Part II, 14 Maritime Warfare

Subject(s):

Human rights remedies — Armed conflict, international — Armed conflict, non-international — International crimes — Warfare, sea — Ships / vessels

This chapter addresses the law of armed conflict and international human rights law requirements relevant to naval operations. These include those conducted during international armed conflict, non-international armed conflict, and situations not constituting armed conflict. The chapter begins by distinguishing between merchant vessels, auxiliary vessels, and warships. It then discusses basic rules and target discrimination for enemy vessels exempt from attack, enemy warships, enemy merchant vessels, and neutral merchant vessels; methods and means of warfare (e.g. missiles and other projectiles, torpedoes, mines, blockades, and security zones); determination of enemy character of vessels; visit and search of merchant vessels; diversion for the purposes of visit and search; capture of enemy vessels and goods and neutral vessels and goods; protected persons, medical transports; and maritime security operations (e.g. anti-piracy operations, anti-drug trafficking operations, arms embargo interdictions, and weapons and human trafficking interdictions).