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Proportionality (law)
 
 
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Proportionality is a principle in law which although related covers two distinct concepts. Within municipal (domestic) law
Municipal law

Municipal law is the national, domestic, or internal law of a Sovereignty state defined in opposition to international law. Municipal law includes not only law at the national level, but law at the state, provincial, territorial, regional or local levels....
 it is used to convey the idea that the punishment of an offender should fit the crime. Under international humanitarian law
International humanitarian law

International humanitarian law , often referred to as the laws of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict, is the legal corpus "comprised of the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions , as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law." It defines the conduct and responsib...
 governing the legal use of force
Laws of war

The law of war is law concerning acceptable practices relating to war. In cases other than civil wars, it is considered an aspect of public international law ....
 in an armed conflict, proportionality and distinction
Distinction (law)

Distinction is a principle under international humanitarian law governing the laws of war in an armed conflict. Belligerents must distinguish between combatants and civilians....
 are important factors in assessing military necessity
Military necessity

Military necessity, along with distinction , and proportionality , are three important principles of international humanitarian law governing the laws of war in an armed conflict....
. The foundations of proportionality has been taken from German Law.

the principle of proportional justice is used to describe the idea that the punishment of a certain crime should be in proportion to the severity of the crime itself.






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Proportionality is a principle in law which although related covers two distinct concepts. Within municipal (domestic) law
Municipal law

Municipal law is the national, domestic, or internal law of a Sovereignty state defined in opposition to international law. Municipal law includes not only law at the national level, but law at the state, provincial, territorial, regional or local levels....
 it is used to convey the idea that the punishment of an offender should fit the crime. Under international humanitarian law
International humanitarian law

International humanitarian law , often referred to as the laws of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict, is the legal corpus "comprised of the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions , as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law." It defines the conduct and responsib...
 governing the legal use of force
Laws of war

The law of war is law concerning acceptable practices relating to war. In cases other than civil wars, it is considered an aspect of public international law ....
 in an armed conflict, proportionality and distinction
Distinction (law)

Distinction is a principle under international humanitarian law governing the laws of war in an armed conflict. Belligerents must distinguish between combatants and civilians....
 are important factors in assessing military necessity
Military necessity

Military necessity, along with distinction , and proportionality , are three important principles of international humanitarian law governing the laws of war in an armed conflict....
. The foundations of proportionality has been taken from German Law.

Municipal law


Within law, the principle of proportional justice is used to describe the idea that the punishment of a certain crime should be in proportion to the severity of the crime itself. In practice, systems of law differ greatly on the application of this principle. In some systems, this was interpreted as lex talionis, (an eye for an eye). In others, it has led to a more restrictive manner of sentencing. For example, all European Union countries have accepted as a treaty obligation that no crime warrants the death penalty, whereas other countries in the world do use it.

International law


The incidental (i.e.- unintended) harm caused to civilians or civilian property must be proportional and not excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated by an attack on a military objective.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo
Luis Moreno-Ocampo

Luis Moreno-Ocampo is an Argentina lawyer who has been the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court since 16 June 2003. He previously worked as a prosecutor in Argentina, famously combating corruption and prosecuting human rights abuses by senior military officials....
 Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court , Cour p?nale internationale in french language, is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crime against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression ....
 investigated allegations of War Crime
War crime

War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war"; including but not limited to "murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoner of war", the killing of hostages, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devast...
s during 2003 invasion of Iraq
The International Criminal Court and the 2003 invasion of Iraq

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court reported in February 2006 that he had received 240 communications in connection with the 2003 invasion of Iraq which alleged that various war crimes had been committed....
 and he published an open letter containing his findings. In a section titled "Allegations concerning War Crimes" elucidates this use of proportionality:

See also

  • Ryuichi Shimoda et al. v. The State
    Ryuichi Shimoda et al. v. The State

    On 7 December 1963, in Ryuichi Shimoda et al. v. The State the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the subject of a Japanese judicial review ....


Further reading

  • Rod Powers


Footnotes