now a days i researching about new means and method of warfare with taking and observing the international experts opinions and analysis, as this world is achieving and inventing more effective and dangerous weapon and way of projectile these new weapon which becoming the serious threat to human life, not just human but these new full of technology weapon and methods are enough to destroy entire world .

1. PROHIBITED MEANS AND METHOD OF
WARFARE
Nazakat Ali Shaikh (Advocate)
Formar Legal Intern Of ICRC
LL.B(Hon)
E-Mail. Nazakat.ali887@gmail.com

2. Means & Method of Warfare
Means of warfare
Generally the ‘means of warfare’
describe that Weapons which are used in
armed conflict for the purpose of
conducting hostilities .
(gun, bomb, missile, rockets, etc. )
Method of warfare
Describe the way in which weapons
are used by parties in an armed
conflict

3. The right to choose means and methods
The right of parties to an armed conflict to choose their
means and methods of warfare is not unlimited
( ADP-I article 35)
 This is a basic tenet of international humanitarian law
(IHL).
IHL sets limits on armed violence in wartime in order to
prevent, or at least reduce, suffering. It is based on
norms as ancient as war itself, rooted in the traditions of
all societies

4. BASIC PRONCIPAL OF IHL RELATED TO
PROHIBITED WEAPONS
The principle of distinction (between
combatants and civilians)
The principle of military necessity
(unnecessary suffering by combatants)

5. The principle of distinction
(between combatants and civilians)
Art.48 : the Parties to the conflict shall at all times
distinguish between the civilian population and
combatants and between civilian objects and
military objectives
Art.51 (4) Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited.
AP-I
1977
AP-II
1977
 Article 4(1) of the draft Additional Protocol II submitted by the
ICRC provided: “
In order to ensure respect for the civilian population, the parties
to the conflict shall make a distinction between the civilian
population and combatants.”

6. According to the preamble to the 1997 Ottawa Convention on Anti-
Personnel Mines, States Parties based their agreement on various
principles of IHL, including “the principle that a distinction must be
made between civilians and combatants
Ottawa
Convention
Ottawa
Convention
According to the preamble to the 2008 Convention on Cluster
Munitions, States Parties based their agreement on the prohibition
of the use, development, production, stockpiling, retention or
transfer of cluster munitions on various principles of IHL, including
“the rule that the parties to a conflict shall at all times distinguish
between the civilian population and combatants

7. The principle of (unnecessary suffering by
combatants)
Art.35 (2): It is prohibited to employ weapons,
projectiles and material and methods of warfare of a
nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary
suffering.
AP-I
1977
“Employing weapons, projectiles and material and
methods of warfare which are of a nature to cause
superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering or which
are inherently indiscriminate…”
ICC
Statute,
Article 8
(2)(b)(xx)

8. PROHIBITED MEANS & METHOD OF
WARFARE INDICRIMINATERY WEAPONS .
weapon that cannot be directed at a military
objective or whose effects cannot be
limited as required by international
humanitarian law (IHL).
 INDICRIMINATERY ATTACKS .
(a) which are not directed at a specific military
objective;
(b) which employ a method or means of combat which
cannot be directed at a specific military objective.
ADP I ARTICLE
51(4)
RULE 12 OF CHIL
RULE 71 OF CHIL

9. Overview:
Biological Weapons (1972)
Chemical Weapons (1993)
CCW (Inhumane Weapons) (1980 – 2003)
Antipersonnel landmines (1997)
Expanding bullets (1899)
ENMOD (Environmental Modification)
(1977)

10. BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
 is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents
such as bacteria, viruses, (as a pathogenic
microorganism or a neurotoxin) with the intent to kill
or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act
of war

11. PROHIBITION OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPON
The 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibits the
use of biological weapons in war.
Geneva
Protocol. 1925
BWC . 1972
CIHL. Rule 73
• Prohibition the production ,development, stockpile of
chemical weapon .
. The use of biological weapons
is prohibited.
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,
Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological
(Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their
Destruction”.1972

12. CHEMICAL WEAPON
 A chemical weapon (CW) : any toxic chemical or its
precursor that can cause death, injury, temporary
incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical
action.

13. PROHIBITION OF CHEMICAL WEAPON
 The use of chemical weapons is prohibited.
Chemical Weapons Convention (1993)
CIHL rule
74
Geneva Protocol. 1925
 The Geneva Protocol banned on the use
of chemical weapon .
Art. I (1). Each State Party to this Convention
undertakes never under any circumstances:
(a) To develop, produce, otherwise acquire,
stockpile or retain chemical weapons, or
transfer, directly or indirectly, chemical weapons
to anyone;
(b) To use chemical weapons;

14. EXCEPTIONS : PURPOSES NOT
PROHIBITED UNDER THE CCW
 Art. II (9) (a) Industrial, agricultural, research, medical,
pharmaceutical or other peaceful purposes;
 Art. II (9) (b) Protective purposes, namely those purposes
directly related to protection against toxic chemicals and
to protection against chemical weapons;
 Art. II (9) (c) Military purposes not connected with the use
of chemical weapons and not dependent on the use of
the toxic properties of chemicals as a method of warfare;
 Art. II (9) (d) Law enforcement including domestic riot
control purposes.

