Questions tagged [military-law]
Questions relating to laws that apply to the military. Not to be confused with [martial-law] which is the imposition of military control over civilian functions of government.
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Even if by accident, is the act of military men showing up in a foreign country in full uniform considered an invasion?
I came upon this (humorous) video where there are presented several incidents of the Swiss army accidentally marching into Liechtenstein due to bad map awareness and orientation. In the video they are ...
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Why does Russia not declare war on Ukraine in order to incorporate their conscripts into the war?
Russia has been saying that there is no war in Ukraine, just a "Special military operation". Their laws prohibit them from sending conscripts to military operations outside Russia. The war ...
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Why have no US government officials been charged under the Geneva convention?
US and NATO have been big advocates for human rights and international law around the globe. I'm only focusing on Iraq and current military missions in the Middle East and violations of the Geneva ...
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Why is the US president commander-in-chief?
Democratic governments are often set up in such a way that no single person holds too much power, even the president/prime minister/etc.
In the US, you e.g. have the Congress. This means that if the ...
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Can the Vatican legally declare war?
Joseph Stalin once famously quipped: "The Pope! How many divisions has he got?"
Technically speaking, the pope IS a secular ruler of a country that holds an observer status at the UN, and as far as I'...
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Who legislates military law?
Where does United States military law come from?
I'm vaguely aware that the military is governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). This power stems from the constitutional authority of ...
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What laws govern the use of nuclear weapons by the USA?
My understanding of the United States' first, second, and strategic nuclear strike capacity is that any nuclear strike must be directly approved by the President, and follow a very specific chain of ...
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Can US President indefinitely detain US citizen protesters by labeling them enemy combatants?
We know from the Jose Padilla case that US citizens can be detained in the US and held without charge for several years if the POTUS labels them as enemy combatants. From the same case, we know that ...
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What are the similarities/differences between Russia's conscription and their mobilization?
What really differentiates Russia's twice-yearly conscription cycle from the mobilization drive? On one end, conscripts seem to not go to Ukraine much these days, whereas a whole lot of not always ...
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Under what circumstances are military personnel not combatants?
In U.S. policy, when are military personnel not combatants?
This question is inspired by a comment that jpmc26 left on my answer here. The comment says:
I'm not sure "noncombatant targets" ...
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Has Russia shown any indication, before the war, that it would court-martial its soldiers if they commit war crimes?
There is a number of reports of claims of Russian soldiers committing war crimes during the prosecution of Russia's 2022 war of aggression on Ukraine.
Usually armies prevent their own soldiers from ...
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How effective are lawyers and NGOs (like Soldiers Mothers, Peaceplea and Conscript's School) in securing the rights of the mobilized in Russia?
After the start of the first mobilizations in Russia, a couple of organisations were created to help mobilized people to either escape military service or acquire them non-combat roles:
https://...
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How is a "mercenary soldier" defined in international law?
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister has claimed that the two British men, currently under sentence of death, were "mercenaries" attached to the Ukrainian army, and hence not subject ...
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What law compels countries to take prisoners who are NOT trying to surrender?
This arose around some comments on "Is it true that the US president can execute anyone without a trial?"
Under the traditional rules of war you are not allowed to simply kill all of your ...
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Why wasn't there a gunship in the air during the Bergdahl trade? [closed]
I hope I don't come off as crazy here, and I wasn't sure if this is the right forum to ask this, but I have a question regarding the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner exchange.
In the video captured by the ...
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What law compels countries to take prisoners who wish to surrender?
This arose around some comments on " Is it true that the US president can execute anyone without a trial? "
Is there any international law, or convention (including Geneva) which compels any country ...
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Quickly prevent POTUS from initiating military or nuclear operations?
As Pelosi warns Trump could be impeached for a second time if he does not leave office imminently and willing, she has expressed in a letter about two things which stems this question...
Taking "...
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Is there a US and UK equivalent of India's AFSPA act?
The Indian AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Protection Act) protects Indian soldiers from nuisance from humanitarian associations, among other benefits.
Is there any US and UK equivalent law for ...
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What country has the most favorable status of forces agreement with the United States?
In many host nations, especially those with a large foreign military
presence such as South Korea and Japan, the SOFA can become a major
political issue following crimes allegedly committed by
...
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What's the standard procedure for responding to an overt domestic tyranny event? [closed]
Are there actually protocols and contingencies for the extreme hypothetical situation of if our government tries to establish a dictator? Is it decided who the military sides with? What happens if the ...
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Tense Naval Interactions (US/Iran)
The US Navy has a number of ships near Iran and seems to be "interacting" with the Iranian Navy on a regular basis. Reports typically describe scenarios in which a larger US ship is "swarmed" by ...
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Can the Commander in Chief order the Army Corp of Engineers to approve DAPL?
Construction of the Dakota Access Pipe Line (DAPL) was stopped on December 4, 2016 because the Secretary of the Army Corp of Engineers denied a required permit stating that alternate routes need to be ...
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Can members of the military resign if they do not want to follow an order without punishment?
If a solider were ordered to go to war and they thought the war was very bad for the country, could they just resign or would they still be punished for not following the order?