Military necessity

Military necessity permits measures needed to achieve a legitimate military objective, provided they are not otherwise prohibited by international law. It does not authorize unlimited force or excuse violations of humanitarian protections.

Military objective: An object that, by its nature, location, purpose, or use, effectively contributes to military action and whose destruction offers a definite military advantage. Military necessity permits measures directed toward achieving legitimate military objectives.
Military advantage: A concrete benefit expected from military action, assessed in relation to the circumstances of an armed conflict. The claimed advantage helps determine whether a measure serves a legitimate military purpose.
Lieber Code: An 1863 Union Army code regulating conduct during the American Civil War and influencing later laws of war. Its provisions helped articulate military necessity while forbidding cruelty and wanton destruction.
Nuremberg Einsatzgruppen trial: A 1947–1948 United States military tribunal trial of senior German officials responsible for mass killings in occupied Eastern Europe. The tribunal rejected military necessity as a defense for murdering civilians.
International humanitarian law: The body of international law governing armed conflict and limiting its effects. Military necessity operates within this legal framework, not outside it.
Hors de combat: A person who is in the power of an adverse party, clearly surrenders, or is incapacitated and refrains from hostile acts. Necessity cannot justify attacking people who are protected from attack as hors de combat.
Francis Lieber: A Prussian-American jurist and political philosopher who drafted the 1863 instructions for the Union Army known as the Lieber Code. His code gave influential form to the principle's early modern formulation.
Hostages trial: A 1947–1948 United States military tribunal trial concerning German occupation policies and crimes in the Balkans. Its judgment addressed claims of military necessity for reprisals and hostage-taking.
Distinction (international humanitarian law): The rule requiring parties to armed conflict to distinguish civilians and civilian objects from combatants and military objectives. Necessity cannot make civilians or civilian objects lawful targets.
Precautions in attack: The duties to take feasible steps to verify targets and reduce civilian harm when planning and conducting attacks. Feasible precautions help ensure that necessary action does not cause avoidable harm.

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