Targeted Killing in International Law

Targeted Killing in International Law

Book cover
Author	Nils Melzer
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Oxford Monographs in International Law
Subject	Targeted killing
Genre	Warfare
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Publication date	29 May 2008
Media type	Hardback
Pages	524
ISBN	978-0-19-953316-9
OCLC	489257770

Targeted Killing in International Law is a book about the legality of targeted killing, written by Nils Melzer. It was first published by Oxford University Press in May 2008. The book explores the history of targeted killing, as a government strategy by multiple countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Switzerland and Germany; for both military and law enforcement purposes. Melzer argues that directly after the September 11 attacks in the United States, perceptions of the tactic became more positive.

Melzer holds a PhD degree in law from the University of Zürich. His dissertation dealt with targeted killing and the book updates and revises that work. He had earlier written on the subject for Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law in 2006. Melzer serves as a legal advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). He has lectured at the Master-level at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

The book received a favorable reception and was a joint winner of the 2009 Paul Guggenheim Prize in International Law given by the Geneva Graduate Institute. It garnered positive reviews in publications including the International Criminal Justice Review, the European Journal of International Law, the Leiden Journal of International Law, the Australian Year Book of International Law, the American Journal of International Law, and in the book Legislating the War on Terror: An Agenda for Reform.