A Foreign Perspective on Legal Interoperability

"1 Bottom line up front: no two states have identical national laws; even our understanding and application of the laws of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) (Geneva and Hague being the cornerstones) are not uniform. There is, however, a STANAG on IHL and Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) training, setting out common standards to achieve and measure performance.2 In addition to this, NATO member states have adopted the extensive STANAG 2597 on NATO rules of engagement (ROE) training. [...]that it is unrealistic to expect all alliance members-let alone coalition partners-to use a single brand of small arms ammunition, it is unrealistic to expect them to adopt a single interpretation of international law. In simple terms, this is a matrix setting out formal national limitations, restrictions, constraints, or deviations (legal or policy) within the consensus framework for the operation, which do not permit a multinational commander to deploy or employ national assets fully in line with the approved operational plan (OPLAN).