Author Description

This ringbound book provides a reproduction of the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School Rule of Law Handbook, A Practitioner's Guide for Judge Advocates, 2010 edition. America s commitment to the rule of law is fundamental to our efforts to build an international order that is capable of confronting the emerging challenges of the 21st century. This volume is the fourth edition of the Rule of Law Handbook published by the Center for Law and Military Operations (CLAMO) at The Judge Advocate General s Legal Center and School (TJAGLCS). Much has changed since the publication of the first volume in July of 2007. At that time, surge operations in Iraq had just begun and the eventual outcome of that tremendous commitment of resources was far from certain. The fight in Afghanistan, while no less important, drew relatively little in the way of public attention. Judge Advocates and their joint, interagency, and multinational partners have quietly gone about advancing the rule of law (RoL) in these locations and others. However, as our military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan wane or will soon wane, it is fair to ask if there is still a need for Judge Advocates to concern themselves with the rule of law mission. To answer anything other than yes would be shortsighted and unrealistic given our history and hope for the future. Chapter 1 of the present handbook presents some of that history. It describes how Judge Advocates have been involved in rule of law efforts for over a century. It also makes clear how fertile the post-conflict ground is for cultivating the rule of law. When security is no longer the most pressing need, rule of law efforts can truly flourish. We are well past the conflict stage in Kosovo, yet Judge Advocates are still there participating in rule of law missions in welcome partnership with civilian practitioners. It is no doubt the sincere hope of all rule of law practitioners that the environments in Iraq and Afghanistan one day will similar