Source: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule8_sectionc
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 03:00:05+00:00

Document:
Article 2 of the 1907 Hague Convention (IX) allows the bombardment of “military works, military or naval establishments, depots of arms or war matériel”.
Under Article 8 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property, cultural property may be placed under special protection provided, inter alia, that it is situated “at an adequate distance … from any important military objective constituting a vulnerable point, such as, for example, … [an] establishment engaged upon work of national defence”.
According to Article 24(2) of the 1923 Hague Rules of Air Warfare, “military works [and] military establishments or depots” are military objectives.
Article 5(1) of the 1938 ILA Draft Convention for the Protection of Civilian Populations against New Engines of War provides that “aerial bombardment is prohibited unless directed at … belligerent establishments”.
(2) Positions, installations or constructions occupied by the [armed forces], as well as combat objectives (that is to say, those objectives which are directly contested in battle between land or sea forces including airborne forces).
(4) Stores of arms or military supplies, such as munition dumps, stores of equipment or fuel, vehicle parks.
Draft Rules for the Limitation of the Dangers Incurred by the Civilian Population in Time of War, drafted by the International Committee of the Red Cross, September 1956, submitted to governments for their consideration on behalf of the 19th International Conference of the Red Cross, New Delhi, 28 October–7 November, Res. XIII, Paragraph I of the proposed annex to Article 7(2).
Australia’s Defence Force Manual (1994) gives “military equipment, units and bases” as examples of military objectives.
Australia, Manual on Law of Armed Conflict, Australian Defence Force Publication, Operations Series, ADFP 37 – Interim Edition, 1994, § 527(a); see also § 916(b).
Australia’s LOAC Manual (2006) gives “military equipment, units and bases” as examples of military objectives.
Benin’s Military Manual (1995) considers “the establishments, positions and constructions where armed forces and their materiel are located (e.g. positions, barracks and depots)” as military objectives.
Burundi’s Regulations on International Humanitarian Law (2007) states that “[m]ilitary objectives [are] … units, buildings and positions where armed forces and their material are located (positions, barracks, depots)”.
Burundi, Règlement n° 98 sur le droit international humanitaire, Ministère de la Défense Nationale et des Anciens Combattants, Projet “Moralisation” (BDI/B-05), August 2007, Part I bis, p. 16; see also pp. 32, 53 and 86.
Cameroon’s Instructor’s Manual (1992) considers military positions, barracks and depots as military objectives.
Cameroon’s Instructor’s Manual (2006) qualifies “positions, barracks and depots” as “military objectives”.
Canada’s LOAC Manual (1999) considers that “military bases, warehouses, … ; and … buildings and objects that provide administrative and logistical support for military operations” are “generally accepted as being military objectives”.
Canada, The Law of Armed Conflict at the Operational and Tactical Level, Office of the Judge Advocate General, 1999, p. 4-2, § 9.
b. military aircraft, weapons, ammunition, buildings and objects that provide administrative and logistical support for military operations.
Canada, The Law of Armed Conflict at the Operational and Tactical Levels, Office of the Judge Advocate General, 13 August 2001, § 407.1-2.
The Central African Republic’s Instructor’s Manual (1999) states in Volume 1 (Basic and team leader instruction): “The following are considered military objectives: … establishments, positions or buildings where armed forces or material belonging to them are located (for example positions, barracks, stores)”.
(4) Munitions and weapons stores.
Chad, Droit international humanitaire, Manuel de l’instructeur en vigueur dans les forces armées et de sécurité, Ministère de la Défense, Présidence de la République, Etat-major des Armées, 2006, p. 58; see also pp. 35 and 57.
- the establishments, buildings and positions where the armed forces and their materiel are located (barracks, munitions depot, command position).
