Joop Voetelink

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Ministry of Defense, Netherlands

The further 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted the deployment of unprecedented sanctions and other measures targeting Russia, Belarus, and Iran. The sanctions imposed on Russia are designed to seriously weaken its economic base and limit its ability to continue to wage war against Ukraine. Despite Russia’s current status as the most sanction...

The sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation following its further invasion of Ukraine in 2022 include measures such as the seizing of goods and freezing of assets. As the war between Russia and Ukraine grinds on, the call to confiscate these goods and assets, and use the proceeds for the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, are growing stron...

In recent years, the United States (US) has dramatically expanded a set of extraterritorial rules, known as the ‘foreign direct product rules’. The rules subject certain items to the jurisdiction of the Export Administration Regulations that are produced outside the US with the use of specific types of US technology, software, or equipment, but con...

A key element of the framework as regards the extraterritorial deployment of State armed forces is the legal status of its service personnel present on the territory of another State. Today, this matter is mostly dealt with in international agreements, generally referred to as Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs). International law, including custom...

The sovereignty of states is reflected in the notion of jurisdiction, empowering them to enact and enforce laws and regulations, and to adjudicate disputes in court. The jurisdiction of states and the exercise thereof is primarily territorial, limiting the exercise of state authority to their respective national territories except in specific situa...

Traditionally, the control of the export of arms and other military material is a national concern that flows from the principle of state sovereignty. As international public law developed, national rules and regulations were increasingly affected by a growing body of international law. Together, these rules and laws constitute an emerging subdisci...

This open access volume of the NL ARMS offers an interdisciplinary view on the domain of Compliance and Integrity in International Military Trade (CIIMT), integrating defence economics, international law, arms export control frameworks and policies, information management, organizational sciences and ethics. Although, in academia, and from an inter...

This year’s volume of the Netherlands Annual Review of Military Studies (NL ARMS) offers an interdisciplinary view on the domain of Compliance and Integrity in International Military Trade (CIIMT), integrating defence economics, international law, arms export control frameworks and policies, information management, organizational sciences and ethic...

The United States has long been engaged in the exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction and is, without doubt, the state that is most proactive in doing so. This chapter considers US extraterritorial claims with respect to its export control and sanctions legislation and explores the limits of this practice under public international law.

This book is a tribute to the work of Professor Terry Gill, offered to him by friends and colleagues who are also academics and/or practitioners in the field of International Law of Military Operations (ILMO). ILMO is a distinct sub-discipline within public international law and domestic public law, covering all domains of military operations: lan...

One of the cornerstones of the international law on military operations is the issue of the legal position of armed forces personnel serving on the territory of another sovereign State with the consent of the State hosting the foreign forces. Generally, the issue is defined in international agreements concluded between the Host State and the State...

Today, states routinely deploy elements of their armed forces on the territory of other states within the framework of international military cooperation or international military operations carried out with the receiving state’s consent (crisis management operations). It is in the interest of the states sending their forces abroad (sending states)...

When state armed forces are deployed in the context of armed conflict situations or crisis management operations it has become fairly common that they are accompanied and supported by employees of private business entities, often referred to as Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs). The name notwithstanding, PMSCs do not have a military s...

Over time the nature of military and maritime operations has shifted from traditional warfare to hybrid type of operations including non-traditional forms of military action such as law enforcement activities. The changing character of operations also impacts the applicable legal framework making the conduct of these operations more challenging fro...

On warriors acting as investigation officers The Netherlands armed forces are increasingly involved in activities within the Netherlands as well as abroad, that can be characterized as law enforcement. Military personnel, however, are not trained as law enforcement officials and perform these non-military tasks based on their military skills and dr...

Law, in particular international law, plays an increasingly significant role in today’s military operations. In accordance with the principle of the rule of law, States can deploy their armed forces abroad based on a clear legal foundation while the deployed forces must operate within the applicable rules. The growing emphasis on this legal framewo...

Viewed from a military operational law perspective, SOFAs support the effective execution of a military mission by expediting the entry into a foreign State and by facilitating and supporting the forces’ presence and operations. Therefore, SOFAs may address a wide range of subjects, including criminal jurisdiction, civil immunities, privileges and...

Military operational law is a relatively new, hybrid discipline of law, which concentrates on national and international law related to the planning and conduct of military operations. SOFAs are one of the core themes of military operational law and are instrumental to the commander in accomplishing his mission. Viewed from a military operational l...

The armed forces are State organs and keep that status when deployed abroad and under command and control of an international commander, as sending States retain the highest political and military command and control over their forces. Also, when sending States have extended their legislative jurisdiction with respect to the armed forces they may b...

