Reserving the objectionable: reprisals against enemy civilians, the United Kingdom and 1977 Additional Protocol I

Abstract

Belligerent reprisals are a largely discredited method for the enforcement of international humanitarian law, which have been progressively limited and prohibited. Additional Protocol I of 1977 prohibits reprisals against enemy civilians but the United Kingdom lodged a reservation upon its ratification of the Protocol reserving the right to engage in reprisal activity against enemy civilians in certain circumstances. This article assesses the permissibility of the United Kingdom’s reservation according to the regulatory framework set out in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which provides that a reservation is not permissible if it is incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty. It then considers the possible legal effects of the reservation should it be determined to be impermissible.