ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses two areas of law relevant to assessing whether accountability measures are necessary for targeting operations. The first area is that the duty to investigate. The obligation to investigate allegations of violations tests international law, particularly in relation to a practice like targeted killing. The law on this question is underdeveloped and the treaty provisions lack clear guidance. The second area is the principle of proportionality and the difficulties that emerge from the inherently subjective nature of proportionality assessments. It discusses whether one way of complimenting the principle is through an ex post facto investigation to enhance the protection of civilians during armed conflict. The norms of both international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) are relevant to the analysis undertaken in this chapter. IHL is one of the normative frameworks relevant to the duty to investigate, particularly in the context of targeted killing operations occurring during an armed conflict.