15. ICJ, Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the
Threat of Use of Nuclear Weapons (1996)
“States must never make civilians the object of attack and must
consequently never use weapons that are incapable of distinguishing
between civilian and military targets.”
“..it is prohibited to cause unnecessary suffering to combatants..”
“In conformity with the aforementioned principles, humanitarian
law, at a very early stage, prohibited certain types of weapons,
either because of their indiscriminate effects on combatants and
civilians or because of the unnecessary suffering caused to
combatants, that is to say, a harm greater than that unavoidable to
achieve legitimate military objectives.”

16. Convention on Certain Conventional
Weapons (1980)
Convention on Certain Conventional
Weapons (CCW) -also called the UN
Convention on inhumane weapons.
Full title: “Convention on Prohibitions or
Restrictions on the Use of Certain
Conventional Weapons Which May be
Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or
to have Indiscriminate Effects”

17. CCW Protocols:
I: Non-Detectable Fragments (1980)
IV: Blinding Laser Weapons (1995)
II: Mines, Booby-traps etc. (1980 and 1996)
III: Incendiary Weapons (1980)
V: Explosive Remnants of War (2003)
PROHIBITED
WEAPONS
RESTRICTED
WEAPONS

18. Protocol I CCW
 Protocol on Non-Detectable Fragments
(1980)
 prohibits the use of any weapon the
primary effect of which is to injure by
fragments which are not detectable in
human body by X-rays-
 Reflects the prohibition against
unnecessary suffering and superfluous
injury in AP I, art.35 (2)
PROHIBITED
The reason
is that such fragments are
difficult to remove and cause
unnecessary suffering. The
protocol applies when the
"primary effect" is to injure by
non-detectable fragments and
does not prohibit all use of
e.g. plastic in weapons
design.

19. Protocol VI
On Blinding Laser Weapons
(1995)
Contains a prohibition of the
use of weapons that have a a
combat function to cause
permanent blindness.
Reflects the principle of
proportionality and military
necessity, art.35 (2), API

20. On Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines,
Booby-Traps and Other Devises as amended 3 May
1996 (1980 and 1996)
Much of its content consumed by the Mine Ban
Treaty of 1997
Reflects the distinction principle, AP I, art.48 and 51
PROHIBITED OR
RESTRICTED
WEAPONS
Protocol II of CCW

21. Protocol III of CCW
On Prohibitions or restrictions on
the Use of Incendiary Weapons
(1980)
Contains a definition of
Incendiary Weapons and
restricts the use of such
weapons
Reflects the principle of
distinction, AP I, art.48 and 51

22. Protocol III of CCW
On Explosive Remnants of War
(2003)
Contains an obligation to “take
feasible measures” to mark and
clear up minefields.
An attempt to reflect the principle of
distinction

23. Mine Ban Treaty (1997)
 Convention on the Prohibition of
the Use, Stockpiling, Production
and Transfer of Anti-Personnel
Mines and on their Destruction, 18
September 1997.
 Article 2 (1) "Anti-personnel mine"
means a mine designed to be
exploded by the presence,
proximity or contact of a person
and that will incapacitate, injure or
kill one or more persons.

24. General obligations
 Each State Party undertakes never
under any circumstances:
a) To use anti-personnel mines
b) To develop, produce, otherwise
acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer
to anyone, directly or indirectly, anti-
personnel mines;

c) To assist, encourage or induce, in
any way, anyone to engage in any
activity prohibited to a State Party
under this Convention.
Article 1 (1)
Destruction of stockpiles
and minefields
Article 1 (2)
Each State Party undertakes
to destroy or ensure the
destruction of all anti-
personnel mines in
accordance with the
provisions of this
Convention.

25. Anti vehicle mines are not prohibited
Article 2 (1) (Second
sentence)
Mines designed to be
detonated by the presence,
proximity or contact of a
vehicle as opposed to a
person, that are equipped with
anti-handling devices, are not
considered anti-personnel
mines as a result of being so
equipped.

26. DUM-DUM BULLETS
 Like the Declaration of Saint Petersburg
of 1868, the Hague Declaration (IV,3) of
1899 gives expression, with regard to a
particular bullet, to the customary rule
prohibiting the use of weapons which
inflict unnecessarily cruel wounds. The
Declaration is aimed at the Dum-Dum
bullet which is so called after the arsenal
near Calcutta where the bullet was first
made.
Declaration (IV,3) concerning Expanding Bullets. The Hague, 29 July 1899.

27. ENMOD (Environmental Modification)
(1977)
 “The Convention on the Prohibiting of Military
or other Hostile Use of Environmental
Modification Techniques”
 Came after the Vietnam war – made it
prohibited to use environmental modification as
means of warfare
 AP I art.35 (3) it is prohibited to employ
methods or means of warfare which are
intended, or may be expected, to cause
widespread, long-term and severe damage to
the natural environment.

28. BASIC REASON FOR PROHIBITION IN THE
LIGHT OF “IHL” PRINCIPLES
Exploding ammunition (Unnecessary suffering)
Expanding bullets (Unnecessary suffering)
Nuclear weapons (Distinction + environment)
Biological Weapons (Distinction)
Non-detectable fragments (Unnecessary suffering)
Incendiary weapons (Unnecessary suffering)
Blinding laser (Unnecessary suffering)
Chemical Weapons (Distinction)
Antipersonnel landmines (Distinction)