Drone use “outside areas of active hostilities”: an examination of the legal paradigms governing us covert remote strikes

This article examines the use by the US of drone strikes in regions described as ‘outside areas of active hostilities’ a phrase that appears to presume the application of international humanitarian law. In response to this, the article examines these regions to assess whether armed conflicts can be said to exist, and thereby whether international humanitarian law does in fact apply. Periods of armed conflict are identified, as are periods which cannot be characterized as such. Consequently the relevant paradigms of international law applicable to the strikes are established, belying the presumption that international humanitarian law applies generally to drone strikes