Military Necessity as an Exception in Law of Armed Conflicts

Military necessity is an important concept in both jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Jus ad bellum refers to the legal norms which restrict the circumstances in which states can resort to the use of force, while jus in bello refers to the placing of limits on the manner in which hostilities are conducted. In the past, it was often claimed that a belligerent party is at liberty to deviate from the law of international armed conflict when military necessity so demanded. This claim, which actually means that military necessity is superior to the law, is now completely defunct. At present, it is indisputable that if ‘necessity knows no law’, then there is no law. At present military necessity can only be considered as an exception to the humanitarian rules, but of course there is some requirements for this exception that military necessity cannot be achieved without them.