ABSTRACT
The principal legal regime governing the use of force by military members during an armed conflict is the law of armed conflict (LOAC), which dictates who and what the military can attack and what means and methods can be employed when doing so. These rules reflect a balance between the principles of military necessity and humanity. Potentially upsetting the balance afforded by LOAC is an apparent trend towards relying on self-defence under criminal law as a justification for the use of force during armed conflicts. There is some domestic State practice exempting military members from the application of ordinary criminal law to actions occurring in the context of armed conflict. However, there is no indication of whether that practice is purely a domestic policy issue or was believed to be a legal requirement and therefore, has the necessary opinio juris element for customary international law purposes.
