International Law Day on legal aspects of international military operations (Jan 30, 2003)

On January 30, 2003 the Baltic Defence College in close co-operation with the Estonian Ministry of Defence held a seminar on International Law. This Seminar focused on the legal aspects of international military operations.

The day started with a presentation by COL Mary Perry (US), Legal Adviser to the International Military Staff in NATO, about the legal basis for engaging in international military operations. Several topics that were addressed included the origin of the authority to enter another state with regard to peace making, peacekeeping and peace enforcement, how this authority is translated into a mandate and military-technical agreements, and the relation to Regional Arrangements and to Terrorism.

This was followed by a presentation by Mrs. Mette P. Hartov (Denmark), Danish Adviser to the Estonian Ministry of Defence, on the legal acquis of NATO and the Status of Forces Agreements. To this end she discussed the basic treaties and the most important provisions of the NATO and PfP SOFA's, additionally she explained some of the relevant legal principles.

Mr. Peter Otken (Denmark), Special Assistant to The Judge Advocate General elaborated on the Rules of Engagement and the Use of Force in international military operations other than war. Mr. Otken shared some of his experiences in drafting and interpreting rules of engagement. He also elaborated on the teaching involving rules of engagement and on the commander's responsibility regarding these rules.

In the afternoon the day continued with an elaboration on current issues of national and international jurisdiction over the forces of sending states presented by Dr. Dieter Fleck (Germany), Director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Defence. Dr Fleck linked the matter of jurisdiction to the German experience in dealing with jurisdictional questions.

Dr. Jens Jokisch (Germany) of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added to the subject of jurisdiction some comments on the newly established International Criminal Court, including on the current status of the Court, its scope of application, and the challenges ahead.

COL Richard Pregent (US), legal adviser at NATO's regional command AFSOUTH, held the closing presentation of the day, which dealt with the role of lawyers in international operations and especially the lessons learned from deploying forces to the Balkans. Besides analyzing the legal issues involved, COL Pregent shared his extensive experience in the Balkans with the audience.

This first International Law Seminar proved to be an extremely interesting and fruitful event. It contributed to a better understanding of the different legal issues involved in international military operations, and their important contribution to smoother and safer military co-operation between states. The College is grateful to Mrs. Mette Hartov, who was the prime organizer of the seminar.