ABSTRACT
From medieval times on and, later, from Grotius to 1914, the laws of war were studied and occupied a prominent place in the literature and teaching of international law as well as in the practice of states. That the laws of war are actually in a chaotic state and urgently need revision, is a fact which cannot be challenged. The First World War had shown abundantly the insufficiency of the laws of war in force. While statesmen and scholars indulged in the neglect of the laws of war, total war was studied by strategists, and made its full appearance in the Second World War Total war as waged during the Second World War saw a continued violation of the laws of war by all belligerents. The laws of war are, at the present time, in a chaotic status. This chaotic status concerns not only single problems, but the very foundations of the laws of war.
