ABSTRACT
War zones have long ceased to be a novelty, but they remain a legal enigma. Although existing for almost a century, the issue remains unsettled, feeding prolonged legal speculation. The advent of economic sea warfare and the enfant terrible of naval warfare, namely, the submarine, came to alter drastically the notion of naval engagement, and the idea of a war zone was equally affected. War zones, beyond high-flown expectations or academic constructions, have after all assumed a definite content in practice. The war zone expedient was destined to gain definite prominence with the outbreak of the First World War. The illegality of declaring and enforcing a free-fire policy within a war zone should normally be seen as rather avowedly manifest. As of the mid-1950s, the question of the legality of war zones motivated arguments of all sorts ranging from blank condemnation to prompt endorsement.
