Humanizing the Laws of War Selected Writings of Richard Baxter

Richard Baxter was Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and a Judge of the International Court of Justice. At various times, Judge Baxter served as consultant to the Department of State, Department of Defense, the Human Rights Division and the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Law from 1970 to 1978, and prior to that he was for many years on its Board of Editors. He served as the President of the American Society of International Law from 1974 to 1976 and remained an honorary Vice-President of the Society until his death. During the year 1971-1972, Judge Baxter was Counselor on International Law, at the Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State. He was a member of the United States Delegations to the First and Second Conferences of Government Experts on International Humanitarian Law. He died in 1980.

Detlev Vagts is Emeritus Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School. His primary area of focus is international law, particularly international business transactions, developing countries and transnational investment, international corporate law, comparative law, military conflicts between countries, and trans-border issues. He worked for the U.S. Department of State from 1976 to 1977. He served as Editor-in-Chief (with Theodor Meron) of the American Journal of International Law from 1993 to 1998.

Since his election to the Tribunal by the U.N. General Assembly in March 2001, Judge Meron has served on the Appeals Chamber, which hears appeals from both the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Between March 2003 and November 2005 he served as President of the Tribunal, and was re-elected to this position in October 2011. A leading scholar of international humanitarian law, human rights, and international criminal law, Judge Meron wrote some of the books and articles that helped build the legal foundations for international criminal tribunals. A Shakespeare enthusiast, he has also written articles and books on the laws of war and chivalry in Shakespeare's historical plays.

Judge Stephen Schwebel was a Judge of the International Court of Justice from 1981-2000, serving as President of the Court from 1997-2000. He is currently an independent arbitrator and counsel in Washington, DC, and a door tenant of Essex Court Chambers in London.

Charles Keever is a retired Colonel of the United States Marine Corps and a former student of Professor Baxter's.

1. Introduction, Detlev Vagts
2. Bibliographical Note, Judge Stephen Schwebel
3. The Duty of Obedience to the Belligerent Occupant
4. So-Called 'Unprivileged Belligerency': Spies, Guerrillas, and Saboteurs
5. The Municipal and International Law Basis of Jurisdiction Over War Crimes
6. Constitutional Forms and Some Legal Problems of International Military Command
7. The Geneva Conventions of 1949
8. The First Modern Codification of the Law of War: Francis Lieber and General Order No. 100.
9. Forces for Compliance with the Law of War
10. Legal Aspects of the Geneva Protocol of 1925, with Thomas Buergenthal
11. Legal Aspects of Arms Control Measures Concerning the Missile Carrying Submarines and Anti-Submarine Warfare
12. Law of War
13. Perspective - The Evolving Laws of Armed Conflicts
14. Ius in Bello Interno: the Present and Future Law
15. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Wars of National Liberation
16. Humanitarian Law or Humanitarian Politics? The 1974 Diplomatic Conference on Humanitarian Law
17. Armistices and Other Forms of Suspensions of Hostilities
18. Human Rights in War
19. Modernizing the Law of War