The phrase ‘in performance of official duty’, often used with respect to the law of immunities, can be translated as ‘on duty’ within the context of military operational law. In SOFAs ‘on duty’ is hardly ever defined, but logically a nexus is required between a specific act and the nature of the ordered tasks. In general, the visiting commanding of...

The status of visiting armed forces and especially criminal jurisdiction over those forces has a firm basis in international law. Military operational law offers additional points of reference, further defining the theory on the status of forces with respect to forces deployed abroad in three different frameworks: during armed conflict, participati...

In 1812 the US Supreme court addressed the status of armed forces passing through the territory of a foreign friendly State and concluded that consent of that State implied its waiver of all jurisdiction over the visiting forces. Based on this court case and subsequent case law a general ground rule on the exercise of jurisdiction can be framed: A...

State immunity is a well-established principle of customary international law, enabling States to carry out their functions effectively. Under the restrictive doctrine of State immunity acts of a State of a purely public or sovereign nature enjoy immunity from another State’s adjudicative and enforcement jurisdiction. State officials, acting on beh...

In general, sending States can exercise criminal jurisdiction over their deployed forces for offences committed either on- or off-duty, to the exclusion of, or priority over, the host State. Viewed from an operational law perspective, this practice can be explained by a general desire of the host States to protect their armed forces’ members agains...

The status of visiting armed forces and especially criminal jurisdiction over those forces depends, inter alia, on the framework within they operate on foreign territory. When stationed abroad in the framework of international peacetime military cooperation, the status of forces is generally set out in bilateral and multilateral agreements. In gene...

International organisations are established by treaty or other international instrument governed by international law and have legal personality. The extent of their legal rights and obligations depends on the organisations’ purposes and functions and their constituent instruments. They can, inter alia, conclude treaties that are necessary for the...

The status of visiting armed forces and especially criminal jurisdiction over those forces is firmly based in international law. States are the most important legal persons in international law, exercising their sovereign powers as equals. That sovereignty of States, as reflected in the concept of jurisdiction, is central to understanding the statu...

The status of visiting armed forces and especially criminal jurisdiction over those forces depends, inter alia, on the framework within they operate on foreign territory. When stationed on allied territory during armed conflict the status of forces is generally set out in formal agreements with the host States from World War I on. These agreements...

The status of visiting armed forces and especially criminal jurisdiction over those forces depends, inter alia, on the framework within they operate on foreign territory. When participating in crisis management operations the status of forces is generally set out in bilateral SOFAs or in SOFAs concluded by the international organisations leading th...

On 30 September 2014 the long-awaited Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) between Afghanistan and the US and the post-2014 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Afghanistan and NATO were signed, ending a process that dragged on for almost two years. While the media often stress that the agreements allow the US and NATO to continue their military...

This article examines the legal status of armed forces present in friendly foreign territory with a special focus on criminal jurisdiction. Traditionally, this issue has been considered from the perspective of public international law in which immunities play an important role. However, this perspective does not fully cover the criminal jurisdictio...

Internationale militaire operaties zijn de laatste decennia complexer en robuuster van aard geworden. Deze tendens heeft ook zijn weerslag gehad op de juridische aspecten rond de operaties die tegenwoordig met het overkoepelende begrip Militair Operationeel Recht (MOR) worden aangeduid. Hoewel onderdelen hiervan, zoals het humanitair oorlogsrecht e...

Joop Voetelink onderzocht de rechten en plichten (de juridische status) van militairen die in het buitenland verblijven in het kader van bijvoorbeeld training of deelname aan een oefening of een vredesoperatie. De nadruk ligt daarbij op de vraag welk land een militair kan vervolgen, wanneer die in het buitenland bijvoorbeeld een misdrijf zou begaan...

Nederlands defensiepersoneel neemt met regelmaat deel aan internationale operaties die zijn ingesteld door het Europees Agentschap voor beheer van de operationele samenwerking aan de buitengrenzen (FRONTEX). De status van het personeel is in verschillende regelingen vastgelegd en verschaft hen niet altijd immuniteit van rechtsvervolging in de staat...

De effectieve operationele inzet van het luchtwapen wordt mede bepaald door militair-operationale aspecten. Dit hoofdstuk beschrijft een aantal aspecten die met name bij expeditionair optreden een belangrijke rol spelen. Het gaat achtereenvolgens om de juridische positie van de troepen in het buitenland, de instrumenten om de internationale samenwe...

In crisisbeheersingsoperaties worden steeds meer particuliere bedrijven (´contractors´) ingezet die werkzaamheden verrichten die in het verleden meestal waren voorbehouden aan de militairen, bijvoorbeeld de bewapende beveiliging van kampementen of konvooien. De positie van burgers wijkt echter sterk af van die van militairen. Dit artikel richt zich...