Even in war, there are rules that are supposed to be followed by way of several multilateral legal frameworks that govern warfare and issues like the treatment of combatants and civilians.
Understanding what rules apply to what types of conflicts is important because it can lead to the greatest protections for civilians caught in the crossfire, and greater accountability to perpetrators of war crimes. At a time when two major wars are being waged — in the Middle East and in Ukraine — this understanding takes on a special urgency.
Historically, the laws of war have been divided into two categories: jus in bello that pertains to acceptable conduct in war; and jus ad bellum, which involves adaptable justifications for going to war.
