This book examines the international lawfulness of state-sponsored targeted killings in military and police operations. Through an exhaustive analysis of recent state practice and jurisprudence, the book establishes when targeted killing may be considered lawful, and what legal restraints are imposed on the practice in times of war and peace.

The book argues that any targeted killing not directed against a legitimate military target remains subject to the law enforcement paradigm, which imposes extensive restraints on the practice. Even under the paradigm of hostilities, no person can be lawfully liquidated without further considerations. As a form of individualized or surgical warfare, the method of targeted killing requires a "microscopic" interpretation of the law regulating the conduct of hostilities which leads to nuanced results reflecting the fundamental principles underlying international humanitarian law. The author concludes by highlighting and comparing the main areas of concern arising with regard to state-sponsored targeted killing under each normative paradigm and by placing the results of the analysis in the greater context of the rule of law.
*The author has conceived and written this book in an entirely personal capacity and independently from his function as a Legal Adviser in the Legal Division of the ICRC.The opinions expressed therein are his own and do not necessarily correspond to those held by the ICRC or its Legal Division.

A. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
1. The Notion of Targeted Killing
2. Current Trend towards Legitimization
3. Targeted Killing in Contemporary Legal Doctrine
4. Outline of the Analysis
B. LAW ENFORCEMENT
5. The Paradigm of Law Enforcement
6. Law Enforcement and the Conventional Human Right to Life
7. Law Enforcement and the Protection of Life under International Humanitarian Law
8. Law Enforcement and the Non-Conventional Human Right to Life
9. Permissibility of Targeted Killing as a Method of Law Enforcement
C. HOSTILITIES
10. The Paradigm of Hostilities
11. The Threshold of 'Armed Conflict'
12. The Principle of Distinction under International Humanitarian Law
13. Means and Methods in the Conduct of Hostilities
14. Human Rights Law and the Paradigm of Hostilities
15. Permissibility of Targeted Killing as a Method of the Conduct of Hostilities
D. CONCLUSIONS
16. Comparative Conclusions
17. Epilogue: Targeted Killing and the Rule of Law