Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Table of cases
- Table of treaties
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 The general framework
- 2 Lawful combatancy
- 3 Prohibited weapons
- 4 Legitimate military objectives
- 5 Protection of civilians and civilian objects from attack
- 6 Measures of special protection
- 7 Protection of the environment
- 8 Other methods and means of warfare
- 9 War crimes, command responsibility and defences
- General conclusions
- Index of persons
- Index of subjects
7 - Protection of the environment
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Table of cases
- Table of treaties
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 The general framework
- 2 Lawful combatancy
- 3 Prohibited weapons
- 4 Legitimate military objectives
- 5 Protection of civilians and civilian objects from attack
- 6 Measures of special protection
- 7 Protection of the environment
- 8 Other methods and means of warfare
- 9 War crimes, command responsibility and defences
- General conclusions
- Index of persons
- Index of subjects
Summary
Introduction
The importance of the environment is universally acknowledged. As the International Court of Justice proclaimed in 1996, in its Advisory Opinion on Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons:
the environment is not an abstraction but represents the living space, the quality of life and the very health of human beings, including generations unborn.
Attacks in wartime against military objectives (as defined supra, Chapter 4) often impact upon the environment. Oil facilities as military objectives can serve as a prime example. When an oil refinery is struck, this may give rise to toxic air pollution. When an oil storage facility is demolished, the oil may seep into the ground and poison water resources. When an oil tanker is sunk at sea, the resultant oil spill may be devastating for marine life.
The International Court of Justice, in the Nuclear Weapons Advisory Opinion, went on to say:
States must take environmental considerations into account when assessing what is necessary and proportionate in the pursuit of legitimate military objectives. Respect for the environment is one of the elements that go to assessing whether an action is in conformity with the principles of necessity and proportionality.
The principle of proportionality has been discussed supra, Chapter 5, IV. It follows from the Court's dictum that, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, ‘an attack on a military objective must be desisted from if the effect on the environment outweighs the value of the military objective’.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004