A footnote on the subject should include reference to armour-piercing incendiary munitions used in recent conflicts that possess explosive points, such as Raufoss multipurpose projectiles (Nammo, Norway; www.nammo.com), which are fired by anti-aircraft guns of various calibers. These are not designed or manufactured for use against personnel. In fact, the projectiles will not explode through the body and therefore it is unlikely that they will be present in the bodies of military conflicts. As such, it is also argued that they do not violate the St. Petersburg Declaration. If they are present with a body, they can be handled, transported and stored safely. They also comply with NATO standards, which guarantee total handling safety, even with elevation differences of up to 15 meters. Some versatile 12.7mm projectiles, such as the widely used Raufoss cartridge manufactured by norwegian company Nammo, are designed to penetrate light armor while enhancing the explosion and fire effects on material targets. According to the developer, the .50 caliber Raufoss multipurpose projectile is “a dual-use munition (anti-materiel and anti-personnel), but it is primarily intended for anti-materiel purposes.” W. H.
Parks, “Annual Report on International Efforts to Prohibit Military Small Arms,” August 13, 2001. According to tests carried out by the ICRC in 1998 and 1999, the projectile can explode against or in the human body, especially if the person wears a bulletproof vest. ICRC, “Ensuring compliance with the St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868, Prohibition of the Use of Certain Explosive Projectiles”, Doc. CCW/CONF.II/PC.3/WP.6, 18 September 2001. This prompted the ICRC to convene a small meeting of government technical and legal experts on the explosion of projectiles of 12.7 mm or less to determine how to prevent the use of such bullets against personnel and respect the objective and purpose of the St. Petersburg Declaration. ICRC, “Ensuring compliance with the St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868, Prohibition of the Use of Certain Explosive Projectiles”, Doc. CCW/CONF.II/PC.3/WP.6, 18 September 2001.
The ICRC concluded that “the proliferation of these bullets is a serious problem and undermines the very purpose of the St. Petersburg Declaration,” and called on states to “refrain from producing and exporting such bullets” and to “strictly prohibit their use against people, a practice that violates applicable law.” Others questioned this position. See United Nations General Assembly, First Committee, UN document. A/C.1/54/PV.12, 20 October 1999; W. H. Parks, “Annual Report on International Efforts to Prohibit Military Small Arms,” August 13, 2001. Expanding spheres, colloquially called dum spheres, are projectiles designed to expand on impact. This causes the ball to increase in diameter to combat excesses and create a larger wound, causing more damage to a living target. For this reason, they are used for hunting and by most police services,[1] but are generally prohibited for use in wartime. [2] Two typical designs are the hollow point floor and the soft point floor. Subsequent State practice has strengthened the distinction between the anti-material and anti-personnel use of explosive bullets.
Although there is controversy over the exact content of the usual international ban on the use of explosive bullets against persons, the majority opinion is that the use of explosive bullets against physical targets is not prohibited. See ICRC, Customary Study on IHL, Practice relating to Rule 78; See also, HPCR, Commentary on the HPCR Manual on International Law Applicable to Air and Missile Warfare, 2010, page 72 Developed by the British to stop the assault of fanatical tribal members, Sir John Ardagh`s bullets were vigorously defended against the stormy assault of all but the US military delegate, Captain Crozier, whose country was about to use them in the Philippines. In the war against the savages, Ardagh explained to an in-depth audience: “Men who are repeatedly imbued with our latest model of small-caliber projectiles making small clean holes” were still able to continue to storm and approach. Ways had to be found to stop them. “The civilized soldier, if he is shot, realizes that he is wounded and knows that the sooner he is treated, the sooner he will recover. He lies on his stretcher and is taken from the field to his ambulance, where he is dressed or bandaged. Your fanatical barbarian, wounded in the same way, rushes, throws or sword in his hand; And before you have time to explain to him that his behavior is a flagrant violation of understanding regarding the right path for the injured man – he may have cut off your head. [23] The ban on exploding bullets appeared in 1868 with the adoption of the St. Petersburg Declaration, motivated by the desire to avoid suffering beyond what was necessary to turn a fighter into an hors de combat. To this end, the declaration expressly prohibits the use of “any projectile weighing less than 400 grams that is explosive or loaded with fulminant or flammable substances”, 400 grams being the weight of the smallest artillery shell at the time.
