Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Ron B. Tudor, James M. Barnard. Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-49). Also available online.

The African National Congress (ANC) is engaged in an armed conflict with the South African Government for control of South Africa. ANC combatants are being prosecuted under South African criminal law as rebels, a process which undermines the normative value of the criminal law because it is in conflict with popular support for the ANC. International law provides a humanitarian alternative to the criminal law. This study investigates the international legal protections available to combatants in the conflict. Lawful combatant status and prisoner of war status would only be available if the South African armed conflict was classified as international. It has been argued that the international status of the ANC, derived from the denial of self-determination to the South African people, internationalises its war against the South African Government. Attempts have been made to enforce this concept. Article 1(4) of Geneva Protocol 1 classifies armed conflicts involving a movement representing a people with a right of se If-determination against a .. racist re,gime" as international. But South Africa did not accede to Protocol 1 and the argument that it is custom fails because of insufficient international support. Nevertheless, the developing situation justifies an examination of the personal conditions required to gain protectedstatus. The conditions in Article 4 of Geneva Convention 3 (1949) are onerous, making it impracticable in South Africa. Protocol l's updated conditions are more suited to the armed conflict. The Conventions and Protocol 1 also make available procedural and substantive protections to combatants and deal with special issues particular to South Africa. The South African armed conflict can alternatively be classified as non-international. Common Article 3 of the 1949 Conventions applies because South Africa is party to them. Geneva Protocol 2 is not .applicable because South Africa is not a party to it. Unfortunately, Article 3 only applies general humanitarian principles and not protected status. To conclude, because of the inadequate means for enforcing the classification of the South African armed conflict as international and the inadequacy of the protections available under the law of non-international armed conflict, it is urged that the Government confer ex-gratia. lawful status on ANC combatants. / Thesis(LL.M.)- University of Natal, Durban, 1988.

The members of the Canadian War Crimes Liaison Detachment ??? Far East travelled across the Pacific in April 1946 to participate in ???minor??? war crimes trials in Hong Kong and Japan. The assignment stemmed from the harrowing experiences of the Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles of Canada in Hong Kong and Japan following the Japanese invasion in December 1941 through to their liberation from POW camps at the end of the Pacific War. Literature pertaining to war crimes trials during this period focuses primarily on the Nuremberg and other European trials, or on the major, often politicized Tokyo Trial. This dissertation addresses the frequently proffered recommendation in the literature that further explorations into the ???minor??? trials of 5600 Japanese war criminals are needed. The members of the Canadian Detachment served as prosecutors at the American operated Yokohama War Crimes Trials, as well as the British Hong Kong War Crimes Courts. Their cases covered the entirety of the POW experience, from atrocities during battle and in the immediate aftermath, to brutal abuses and medical neglect in POW camps and exploitation in war-related and dangerous labour. The Canadian trials were steeped in emerging and evolving legal concepts including issues of command responsibility and superior orders, as well as the use of common or joint trials and broadly expanded rules of evidence. The uncertainty of trial outcomes and the leniency of many of the sentences combined with the genuine effort extended by the Canadian Detachment members in investigation, case development, and in the courtroom belie the crude and misguided application of a victors??? justice framework. Although the trials were not marked with a clear sense of unfairness, their historical legacy has ultimately been a failure. When the international community sought answers to war crimes starting in the latter half of the twentieth century, these trial records have been left to gather dust on archive shelves. However, the transcripts offer historians the opportunity to better understand both the brutality and banality of the POW experience, and the legal community a series of pragmatic and thorough avenues for addressing violations of the laws and customs of war.

