Book review: Leuven Manual on the International Law Applicable to Peace Operations

The 'Leuven Manual on the International Law Applicable to Peace Operations' belongs to the class of publications that deserve a prominent place in every bookshelf on peace operations and public international law. The Manual provides a restatement of all international norms applicable to peace operations, thereby filling a gap in a field where political priorities and situational specificities hinder a comprehensive legal regulation. Its systematic analysis of the applicable international law responds to pressing calls by practitioners, policy-makers and academics, and will serve as an indispensable tool for better decision-making in future operations. The Leuven Manual does not have any major flaws in its legal findings. A limited number of issues, however, deserve closer scrutiny because of their considerable practical relevance for the establishment and conduct of peace operations. This book review selectively focuses on some of them: the consent of the parties to the deployment of a peace operation; the need of a UN Security Council mandate for non-UN peace operations; the deployment of peace operations in international armed conflicts without becoming a party to the IAC; the use of force in defence of others and the risk of direct participation in hostilities; the temporal scope of application of IHL to the military contingents of a peace operation that has become party to a conflict.