Table of contents:
3. The perpetrator employed certain bullets.
P.1. Evidence of the employment of certain bullets.
P.1.1. Evidence of the use of bullets not completely surrounded by hard casing.
P.1.2. Evidence of the use of bullets notched with incisions.
P.1.3. Evidence of the use of bullets that explode on impact.
P.1.4. Evidence of the use of shotguns.
P.1.5. Evidence of the use of projectiles that burst or deform in the human body.
P.1.6. Evidence of the use of projectiles of a nature that tumbles early in the human body.
P.1.7. Evidence of the use of projectiles that cause extensive tissue damage or lethal shock.
Element:
3. The perpetrator employed certain bullets.
General evidentiary comment:
The wording of article 8(2)(b)(xix) is identical to the language of the 1899 Hague Declaration (Declaration 3) Concerning the Prohibition of Using Bullets which Expand or Flatten Easily in the Human Body, a prohibition which reflects customary international law. ( M. Cottier, War crimes para. 2(b)" in Otto Triffterer, ed, Commentary on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1999), article 8, marginal note 184)
P.1. Evidence of the employment of certain bullets.
P.1.1. Evidence of the use of bullets not completely surrounded by hard casing.
A. Legal source/authority and evidence:
M. Cottier, War crimes para. 2(b)" in Otto Triffterer, ed, Commentary on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1999), article 8, marginal note 184:
"Bullets which are not completely surrounded by hard casing or which are notched with incisions, tend to flatten and expand when impacting upon the human body, and cause significantly more serious injury than would an equivalent standard bullet. The typical type of such a bullet has been called a "dum-dum" bullet. The provision proscribes employing bullets with the described effect and equally applies to standard bullets which have been "converted" by combatants on the battlefield, name;y by piercing them with incisions, as well as to bullets which expand or flatten in the human body because of the way in which they are manufactured."
B. [Evidentiary comment:]
P.1.2. Evidence of the use of bullets notched with incisions.
A. Legal source/authority and evidence:
M. Cottier, in O. Triffterer (ed.) "Commentary on the Rome Statute" (1999), article 8, margin No. 184:
"Bullets which are not completely surrounded by hard casing or which are notched with incisions, tend to flatten and expand when impacting upon the human body, and cause significantly more serious injury than would an equivalent standard bullet. The typical type of such a bullet has been called a "dum-dum" bullet. The provision proscribes employing bullets with the described effect and equally applies to standard bullets which have been "converted" by combatants on the battlefield, name;y by piercing them with incisions, as well as to bullets which expand or flatten in the human body because of the way in which they are manufactured."
B. [Evidentiary comment:]
P.1.3. Evidence of the use of bullets that explode on impact.
A. Legal source/authority and evidence:
Knut Dörmann, "Elements of War Crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court" Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 296:
"Analysing the legality of a particular bullet that would explode on impact in a human body if it meets with any degree of resistance, such as personnel equipment, an armoured vest, or bone, the US Department of the Army concluded that a bullet that will explode on impact with the human body would be prohibited by the law of war from the use for antipersonnel purposes.3
"3. Memorandum for US Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, 19 February 1998."
B. [Evidentiary comment:]
P.1.4. Evidence of the use of shotguns.
A. Legal source/authority and evidence:
Dieter Fleck, ed. "The Handbook of Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts" OUP 1999, p. 122:
It is prohibited to use bullets that expand or flatten easily in the human body (e.g. dum-dum bullets) (Declaration Concerning Expanding Bullets of 1899) This also applies to the use of shotguns, since shot causes similar suffering unjustified from the military point of view.
B. [Evidentiary comment:]
P.1.5. Evidence of the use of projectiles that burst or deform in the human body.
A. Legal source/authority and evidence:
Dieter Fleck, ed. "The Handbook of Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts" OUP 1999, p. 122:
It is prohibited to use bullets that expand or flatten easily in the human body (e.g. dum-dum bullets) (Declaration Concerning Expanding Bullets of 1899) This also applies to the use of shotguns, since shot causes similar suffering unjustified from the military point of view. It is also prohibited to use projectiles of a nature:
-to burst or deform while penetrating the human body;
-to tumble early in the human body; or
-to cause shock waves leading to extensive tissue damage or even lethal shock (Arts. 35, para. 2 and 51, para. 4, lit. c AP I; Art. 23 lit. e Hague Regulations)
B. [Evidentiary comment:]
P.1.6. Evidence of the use of projectiles of a nature that tumbles early in the human body.
A. Legal source/authority and evidence:
Dieter Fleck, ed. "The Handbook of Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts" OUP 1999, p. 122:
It is prohibited to use bullets that expand or flatten easily in the human body (e.g. dum-dum bullets) (Declaration Concerning Expanding Bullets of 1899) This also applies to the use of shotguns, since shot causes similar suffering unjustified from the military point of view. It is also prohibited to use projectiles of a nature:
-to burst or deform while penetrating the human body;
-to tumble early in the human body; or
-to cause shock waves leading to extensive tissue damage or even lethal shock (Arts. 35, para. 2 and 51, para. 4, lit. c AP I; Art. 23 lit. e Hague Regulations)
B. [Evidentiary comment:]
P.1.7. Evidence of the use of projectiles that cause extensive tissue damage or lethal shock.
A. Legal source/authority and evidence:
Dieter Fleck, ed. "The Handbook of Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts" OUP 1999, p. 122:
It is prohibited to use bullets that expand or flatten easily in the human body (e.g. dum-dum bullets) (Declaration Concerning Expanding Bullets of 1899) This also applies to the use of shotguns, since shot causes similar suffering unjustified from the military point of view. It is also prohibited to use projectiles of a nature:
-to burst or deform while penetrating the human body;
-to tumble early in the human body; or
-to cause shock waves leading to extensive tissue damage or even lethal shock (Arts. 35, para. 2 and 51, para. 4, lit. c AP I; Art. 23 lit. e Hague Regulations)
B. [Evidentiary comment:]
