Arbitrating Armed Conflict: Decisions of the Israel - Lebanon Monitoring Group
In Arbitrating Armed Conflict Adir Waldman examines a previously unstudied, yet critically important, experiment in international law. In April of 1996, Israel and Lebanon reached an extraordinary written Agreement: armed conflict between the Israel Defense Forces and the Lebanese terrorist militia Hesbollah would continue, but both forces would be bound to an explicitly agreed upon set of rules intended to protect civilians. To support this unique international pact, the parties established an equally unique arbitral institution—the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group—to hear and resolve complaints regarding breaches of the Agreement. Through a series of confidential interviews with highly informed participants, Mr. Waldman casts the first light on this exceptional system of international and military law. In addition, this volume presents a complete collection of decisions rendered by the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group, a true gold mine of previously unpublished material, as well as a highly confidential internal memorandum obtained by the author. In a day and age of seemingly unbounded conflict, the lessons of this system, with both its pitfalls and its virtues, will prove crucial, and this book an indispensable guidebook to that system. Accessible to the lay reader, this book is sure to be of interest to a wide audience — scholars, practitioners of international and military law, students of political science and foreign relations, observers of the Middle East and the wider public in general.
Introduction & Map
Chapter 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Chapter 2. THE APRIL AGREEMENT
Chapter 3. ILMG PUBLIC STATEMENTS: RECORDING A JURISPRUDENCE
Chapter 4. LEGAL REALISM: THE MUTUAL CORRELATION BETWEEN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS AND THE ILMG PROCEEDINGS
Chapter 5. UNDERSTANDING THE APRIL AGREEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
Appendices
Appendix A. PROTOCOL ON THE WORKING RULES FOR THE ISRAEL-LEBANON MONITORING GROUP
Appendix B. SAMPLE INTERNAL REPORT OF THE ISRAEL-LEBANON MONITORING GROUP
Appendix C. PUBLIC STATEMENTS OF THE ISRAEL-LEBANON MONITORING GROUP
Adir Waldman is a lawyer with Freshfields based in Tel Aviv. He has written widely on issues of international law, political science and democracy. In addition, Mr. Waldman has conducted research and worked on related projects in various countries, including Rwanda, India, Denmark, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Mr. Waldman is a graduate of the Yale Law School (JD) and Yale College (BA). He is also a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces.
"Thomas Schelling hypothesized that even belligerents may act rationally to structure their conflict by informal or tacit arrangements. Adir Waldman demonstrates, in this remarkable study, that an agreement between Lebanese irregular forces and the Israeli government, which was concluded in 1996, permitted serious military conflict to continue between the Israeli Defense Force and Hesbollah, but established explicit rules with respect to who could be a target. A special commission of representatives of both governments was established and for the next four years, it met 103 times and resolved 607 complaints of violations of the Agreement. All this, while the two sides continued to engage in a very hot, but limited conflict. This important book shows that a social organization like war can be regulated, even among the fiercest of enemies."
- W. Michael Reisman is Myres S. McDougal Professor of International Law at Yale University Law School. Since 2000 he has served as President of the Arbitration Tribunal for the Bank of International Settlements. He is a member of the UN Boundary Commission for Eritrea and Ethiopia. He is the author of numerous publications and is Editor in Chief of the American Journal of International Law.
"Adir Waldman tells the fascinating story of how 'soft law' limited conflict between Lebanon and Israel from 1996 to 2000. His analysis draws valuable lessons relevant in the Middle East and elsewhere when true peace is impossible but neither side wants total war."
- Lance Liebman, William S. Beinecke Professor of Law and Director, American Law Institute (ALI); former Director, Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law, Columbia University School of Law.
"A well researched and superbly written study of a fascinating legal mechanism. Waldman's scholarship fills a gaping hole in our understanding of this remarkable legal arrangement. His analysis of these hitherto unpublished materials sheds light on the complexity of the conflict in southern Lebanon and the unique involvement of outside parties in attempting to contain the fighting."
- Dorian Barag, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
"Adir Waldman's account of the April Agreement and the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group tells the fascinating story of a little known and less understood exercise in international law and diplomacy. The book is rich with insights into this unusual agreement's efficacy, as law, in constraining the conduct of belligerents. It makes a persuasive case for the importance of understanding this particular practical arrangement for protecting civilians caught in the midst of a complicated violent conflict."
- Jim Silk, Executive Director, Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights, Yale Law School
"As the world stands helpless in the face of the collapse of normal rules governing the conduct of combatants, it is encouraging to read a report, together with opinions, of a unique entity, The Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group, which was established in 1996 by the governments of Israel and Lebanon to govern the conduct of sovereign states engaged in physical combat. This unique experience in international law provides some glimmer of hope that enemies can still engage in combat subject to rules that each side is prepared to follow."
