Victims of War: History and Contemporary Dilemmas of the Rule of Discrimination

Abstract

Wars are initiated by politicians, waged by soldiers, and suffered by innocents, civilians, andnon-combatants. Representatives of military ethics and of just war theory in particular havebeen attempting to create a conceptual framework for a long time. In it the protection of theabove groups can be secured. The rule that prescribes the protection of innocent people,civilians, and non-combatants is the rule of discrimination. This article presents the historyand the contemporary content of this rule. It is one thing, however, to outline the history andthe conceptual content of a rule, and quite another to investigate the extent the rule isapplicable and is followed in practice.