The 26/11 Terrorist Attacks and the Application of the Laws of Armed Conflict

This paper considers whether the 26/11 Terrorist Attack carried out in Mumbai is capable of independently and/or in its overall context constituting an international armed conflict (IAC), thus triggering the application of International Humanitarian Law? That question is answered by analyzing whether the facts of 26/11 are capable of satisfying the criteria necessary before a terrorist attack can be considered to constitute an armed attack carried out within the framework of an IAC. The discussion makes it necessary to briefly highlight any potential international responsibility for 26/11, and a consideration of the test relevant to determine whether a conflict is internationalized if an armed attack is carried out by private proxies. This paper only considers whether 26/11 constitutes an IAC. It does not consider the rules of International Humanitarian Law applicable should an IAC be in existence.