ABSTRACT
To many international lawyers and army officers, the terms "law of war" and "military necessity" are mutually incompatible. One of the most important concepts in the law of war is that of military necessity, but there is no concept more elusive. International law, and its component part, the law of war, is part of the domestic law of the United States, and its rules apply to war from whatever cause war originates. The doctrine practically is that if a belligerent deems it necessary for the success of its military operations to violate a rule of international law, the violation is permissible. After the war, Marshal von Leeb was charged with a violation of the law of war for having issued an unlawful order. The Constitution of the United States provides that treaties are the supreme law of the land and that Congress shall have the power to define and punish offenses against the law of nations.
