Professor Martin Publishes Piece in the Huffington Post on Syria and International Law

Washburn Law Associate Professor Craig Martin published a piece in the Aug. 31, 2013 edition of The Huffington Post entitled "International Law and the U.S. Military Strikes on Syria."

"There has been insufficient analysis, by both policy makers and the media, of the legality of the looming use of military force against Syria. As usual, the law seems to be beside the point. But this not only ignores a key factor, but is rather paradoxical given that one of the primary justifications for the strikes is that they are to punish the Syrian government for its violations of international law. Legality should be an important factor in the decision-making process, because if the use of force is itself not lawful, then it represents nothing more than vigilante justice, likely doing far more harm than good to the international legal order," he said in the article.

"There is little doubt that the Syrian regime has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against its own people over the last two years. If it is proven that the Assad regime used chemical weapons in the attack last week, that would constitute a separate and grave violation of international law. All of this screams out for a response by the international community."

To read the entire article, please click here: Huffington Post Article.