A History of the Laws of War, Volume 3: The Customs and Laws of War with Regards to Arms Control

181 Pages·2011·3.281 MB·English

by  Alexander Gillespie

A History of tHe LAws of wAr: VoLume 3: weApons
this unique work of reference traces the origins of the modern laws of warfare from
the earliest times to the present day. relying on written records from as far back as
2400 BCe, and using sources ranging from the Bible to security Council resolutions,
the author pieces together the history of a subject which is almost as old as civilisation
itself. the author shows that as long as humanity has been waging wars it has also been
trying to find ways of legitimising different forms of combatants and ascribing rules to
them, protecting civilians who are either inadvertently or intentionally caught up
between them, and controlling the use of particular classes of weapons that may be
used in times of conflict. thus it is that this work is divided into three substantial parts:
Volume 1 on the laws affecting combatants and captives; Volume 2 on civilians; and
Volume 3 on the law of arms control.
this third volume deals with the question of the control of weaponry, from the Bronze
Age to the nuclear Age. in doing so, it divides into two parts: namely, conventional
weapons and weapons of mass Destruction. the examination of the history of arms
control of conventional weapons begins with the control of weaponry so that one side
could achieve a military advantage over another. this pattern, which only began to
change centuries after the advent of gunpowder, was later supplemented by ideals to
control types of conventional weapons because their impacts upon opposing combatants
were inhumane. By the late twentieth century, the concerns over inhumane conventional
weapons were being supplemented by concerns over indiscriminate conventional
weapons.
the focus on indiscriminate weapons, when applied on a mass scale, is the core of
the second part of the volume. weapons of mass Destruction are primarily weapons
of the latter half of the twentieth century. Although both chemical and biological war-
fare have long historical lineages, it was only after the second world war that techno-
logical developments meant that these weapons could be applied to cause large-scale
damage to non-combatants. nuclear weapons are a truly modern invention. Despite
being the newest weapon of mass Destruction, they are also the weapon of which
most international attention has been applied, although the frameworks by which they
were contained in the last century, appear inadequate to address the needs of current
times.
As a work of reference this set of three books is unrivalled, and will be of immense
benefit to scholars and practitioners researching and advising on the laws of warfare.
it also tells a story which throws fascinating new light on the history of international
law and on the history of warfare itself.

A History of the Laws of war:
Volume 3
the Customs and Laws of war with
regards to Arms Control
Alexander Gillespie
oXforD AnD portLAnD, oreGon
2011
published in the united Kingdom by Hart publishing Ltd
16C worcester place, oxford, oX1 2Jw
telephone: [phone]
fax: [phone]
e-mail: [email protected]
website: http://www.hartpub.co.uk
published in north America (us and Canada) by
Hart publishing
c/o international specialized Book services
920 ne 58th Avenue, suite 300
portland, or 97213-3786
usA
tel: [phone] or toll-free: (1) 800 944 6190
fax: [phone]
e-mail: [email protected]
website: http://www.isbs.com
© Alexander Gillespie 2011
Alexander Gillespie has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and patents Act 1988,
to be identified as the authors of this work.
All rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of Hart publishing,
or as expressly permitted by law or under the terms agreed with the appropriate reprographic rights
organisation. enquiries concerning reproduction which may not be covered by the above should be
addressed to Hart publishing Ltd at the address above.
British Library Cataloguing in publication Data
Data Available
isBn: 978-1-84946-206-8
typeset by Hope services, Abingdon
printed and bound in Great Britain by
tJ international Ltd, padstow, Cornwall
this book is for my children, Jamie, Conor and renée with the wish
that they never have to endure any of the horrors i have recorded
in these pages.

