Publications

Contents
The Use of Chemical Weapons against the Syrian People:  Does It Justify Forceful Intervention? / Pnina Sharvit Baruch and Brandon Weinstock
Reciprocity in the War against Terrorism? / Robbie Sabel
Targeted Killings during High and Low Intensity Warfare / Ido Rosenzweig
Lawyers in Warfare: Who Needs Them? / Ziv Bohrer
Applying International Humanitarian Law to Cyber Warfare / Eitan Diamond
The “Dubai Clash” at WCIT-12: Freedom of Information, Access Rights, and Cyber Security / Deborah Housen-Couriel
Protecting Offshore Drilling Platforms against Terrorist Attacks: The Legal Perspective / Assaf Harel
The State Secrets Privilege: From Evidentiary Privilege to Executive Immunity in the United States / Galit Raguan

Preface

When the cannons roar, the muses are silent. But even under the roar of the cannons, the Military Commander must uphold the law. The strength of society in withstanding its enemies is based on its recognition that it is fighting for values that are worth defending. The rule of law is one of those values.

Israel High Court of Justice Case 168/91 Morcos v. Minister of Defense

These words, written more than two decades ago by Justice Aharon Barak, former President of the Israeli Supreme Court, underscore the modern reality that law and national security do not detract from each other but rather complement one another in crucial ways. In democratic societies these concepts have become intertwined.

Legal aspects play an increasingly important role in the international arena and are influence inter-state relations, as well as the way states act or are expected to behave. A state that regards itself as a member of the international community must therefore address the legal aspects of its national security policies in order to be prepared for the legal discourse that penetrates the international political sphere. Understanding the legal context will also enable the state to exhaust potential legal measures available to it in the defense of its national security interests.

This compilation of articles seeks to illustrate various aspects of the interface between law and national security in both the domestic and international arenas. Because national security is a broad concept, encompassing many dimensions, the law dealing with security also covers a broad range of topics, as indicated by the selection of articles in this volume.

The publication opens with an article discussing one aspect of the law of armed conflict, namely, the legality of the use of force between states, known as  jus ad bellum. Authors, Pnina Sharvit Baruch and Brandon Weinstock focus specifically on the legality of the decision to use force against Syria, following the use of chemical weapons against civilians by the Assad regime during the ongoing civil war.

The other main aspect of the law of armed conflict pertains to the legal rules of warfare, namely the Jjus in Bellobello, and is addressed in the next three articles in the volume. Robbie Sabel discusses situations where one side to the armed conflict does not comply with the applicable legal framework, focusing specifically on conflicts between a state and a non-state actor. Ido Rosenzweig’s article discusses the legal dilemmas regarding the practice of targeted killing in high and low intensity warfare. Ziv Bohrer then discusses the role of the military legal advisor in formulating operative decisions in wartime.

In recent years, cyberspace has emerged not only as the next frontier of technological advancement but also as a growing potential theater of conflict. Awareness of the dangers inherent to in this theater is increasing, which naturally gives rise to complex legal questions. Eitan Diamond’s article discusses the application of the law of armed conflict to cyber warfare, while Deborah Housen-Couriel analyzes the legal aspects of regulating governance of the internet and the consequences of such regulation as it pertains to security in cyberspace.

Another pressing topic, with far- reaching economic consequences, is the protection of offshore oil and gas drilling platforms in the open sea. In his article, Assaf Harel examines the legal framework applicable to the protection of such platforms in search of adequate defensive measures to possible threats, particularly from terrorist attacks.

An important facet of the inter-relation between law and security is the need for courts to strike a balance between the rights of litigants and legitimate security concerns. Galit Raguan’s article illustrates one of the increasingly pressing aspects of this subject: the challenge of dealing with evidence that has been classified by the state for reasons of national security.

The range of subjects covered by the articles compiled here is evidence of the wide interplay between law and security: legal decisions are influenced by national security concerns, and security decisions are affected by legal considerations. Decision makers ought to formulate policies that take all relevant aspects into account. The law is one of those aspects, and developing an understanding of the legal framework underlying security issues is therefore essential. Failure to address the legal dimension is liable to lead to decisions that might have negative political and security repercussions, just as ignoring essential operational aspects would prejudice national security.

It is our hope that the multifaceted examination of the relationship between law and national security presented here, as it applies to states in the domestic and international arenas, will serve to inform our readers about both the specific issues discussed in the articles themselves and, more generally, the way that these two fields have become integrated.

Special thanks go to Adam H. J. Broza for his extensive assistance in editing this volume and helping prepare it for publication.

Pnina Sharvit Baruch and Anat Kurz

June 2014