The ever-increasing convergence of U.S. military and commercial space activities poses new challenges to the viability of the legal concepts that have traditionally governed the use of outer space, and particularly the military use of space, from the beginning of the space age. This paper will look at two examples of where the melding of U.S. military and commercial space activities necessitates a reexamination of the applicable legal theories. Part I will examine the concept of self-defense in outer space, by considering the legality of the use of conventional military force to defend against "cyber-attack" on its commercial space assets. Part II will examine the concept of the use of outer space for "peaceful purposes" under international law, by focusing on the permissibility of military use of the International Space Station. As private commercial entities increasingly take their place aside State actors in outer space, understanding the impact of space commercialization on the law governing military-related activities in outer space becomes more-and-more important to policymakers, military planners, legal scholars and space law practitioners alike.

Thesis (LL. M.)--Judge Advocate General's School, United States Army, 1993. / "April 1993." Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in microfiche.

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the sentencing practice of the military courts. Since an independent and impartial military judiciary is essential to ensure that justice is done a further aim of this study is to investigate whether the military courts are impartial, independent and affords the accused his fair trial rights. The sentences imposed by military courts are investigated and concerns regarding the imposition of these sentences are identified. Finally the appeal and review procedures followed by the military courts are investigated with specific reference to the military accused’s right appeal and review to a higher court as provided for by the Constitution. The sentencing phase of a trial forms an important part of the whole trial process. This is also true for military trials, yet no research has been done on military sentencing practice. Because of the potential influence of the draft Military Discipline Bill and the Law Reform Commission’s revision of the defence legislation on sentencing, research in this area is critical in the positive development of sentencing law in the military justice environment. An extensive literature study is undertaken to evaluate current military sentencing practices against civilian practices. The result of this study identifies certain concerns regarding the independence of the military courts, the treatment of military offenders and the appeal and review powers of the military reviewing authority. To a large extent it is also found that many concerns are based on the apparent rather than the existence of any real dangers to the independence of the military courts or the rights of the military accused. This thesis contributes to the accessibility of military law for a civilian audience, creating a platform for the development of future military sentences. / Jurisprudence / LLD

The purpose of this study is to investigate the sentencing practice of the military courts. Since an independent and impartial military judiciary is essential to ensure that justice is done a further aim of this study is to investigate whether the military courts are impartial, independent and affords the accused his fair trial rights. The sentences imposed by military courts are investigated and concerns regarding the imposition of these sentences are identified. Finally the appeal and review procedures followed by the military courts are investigated with specific reference to the military accused’s right appeal and review to a higher court as provided for by the Constitution. The sentencing phase of a trial forms an important part of the whole trial process. This is also true for military trials, yet no research has been done on military sentencing practice. Because of the potential influence of the draft Military Discipline Bill and the Law Reform Commission’s revision of the defence legislation on sentencing, research in this area is critical in the positive development of sentencing law in the military justice environment. An extensive literature study is undertaken to evaluate current military sentencing practices against civilian practices. The result of this study identifies certain concerns regarding the independence of the military courts, the treatment of military offenders and the appeal and review powers of the military reviewing authority. To a large extent it is also found that many concerns are based on the apparent rather than the existence of any real dangers to the independence of the military courts or the rights of the military accused. This thesis contributes to the accessibility of military law for a civilian audience, creating a platform for the development of future military sentences. / Jurisprudence / LL. D.

This essay presents a comparative study of the Swedish articles of war of year 1621 and 1683 which aims to, through analysis, assess the extent of the development in Swedish army legislature during the 17th century and to derive the likely underlying causes for this development. The study is in large comprised by a detailed comparison of the two collections of articles of war in order to determine the practical changes to the legislature that occurred between the years that they came into force. / Denna uppsats presenterar en komparativ studie av de svenska krigsartiklarna av år 1621 och 1683 och ämnar att genom analys avgöra vad som förändrades inom svensk krigslagstiftning under 1600-talet samt att härleda denna utveckling till de förhållanden som kan förmodas ha framkallat denna. Studien utgörs till stor del av en detaljjämförelse av de två uppsättningarna krigsartiklar för att avgöra de praktiska förändringar i lagstiftningen som tagit plats emellan de år de trädde i kraft.

Thesis (doctoral)--Historisches Institut der Universität, Bern, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [339]-368) and index.