Historical Perspectives on the Laws of War and the Implementation of Military Justice

14. Mai 2025

XVI Annual Baltic Military History Conference

The upcoming Baltic Military History Conference will examine laws of war and military justice practices through a historical lens, exploring their profound effects on societies, people, and state institutions.

Organisers: Mari-Leen Tammela, Estonian War Museum - General Laidoner Museum, Tallinn; Art Johanson, Baltic Defence College, Tartu; Estonian Military Academy; Latvian War Museum; Vytautas the Great War Museum

Conference: 30.10.2025 - 31.10.2025
Deadline for Proposals: 30.06.2025

War has marked humanity since the dawn of civilisation. Throughout history, both informal and formal rules have sought to govern the conduct of conflict. A surrendered enemy was to be treated with dignity, and certain means and methods of warfare were deemed unacceptable. However, these codes of chivalry primarily extended only to officers until the 18th–19th centuries, united by social status and a code of honour that transcended national borders. For common soldiers and civilians, the reality was far harsher. Violence against surrendered rank-and-file soldiers, alongside looting, rape, and the killing of civilians in conquered territories, remained common aspects of warfare.

Religion, philosophers, and political leaders have tried to reduce the suffering caused by war. Modern international humanitarian law finds its foundation in the works of Alberico Gentili in the late 16th century, and the Dutch scholar Hugo Grotius in the 17th century. It developed more rapidly from the 19th century onward as advances in science and technology produced weapons of greater destructive power. International conferences in the late 19th and throughout the 20th centuries addressed critical issues including the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction, treatment of prisoners of war, care for the wounded and the sick, and the rights and obligations of occupying forces. These deliberations culminated in the Hague and Geneva conventions, which remain cornerstones of international humanitarian law today.

The military must establish order in war zones and occupied territories through specialised legal and law enforcement systems. Military policing and judicial bodies are integral components of military operations and warfare. During conflicts, nations often declare a state of war or emergency across their territories or in specific regions. Military courts primarily serve to prosecute military personnel who violate laws of war and military regulations. However, during martial law, civilians may also fall under military court jurisdiction. Distinct from standard military justice were extraordinary proceedings, including field court martials conducted in active war zones. These extraordinary tribunals could prosecute military personnel, prisoners of war, but in some cases, civilians as well.

Historical examples demonstrate the severity of such measures. During the revolution in Russia and its Baltic provinces in 1905, field court martials issued harsh sentences including corporal punishment, Siberian exile, and execution. Field court martials operated during World War I and the post-World War I Wars of Independence. The penal practice of the field court martials in the armies of young countries was not necessarily more lenient than that of the infamous Cheka on the opposing side. Ideological dictatorships and authoritarian regimes of the 20th century used similar extraordinary trials, tribunals resembling field court martials, or military courts against their ideological opponents.

The 20th-century history of the Baltic countries also contains examples of a punishment similar to decimation, as it was known in ancient times – the execution of randomly selected soldiers of a unit for rebellion, retreat, or cowardice.

The upcoming Baltic Military History Conference will examine laws of war and military justice practices through a historical lens, exploring their profound effects on societies, people, and state institutions. While contemporary international humanitarian law falls outside our scope, the conference welcomes thoughtful historical analyses that may illuminate parallels with present circumstances.

We invite scholarly presentations on themes including:
- Comprehensive examinations of the development of the laws of war across extended timelines
- Comparative analyses across different historical periods and geographical regions
- Focused case studies of significant precedents or events
- Treatment of prisoners of war in the past
- Legal dimensions of military occupation and civilian-military relations
- Court-martial proceedings in war zone and during state of war
- Disciplinary measures and their implementation in a military context
- Codification processes of military law and their influencing factors
- International efforts for disarmament
- Educational approaches to law in military academies and staff colleges. How were future officers instructed in the customs, rules, and laws of war? How did this education shape military leadership and battlefield conduct?

As the Baltic Military History Conference, we are interested in presentations concerning the Baltic Sea region, but for a broader perspective, we also look forward to presentations on laws of war, military justice, and other related issues that concern different geographical areas in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

Contact: Dr. Mari-Leen Tammela, conference@esm.ee


Source: Historical Perspectives on the Laws of War and the Implementation of Military Justice, in: H-Soz-Kult, 13.05.2025, https://www.hsozkult.de/event/id/event-155083.