第二次世界大战后武力使用规范的演进

在国际法体系中,武装冲突法可谓编纂得最为完备的一个分支。经过数百年的积累和铺垫,第二次世界大战后武力使用规范逐渐发展成为完整的规范体系并呈现出四大特征:即为了适应国际关系的新变化武装冲突法扩大了适用范围;使用核武器是否合法成为国际法的重要问题;出现了在武装冲突中"反向"使用武力以达到实现和平目的的新方式——联合国维持和平行动以及在武装冲突中出现了大量作为作战手段而使用的性暴力行为等。然而进入21世纪以后,武装冲突的形态与样式均发生了重大变化,一方面,以无人机、自主作战机器人、纳米生物武器和网络战为代表的新型作战手段方法层出不穷;另一方面,非国家行为体在武装冲突中使用武力的情况有所增加,更出现了私人军事安保公司等法律地位在国际法上尚处于空白的交战主体。以朝核危机为标志,核武器对于国际和平与安全的巨大的潜在甚至是现实的威胁再次凸显,迅速成为国际政治和国际法中的热点核心议题。值得注意的是,即使武装冲突法的基本原则依然相对稳定,但是不断出现的新作战手段和方法,仍然给国际法和国际安全提出了一系列亟须应对的新挑战。

The Use of Force: Evolving Norms since World War II

In the family of international law, the law of armed conflicts could be regarded as the best codified branch. Having evolved for several hundred years, especially after the Second World War, it has developed into an integrated normative system. However, it should be noted that both the shape and formality of warfare have undergone remarkable changes since the commencement of the 21st century, marked by consecutive emergence of innovative means and methods of warfare, such as unmanned drones, autonomous combat robots, weapons of nanotechnology, and cyber warfare. On the other hand, however, there are more and more cases of use of violent force in armed conflicts by non-state actors, e.g. private military security companies, whose legal status remains unclear under international law. In violation of relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions, DPRK claimed a success in its hydrogen bomb test, which led to a furious response from the entire international community. At the same time, great efforts are made by the international community to keep the Korean peninsula denuclearized. This incident denotes a huge potential or even imminent nuclear threat to international peace and security and constitutes a hot core issue in international politics as well as international law. It is worthwhile to note that even if the fundamental principles of laws regarding armed conflicts are relatively consistent and stable, ever-emerging new means and methods of warfare have imposed challenges on international law and international security. In this grand international scenario, it is of both doctrinal and practical significance to analyze the historical origin and chronological evolution of those norms regarding the use of force in armed conflicts in general and to anticipate its possible tendency in particular.