Is it legal to kill, or capture and confine, a person in war? This monograph addresses this heavily contested question from an interdisciplinary perspective, combining doctrinal, social-theoretical, and socio-legal approaches.

Dr Ka Lok Yip's academic research straddles international law, social theory, and empirical studies in armed conflict and post-conflict settings.
Dr Yip earned an interdisciplinary PhD in international law and international relations from the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. She also received a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Laws degree from King's College London. Besides academia, Dr Yip is an experienced international lawyer who has been actively involved in peace and justice initiatives in the Middle East.

• General Introduction


• Chapter 1: The Legality of the Use of Force against Individuals in War Description of a Difficulty


• I. Introduction


• II. Legal Norms Relevant to the Use of Force against Individuals in War


• III. Jurisprudence on the Relationship among Different Legal Norms Relevant to the Use of Force against Individuals in War


• IV. Key Approaches to the Relationship among Different Legal Norms Relevant to the Use of Force against Individuals in War


• V. Conclusion


• Chapter 2: Six Concepts of Legality and their Disambiguation


• I. Introduction


• II. Vertical Legality


• III. Horizontal Legality


• IV. De-conflation of Different Concepts of Legality


• V. Conclusion


• Chapter 3: Verticalizing and Horizontalizing the Notion of Legality under International Human Rights Law


• I. Introduction


• II. The Layered Nature of Legality under IHRL for the Right to Life and the Right to Liberty


• III. The Dimension of Vertical Legality under IHRL


• IV. The Dimension of Horizontal Legality under IHRL


• V. Conclusion


• Chapter 4: Subjectivising and Objectivising the Legal Techniques for Establishing the Relationship among International Legal Norms


• I. Introduction


• II. Justifications for and Limits to the Use of Legal Techniques


• III. Applying Lex Specialis to Establish the Relationship among Different Laws on the Use of Force against Individuals in War


• IV. Applying Systemic Integration to Establish the Relationship among Different Laws on the Use of Force against Individuals in War


• V. Conclusion


• Chapter 5: Ontologising the Laws on the Use of Force against Individuals in War


• I. Introduction


• II. Social Ontology


• III. The Ontological Presuppositions of LOAC and IHRL


• IV. Three Patterns of Ontological Conflation


• V. Conclusion


• Chapter 6: Agents and Structures in the Field of Via Dolorosa


• I. Introduction


• II. Effects of Social Structures on the Practices of the Use of Force against Individuals in War


• III. Effects of Human Agency on the Practices of the Use of Force in Armed Conflict and Occupation


• IV. Convergence of Laws, Conflation of Ontologies


• V. Conclusion


• General Conclusion


• Theoretical Implications


• Methodological implications


• Practical Implications