Disguising a Military Object as a Civilian Object: Prohibited Perfidy or Permissible Ruse of War?

Heller, Jon

Abstract

A number of scholars have claimed that it is inherently perfidious to kill an enemy soldier by disguising a military object as a civilian object. This essay disagrees, noting that conventional and customary IHL deem at least five military practices that involve making a military object appear to be a civilian object permissible ruses of war, not prohibited acts of perfidy: camouflage, ambush, cover, booby-traps, and landmines. The essay thus argues that attackers are free to disguise a military object as a civilian object as long as the civilian object in question does not receive special protection under international humanitarian law.

Citation

Heller, J. (2015). Disguising a Military Object as a Civilian Object: Prohibited Perfidy or Permissible Ruse of War?. International law studies, 91, 517-539

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Dec 11, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 16, 2021
• Journal: International Law Studies
• Print ISSN: 2154-6266
• Electronic ISSN: 2375-2831
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 91
• Pages: 517-539