Legal Aspects of Submarine Warfare

SCOPE

Historically, submarines have been subject to the same rules ef international law that govern the conduct ef surface vessels during their actions against belligerent shipping. Although the London Protocol of 1936 bound 48 nations to this concept, the traditional law was consistently violated during World War II. Are submarines exempt from the long standing restrictions on belligerent rights at sea or has international practice established different standards?

Moreover, many submarines are now equipped with ballistic missiles designed to strike land targets. Do the present rules contain guidelines for the regulation of the submarine in its role as a mobile guided missile platform? What effect will future evolution of the submarine have on its traditional role as a destroyer of commerce and on the international rules to which it is subject?

TJAGSA Thesis 1968 Hoffman;

Bibliography: leaves 59-60.