Nineteen states adhered to the Petersburg Declaration in 1868 or 1869, that is, most of the states existing at that time. The prohibition contained in the St. Petersburg Declaration was repeated in the Brussels Declaration, the Oxford Manual and the Oxford Manual on Naval Warfare. The report of the Human War I Accountability Commission identified the use of “explosive bullets” as a war crime under customary international law. Recent developments in explosive weapons technology, including the reduction in the size of mortar shells and the introduction of air tank ammunition, some of which are intended to replace standard assault rifles, further blur the line between the categories underlying the legal ban on explosive bullets. For a brief overview of these trends, see J. Bevan, S. Pézard, “Basic Characteristics of Ammunition: From Handguns to MANPADS,” in S. Pézard, H. Anders (eds.), Targeting Ammunition: A Primer, 2006, 29. The XM25 High-Explosive Airbursting, for example, is designed to explode over a human target under cover (indirect fire). The possibility of such a bullet being used directly against a person (not safe) and exploding inside a person and not near it has raised new concerns about further erosion of the rules set out in the St.
Petersburg Declaration. See T. Ruys, “The XM25 Individual Airburst Weapon System: A `Game Changer` for the (Law on the) Battlefield? Revisiting the Legality of Explosive Projectiles under the Law of Armed Conflict,” 45 (2012) 3 Israel Law Review, 401-29. Since the 1914-18 war, a wide range of explosive anti-material bullets have been introduced for shoulder-fired weapons, as well as for automatic weapons used on tripods or vehicles. Some of these projectiles weigh well under 400 grams and are used with sniper rifles effective up to 1,500 meters. According to Di Maio, explosive ordnance for small arms and light weapons was introduced in the 1970s. Di Maio, Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques, CRC Press, 1985, p. 241 The potential for some of these bullets to be used against individuals continues to be controversial. John Hinckley`s attempt to convict former US President Ronald Reagan in 1981 involved an explosive bullet that did not explode.
It has been reported that the bullet is a cartridge of the brand “Devastator” (Bingham Limited, USA). The bullet consisted of an aluminum tip sealed with paint with a lead-acid center that was to explode on impact. According to Swift and Rutty, these bullets are rarely found in forensic practice today, as sales were restricted after the 1981 incident. B. Swift, G. N. Rutty, “The Exploding Sphere,” 57(1) (2004) J Clin Pathol., p. 108.
They can also start fires, which can lead to significant material destruction. (For more information, see Firearms.) The first examples of bullets specifically designed to prolong impact were those fired from express rifles developed in the mid-19th century. Express rifles used larger powder charges and lighter projectiles than those typical of the time to achieve very high speeds for black powder cartridges. One method of thinning the balls used was to provide a deep cavity in the nose of the bullet. These were the first hollow-tipped projectiles, and they not only developed higher speeds, but also developed significantly on impact. These hollow-tipped balls worked well in the thin-skinned game, but tended to collapse on a larger play, resulting in insufficient penetration. One solution to this was the “cross-shaped expansive floor,” a fixed floor with a cross-shaped cup in the tip. This divided section only extended to the depth of the incision, making it an early form of controlled expansion sphere.
[17] The use of “any projectile weighing less than 400 grams that is explosive or loaded with fulminant or flammable substances” was prohibited by the St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868, which applies “in time of war between civilized nations” (equivalent to an international armed conflict). Although the St. Petersburg Declaration is still formally binding on some States, its practical relevance today lies in the rules of customary international law it establishes.
Recent Comments