Ireland
Practice Relating to Rule 11. Indiscriminate Attacks
Ireland’s Basic LOAC Guide (2005) states:
The prohibition of attacks on civilians and civilian property includes … attacks launched indiscriminately. This includes attacks which may be expected to cause incidental civilian losses and damage excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.
The manual notes that “launching an indiscriminate attack” is a grave breach of the 1977 Additional Protocol I.
Ireland’s Geneva Conventions Act (1962), as amended in 1998, provides that grave breaches of the 1977 Additional Protocol I are punishable offences.
The Act further provides that any “minor breach” of the 1977 Additional Protocol I, including violations of Article 51(4), is also a punishable offence.