Table of Contents
Treaties and Sources ix
Introduction 1
1. the Conversation on sunday Afternoon 1
2. progress, utopia and warfare 1
3. facts 3
4. progress in the Area of Arms Control 4
I. Conventional Weapons 7
1. the Beginnings of Arms Control 7
2. Gunpowder 13
3. trade and Control 16
4. superfluous injury 22
5. indiscriminate injury 25
6. After the first world war 29
A. forced Arms reductions 29
B. the naval Conventions 30
C. Controlling the Arms trade 35
D. indiscriminate Conventional weapons: sea mines 41
7. After the second world war 42
A. the spread of Conventional weapons 43
8. After the Cold war 50
A. superfluous injury 50
B. indiscriminate injury 52
(i) seamines 52
(ii) Additional protocol i and the 1980 Convention on prohibitions
or restrictions on the use of Certain Conventional weapons 53
(iii) explosive remnants 55
(iv) Landmines 58
(v) Cluster-bombs 64
C. the trade in Conventional weapons 68
(i) europe 69
(ii) plastic explosives, mAnpADs and the wassenaar Arrangement 71
(iii) Arms embargoes 73
(iv) Between preventing illegal or irresponsible trade in small Arms 78
II. Weapons of Mass Destruction 85
1. Chemical weapons 85
A. poison and other Chemicals in the History of warfare 87
B. the Convention on Chemical weapons 95
viii Table of Contents
2. Biological weapons 100
A. Disease and the History of warfare 102
B. Between the 1925 protocol and the 1972 Convention 105
C. the 1972 Convention on the prohibition of the Development,
production and stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and
toxin weapons and their Destruction 110
3. nuclear weapons 116
A. Controlling nuclear weapons During the Cold war 124
B. the end of the Cold war 137
C. the new Conventional threats 144
D. the new unconventional threats 150
Conclusion 154
1. Has the stockpiling and flow of weaponry to places where it
inflames Conflict improved? 154
2. Are weapons which Cause unnecessary pain restricted? 155
3. what are the Customs and practices with indiscriminate weapons? 156
Index 159
Treaties and Sources
the 188 BCe peace treaty with Antiochus iii of syria in Lewis, n and reinhold, m
(eds) Roman Civilisation: Records, Vol 1 (Columbia, Columbia university press).
the 196 BCe peace treaty with philip V in Lewis, n and reinhold m (eds) Roman
Civilisation: Records, Vol 1 (Columbia, Columbia university press) 174.
the 201 BCe peace treaty with Carthage in Lewis, n, Roman Civilisation: Records, Vol
1, (Columbia, Columbia university press) 171.
the 1856 Convention Limiting naval force in the Black sea in Albrecht-Carrie, r
(ed) (1968) The Concert of Europe (nyC, Harper) 190.
the 1899 Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of war on Land (section ii).
full texts of the Hague Conventions can be found at yale Law school ‘the Avalon
project’ http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/lawwar.asp.
the 1907 Convention on Contact mines. full text of the Convention on Contact
mines can be found at yale Law school ‘the Avalon project’ http://avalon.law.
yale.edu/subject_menus/lawwar.asp.
the 1907 Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of war on Land (section iV).
full texts of the Hague Conventions can be found at yale Law school ‘the Avalon
project’ http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/lawwar.asp.
the 1918 treaty of Brest-Litovsk in Axelrod, A (ed) (2001) Encyclopedia of Historical
Treaties and Alliances, Vol i (nyC, facts on file) 419.
the 1919 treaty of Versailles in Axelrod, A (ed) (2001) Encyclopedia of Historical Treaties
and Alliances, Vol i (nyC, facts on file) 425.
the 1919 Convention on the Control of trade in Arms and Ammunition in Hudson,
r (ed) (1950) International Legislation: 1919–1921, Vol i (ny, oceana) 322.
the 1920 treaty of sevres in Lawrence, m (ed) (2007) The Treaties of Peace, 1919–1923,
Vol ii (ny, Carnegie endowment for international peace) 789–945.
the 1922 treaty of washington. full text of the treaty of washington can be found
at yale Law school ‘the Avalon project’ http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_
menus/lawwar.asp.
the 1925 Convention on the supervision of international trade in Arms and
Ammunition and in the implements of war in Hudson, r (ed) (1950) International
Legislation: 1925–1927, Vol iii (ny, oceana) 1634.
the 1933 Agreement on understanding and Cooperation in Keith, K (ed) International
Affairs: 1918–1937, Vol i (oxford, oxford university press) 232.
the 1935 Anglo/German naval Agreement (1935) no 22 British treaty series.
the 1936 treaty for the Limitation of naval Armament usts, no 919 in Hudson, r
(ed) (1950) International Legislation: 1935–1937, Vol Vii (ny, oceana) 262.
the 1937 Convention for the prevention and punishment of terrorism in Hudson, r
(ed) (1950) International Legislation: 1935–1937, Vol Vii (ny, oceana) 862.
the 1938 Draft Convention for the protection of Civilian populations Against new
engines of war, Amsterdam in schindler, D and toman, J (1988) The Laws of Armed
Conflicts (the netherlands, martinus nihjoff) 223–29.