The threat of biological weapons has been worrying about the armed forces, as well as political leaders for quite some time. With the global recorded deaths from COVID-19 surpassing one million, the biotechnological revolution has heightened the fear of future weaponized pathogens. The COVID-19 virus or its variant could be the most effective weapon for future biological warfare. The indiscriminate effect of such a weapon and its power to cripple economies and devastate the lives of people may make it attractive to rogue States and non-State actors. This book provides an updated analysis of biological warfare agents, including the COVID-19 virus, biotechnological developments affecting biological agents, and the legal regime responsible for preventing the use of biological weapons.

This textbook gives an up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of the law of armed conflict or international humanitarian law. The author has traced the history of the laws of war and examined their relations with human rights and refugee laws. The topics covered include protection to the victims of war: prisoners, civilians, women, children, journalists, the natural environment and cultural property. The book contains an updated account of the functioning of the International Criminal Court, and explores the concept of command responsibility, as well as the area of private military and security companies. Besides discussing the law during air and naval warfare, the author has critically examined certain challenges which humanitarian law is facing today from cyber warfare; drones, autonomous lethal weapons and nuclear weapons. This textbook is an invaluable resource for anyone interested or working in the field of international humanitarian law: teachers, students, lawyers, government officials, military and police personnel, researchers and human rights activists.