Chemical weapons

Weapons which cause injuries of various kinds and degrees to man and beast by the use of the asphyxiating, toxic, irritant, paralysing, growth-regulating, anti-lubricating or catalytic properties of a solid, liquid or gaseous chemical.

Chemical weapons may also pollute food, beverages and materials. Their use, manufacture and stockpiling are prohibited.

See Biological and bacteriological weaponsMeans of warfareWeaponsConduct of hostilities;

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Suggested reading :

BOTHE Michael (ed.), The New Chemical Weapons Convention: Implementation and Prospects, The Hague, Kluwer Law International, 1998, 613 pp.

International Institute of Humanitarian Law, The Chemical Weapons Convention: between Disarmament and International Humanitarian Law: [international seminar], Sanremo, Italy, 15 February 2008, Sanremo, February 2008, 24 pp.

KRUTZSCH Walter & TRAPPS Ralph (eds), A Commentary on the Chemical Weapons Convention, Dordrecht, M.Nijhoff, 1994, 543 pp.

SOLOMON Brian (ed.), Chemical and Biological Warfare, New York, Wilson, 1999, 158 pp.

Further reading :

BAUDENDISTEL Rainer, “Force Versus Law: The International Committee of the Red Cross and Chemical Warfare in the Italo-Ethiopian War 1935-1936”, in IRRC, No. 322, March 1998, pp. 81-104 

FENWICK Charles G., “New Developments in the Law Concerning the Use of Conventional Weapons in Armed Conflict”, in CYIL, Vol. 19, 1981, pp. 229-256.

GASPARINI Giovanni & RONZITTI Natalino (eds), The Tenth Anniversary of the CWC’s Entry into Force: Achievements and Problems, Roma, Istituto Affari Internazionali, December 2007, 128 pp.

HUNT Cecil, “The Potential Contribution of the Chemical Weapons Convention to Combating Terrorism”, in MJIL, Vol. 20/3, 1999, pp. 523-535.

YUZON E.F.J., “Deliberate Environmental Modification Through the Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons: Greening the International Laws of Armed Conflict to Establish an Environmentally Protective Regime”, in American UniversityJournal of International Law and Policy, Vol. 11, 1996, pp. 793-846.