- Norman Redlich, Former Dean and Judge Edward Weinfeld Professor of Law Emeritus, New York University School of Law; Of counsel, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
"Mr. Waldman has uncovered a trove of decisions and interactions under the auspices of a little-known institution, the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group which, during the brief period of its existence, provided useful insights for international lawyers interested in conflict management."
- Thomas M. Franck, Murray and Ida Becker Professor of Law and former Director, Center for International Studies, New York University School of Law.
Adir Waldman is a lawyer with Freshfields based in Tel Aviv. He has written widely on issues of international law, political science and democracy. In addition, Mr. Waldman has conducted research and worked on related projects in various countries, including Rwanda, India, Denmark, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Mr. Waldman is a graduate of the Yale Law School (JD) and Yale College (BA). He is also a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces.
"Thomas Schelling hypothesized that even belligerents may act rationally to structure their conflict by informal or tacit arrangements. Adir Waldman demonstrates, in this remarkable study, that an agreement between Lebanese irregular forces and the Israeli government, which was concluded in 1996, permitted serious military conflict to continue between the Israeli Defense Force and Hesbollah, but established explicit rules with respect to who could be a target. A special commission of representatives of both governments was established and for the next four years, it met 103 times and resolved 607 complaints of violations of the Agreement. All this, while the two sides continued to engage in a very hot, but limited conflict. This important book shows that a social organization like war can be regulated, even among the fiercest of enemies."
- W. Michael Reisman is Myres S. McDougal Professor of International Law at Yale University Law School. Since 2000 he has served as President of the Arbitration Tribunal for the Bank of International Settlements. He is a member of the UN Boundary Commission for Eritrea and Ethiopia. He is the author of numerous publications and is Editor in Chief of the American Journal of International Law.
"Adir Waldman tells the fascinating story of how 'soft law' limited conflict between Lebanon and Israel from 1996 to 2000. His analysis draws valuable lessons relevant in the Middle East and elsewhere when true peace is impossible but neither side wants total war."
- Lance Liebman, William S. Beinecke Professor of Law and Director, American Law Institute (ALI); former Director, Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law, Columbia University School of Law.
"A well researched and superbly written study of a fascinating legal mechanism. Waldman's scholarship fills a gaping hole in our understanding of this remarkable legal arrangement. His analysis of these hitherto unpublished materials sheds light on the complexity of the conflict in southern Lebanon and the unique involvement of outside parties in attempting to contain the fighting."
- Dorian Barag, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
"Adir Waldman's account of the April Agreement and the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group tells the fascinating story of a little known and less understood exercise in international law and diplomacy. The book is rich with insights into this unusual agreement's efficacy, as law, in constraining the conduct of belligerents. It makes a persuasive case for the importance of understanding this particular practical arrangement for protecting civilians caught in the midst of a complicated violent conflict."
- Jim Silk, Executive Director, Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights, Yale Law School
"As the world stands helpless in the face of the collapse of normal rules governing the conduct of combatants, it is encouraging to read a report, together with opinions, of a unique entity, The Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group, which was established in 1996 by the governments of Israel and Lebanon to govern the conduct of sovereign states engaged in physical combat. This unique experience in international law provides some glimmer of hope that enemies can still engage in combat subject to rules that each side is prepared to follow."
- Norman Redlich, Former Dean and Judge Edward Weinfeld Professor of Law Emeritus, New York University School of Law; Of counsel, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
"Mr. Waldman has uncovered a trove of decisions and interactions under the auspices of a little-known institution, the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group which, during the brief period of its existence, provided useful insights for international lawyers interested in conflict management."
- Thomas M. Franck, Murray and Ida Becker Professor of Law and former Director, Center for International Studies, New York University School of Law.
Introduction & Map
Chapter 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Chapter 2. THE APRIL AGREEMENT
Chapter 3. ILMG PUBLIC STATEMENTS: RECORDING A JURISPRUDENCE
Chapter 4. LEGAL REALISM: THE MUTUAL CORRELATION BETWEEN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS AND THE ILMG PROCEEDINGS
Chapter 5. UNDERSTANDING THE APRIL AGREEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
Appendices
Appendix A. PROTOCOL ON THE WORKING RULES FOR THE ISRAEL-LEBANON MONITORING GROUP
Appendix B. SAMPLE INTERNAL REPORT OF THE ISRAEL-LEBANON MONITORING GROUP
Appendix C. PUBLIC STATEMENTS OF THE ISRAEL-LEBANON MONITORING GROUP