Dieben Thom

This author's articles

• When does war become crime? Aspects of the criminal case against Eric O.

  2 January 2006
  This essay gives an analysis of the Dutch participation in the war in Iraq and of the crucial meaning of the Rules Of Engagement when soldiers are in operation after the end of the combat but still occupying the country and participating to Law and Order activities.

• Seminar : When does war become crime? Aspects of the Criminal Case against Eric O.

  8 November 2005
  The face of warfare is changing. Mankind’s most infamous invention is transforming itself from the classical notion of nations fighting over political, cultural or economic domination, to international, sometimes non governmental forms of conflict, and the upholding of international peace and justice by supranational alliances.

• Aspects concerning the criminal case against Eric O.

  1 August 2005
  This report describes the Dutch criminal case against Eric O., a soldier stationed in Iraq during the second Gulf War; it is the case of a soldier charged with the unauthorized use of force. The case stirred up great debate among politicians about the mandate given to soldiers, the role of criminal law in these matters and the responsibility of political leaders. In this essay the case will be reviewed from a factual, legal and political point of view. Main points of attention will be the way in which the justification of the use of force is transferred from the top to the bottom of a military organization, and how a soldier’s actions should be weighed in a criminal case. The report will be published later this year.