The Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command (USCINCPAC) sponsored the 14th Annual International Military Operations and Law Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. The March 2001 conference brought together more than 200 delegates from the United States and 26 Asia-Pacific nations.

This annual forum provides an opportunity for military leaders to discuss operational legal issues affecting nations. Among the attendees were 42 flag officers and civilian equivalents.

The theme of the 2001 conference was "Examining Multilateral Operations." Presentations included talks by a distinguished array of speakers, panel discussions, and a small group seminar game focused on rules of engagement. The topics covered a variety of subjects of interest to the attending lawyers and operators.

Military and government law officials from 26 Asia-Pacific countries gathered for the 14th Annual International Military Operations and Law Conference, hosted by the U.S. Pacific Command, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Civilian Law Enforcement in the Military

Lt. Gen. Thomas R. Case, Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command, opened the conference. Mr. Terry D. Turchie, U.S. Deputy Assistant Director for Counter-Terrorism, Federal Bureau of Investigation, began the first series of presentations with "Law Enforcement and National Security." Explaining the roles of U.S. civilian law enforcement agencies and the military, Mr. Turchie provided insights on protecting national interests from terrorism.

The presentations that followed focused on the legal aspects of multilateral operations from a variety of viewpoints. Mr. Gilles Leuba, Armed and Security Forces Delegate, International Committee of the Red Cross, Bangkok, spoke on the applicability of the IVth Geneva Convention to multilateral forces deployed under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter. Later in the program, he discussed the U.N. bulletin entitled International Humanitarian Law and United Nations Forces.

Capt. Jane Dalton, JAGC (Judge Advocate General Corps), USN, Legal Counsel to the Chairman, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed the growing international legal constraints on military operations. Maj. Gen. John G. Castellaw, Deputy Commander, U.S. Marine Forces Pacific, then presented a U.S. perspective on multilateral operations. The conferees also had an opportunity to contrast the U.S. point of view with Canada’s Lt. Gen. Raymond Roland Henault, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Operations), and Brig. Gen. Jerry S. T. Pitzul, Judge Advocate General. They spoke about Canadian operational and legal perspectives on multilateral operations. Professor Dennis Mandsager, Director, Oceans Law and Policy Department, Center for Naval Warfare Studies, Naval War College, provided his perspective on rules of engagement for multinational forces.

Role of Law Enforcement

The first panel discussion, entitled "The Role of Law Enforcement in Multilateral Operations" was moderated by Dr. Thomas Gurtner, Head, International Committee of the Red Cross Regional Delegation for the Pacific, Suva, Fiji. Dr. Gurtner opened the discussions with a presentation on training law enforcement units in the Pacific in international humanitarian law and human rights. Rear Adm. J. S. Carmichael, USCG, then spoke about rules of engagement for maritime law enforcement; and Cmdr. Jim Crawford, JAGC, USN, Fleet Judge Advocate, CINCPACFLT, presented legal considerations in suppressing piracy. Mr. Harvey Dalton, Associate Deputy General Counsel (Intelligence), U.S. Department of Defense, gave perspectives on computer network defense, an emerging area of law enforcement.