From St Petersburg to Rome: Understanding the Evolution of the Modern Laws of War

Despite arguments to the contrary, the state continues to defiantly resist efforts to “extend the reach of legality”, especially as it pertains to attempts to bound the use of organised violence within international legal mechanisms. Yet this defiance is something of a paradox, where the evolution of the modern laws of war are characterised by a contradictory pattern. By focusing on important junctures in the short evolution of the codification of the laws of war it will be argued here that the writings of Swiss jurist Emer de Vattel provide the best insights into this contradictory development.