the nine principles every U.S. Marine
is reportedly taught upon entering military service, phrased in military terms rather than as legal
principles. 24

Some other best practices

Since it may be the first time cadets actually receive legal education, some of the basic
principles of law in general and international law in particular need to be addressed. This is part
of the need to tailor the IHL training to the audience of future military commanders. 25 If there
are experienced members of the military among those in the class, it is imperative to encourage
these cadets to participate actively during the course and share their experience. It usually
provides much added value to the words of the teacher if the application in practice is echoed
by experienced soldiers, especially for those cadets who have only recently joined the armed
forces. Also, a method that has proven particularly useful in my experience is using movie clips
to support the literature the cadets studied. This may be both YouTube video clips of actual and
recent armed conflicts, or excerpts of Hollywood movies. 26 Practical exercises such as moot-
courts and simulations may also be very useful, but not always feasible, especially when the
size of the classes is too large. A particularly useful tool in IHL teaching is taking part in the
IHL competition for military academies that is organized annually by the International Institute
of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy. 27 It depends on the possibilities of the military
academy in question whether the IHL learning experience is restricted to the walls of the
classrooms or whether it is possible to also include IHL learning in field exercises. If the latter
is possible, that would be particularly beneficial for the learning experience for the cadets,
because they would learn applying the IHL rules in a context that is closer to the battlefield
where IHL must eventually be applied.

Repeating IHL education

Different stages in the career of a military officer means working on different levels of
authority: from leading a platoon at a tactical level, to commanding a company or a battalion,
to working as a staff officer in higher headquarters at the operational level, and finally at the
strategic level as a general. Moving through the ranks, military commanders thus need to
address the factors that correspond to the respective levels of command. For example, for
applying the IHL proportionality rule, different factors may play a role at the tactical level than
at the operational level. Certain factors of a large military campaign cannot be judged at the
tactical level. These factors include, for example, the reverberating effects to the civilian
population and the foreseeable average failure rate of weapons systems that are used in that
campaign. Knowledge of these factors and how to take them into account in accordance with
IHL obligations is thus essential for staff officers planning these operations and for the military
commanders deciding upon their launch. This is in accordance with the idea that IHL is applied
throughout a military chain of command, which is important because tactical operations are

23
See Reimagining IHL Principles Part II: A New Framework | Lieber Institute West Point
24
Parks, p 6.
25
For some potential pitfalls as experienced in teaching IHL in the Israel Defence Forces, see H. Adler,
“Teaching the Law of War in the Israel Defence Forces”, Israel Defense Forces Law Review, vol. 3, no. 1, 2007-
2008, pp. 41-48.
26
For some movie suggestions, see D. Turns, “Some Reflections on Teaching the Law of Armed Conflict in
National and Multinational Contexts: A View from the United Kingdom,” Israel Defense Forces Law Review,
vol.3, no. 1, 2007-2008, pp. 32-33.
27
See generally Home - International Institute of Humanitarian Law (iihl.org)

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usually part of a larger effort, decided upon by higher headquarters. 28 This requires that IHL
training and education is repeated throughout the careers of military officers, in career courses
that prepare officers for staff and commanding positions at higher headquarters.

Furthermore, IHL is typically part of predeployment training, when an individual officer or an

entire unit is preparing for deployment in operations abroad that may include taking part in an
armed conflict. During subsequent IHL training modules it is also important that officers learn
to work with their military legal advisers, who may be present at different levels of authority.
These military lawyers may also play a role in ensuring that IHL-related incidents are included
in scenarios for military exercises throughout the careers of military officers. This enables
making the perhaps sometimes abstract norms of IHL and other relevant international law
frameworks, migrate from the classrooms of military academies into military doctrine and
practice. To be effective, it is argued that effective IHL training is “most likely the result of unit
leaders collaborating with judge advocates to identify training modalities appropriate for a unit
given its mission and the quantity and type of its members’ combat experience.” 29 Effective
IHL training should however be institutionalized and standardized. As noted above, there are
ample incentives for future military commanders to engage in IHL training for themselves and
their subordinates. This may eventually result in deeper knowledge of IHL and ultimately
increase the implementation and observance of IHL. However, teaching IHL to future military
commanders needs to be complemented with additional efforts in order to be effective. I agree
with Stubbins Bates when she notes that “IHL training is necessary but insufficient to ensure
respect for the law”. 30 The rules of IHL must also be integrated in drills and military doctrine.
Teaching IHL must therefore be complemented by training in other subjects such as (military)
ethics. Furthermore, political leaders must set the right example.

5. Conclusion

Much more can be said about IHL training in general and for future military commanders in
particular. The term ‘future military commanders’ is a very broad term in itself, because cadets
of the different services may need very different aspects of IHL in conducting the operations in
their first and subsequent positions as military commanders. Teaching them IHL it is actually
fairly easy. There is a wide range of incentives for them to learn IHL and it is advisable to make
these explicit, because it may motivate cadets to actively engage in learning IHL. Teaching by
the principles of IHL and repeating IHL training at different stages of military careers may also
help in increasing the knowledge of IHL among future military commanders.

As a final note, it is crucial to also include other branches of international law into the education
of future military commanders. This includes a basic knowledge of relevant general
international law concepts, such as that of territory, jurisdiction and state responsibility, but also
other legal regimes relevant to military operations, such as international human rights law, the
law of the sea and the law pertaining to outer space. After all, many military operations,

28
Stubbins Bates 2013, p. 816, noting that “IHL is relevant to decisionmaking throughout an attack, not merely
when a target is first selected. In integration, law is continuously relevant to operations and military
decisionmaking,”
29
C. Jenks, “The Efficiacy of the U.S. Army’s Law of War Training Program”, 14 October 2020,
https://lieber.westpoint.edu/efficacy-u-s-armys-law-of-war-training-program/.
30
Stubbins Bates 2013, pp. 802-803. See also the ICRC ‘Integrating the law’ project, which concerns “the
process of transposing legal rules into concrete mechanisms or measures to ensure compliance and adopting the
means required to achieve this end. Integration is a continuous process. It must address doctrine, education,
training and equipment issues and be backed up by an effective system of sanctions.” ICRC, 2007,
PublicationRef. 0900. See Integrating the law - ICRC.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4014322

including during exercises, peacekeeping operations, and national operations, take place in
situations where IHL is inapplicable.

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Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4014322