Côte d’Ivoire, Droit de la guerre, Manuel d’instruction, Livre III, Tome 2: Instruction de l’élève officier d’active de 2ème année, Manuel de l’instructeur, Ministère de la Défense, Forces Armées Nationales, November 2007, p. 28; see also Droit de la guerre, Manuel d’instruction, Livre I: Instruction de base, Ministère de la Défense, Forces Armées Nationales, November 2007, p. 18.
- … buildings and objects providing administrative and logistical support to military operations.
According to Croatia’s LOAC Compendium (1991) and Commanders’ Manual (1992), military objectives include military establishments and positions.
Croatia, Compendium “Law of Armed Conflicts”, Republic of Croatia, Ministry of Defence, 1991, p. 7; Basic Rules of the Law of Armed Conflicts – Commanders’ Manual, Republic of Croatia, Ministry of Defence, 1992, § 4.
According to Ecuador’s Naval Manual (1989), proper targets for naval attack include such military objectives as naval and military bases ashore; warship construction and repair facilities; military depots and warehouses; storage areas for petroleum and lubricants; and buildings and facilities that provide administrative and personnel support for military and naval operations, such as barracks, headquarters buildings, mess halls and training areas.
France’s LOAC Summary Note (1992) considers military establishments, installations, and materiel and positions of tactical importance to be military objectives.
Germany’s Military Manual (1992) provides that military objectives include, in particular, “buildings and objects for combat service support”.
According to Hungary’s Military Manual (1992), military objectives include military establishments and positions.
The war effort is not only expressed in attacking fighters at the front, but also in striking at the enemy’s logistical infrastructure – depots, factories, mobilisation centres and communications. A soldier understandably constitutes a military target, as do weapons, bases, installations, airfields and army vehicles.
According to Italy’s IHL Manual (1991), “military quarters, military works and establishments, defence works and preparations” are military objectives.
According to Italy’s LOAC Elementary Rules Manual (1991), military objectives include military establishments and positions.
Kenya’s LOAC Manual (1997) provides that “the establishments, buildings and positions where armed forces or their material are located (e.g. positions, barracks, stores, concentrations of troops)” are military objectives.
According to Madagascar’s Military Manual (1994), military objectives include “establishments, constructions and positions where the armed forces and their materiel are located (for example positions, army barracks, depots)”.
Madagascar, Le Droit des Conflits Armés, Ministère des Forces Armées, August 1994, Fiche No. 2-SO, § C; see also Fiche No. 2-O, § 4 and Fiche No. 4-T, § 1.
Peru’s IHL Manual (2004) states: “[Air] bombardment is legitimate only when directed exclusively against the following objectives: … military works, military establishments or depots”.
Peru’s IHL and Human Rights Manual (2010) states: “[Air] bombardment is only legitimate when it is exclusively directed against the following objectives: … military works, military establishments or depots”.
The Russian Federation’s Regulations on the Application of IHL (2001) states: “military objectives include … objects (structures, buildings) used (ready to be used) for military purposes”.
According to Spain’s LOAC Manual (1996), “establishments, constructions and positions where armed forces are located [and] establishments and installations of combat support services and logistics” are military objectives.
Spain’s LOAC Manual (2007) states that “establishments, constructions and positions where armed forces are located [and] establishments and facilities of combat support services and logistics services” are military objectives.
Switzerland’s Basic Military Manual (1987) lists the armed forces and “their materiel, sites and buildings occupied by them (barracks, fortresses, arsenals) … and establishments directly linked to the activity of the armed forces” among military objectives.
Togo’s Military Manual (1996) considers “the establishments, positions and constructions where armed forces and their materiel are located (e.g. positions, barracks and depots)” as military objectives.
Ukraine’s IHL Manual (2004) states that “military objectives” include “objects (such as constructions, buildings, positions, quarters, warehouses) used or prepared to be used for military purposes”.
The UK LOAC Pamphlet (1981) states that military objectives include “buildings”.
According to Italy’s Law of War Decree (1938), as amended in 1992, “military quarters, military works and establishments, defence works and preparations, depots of arms and war materiel” are military objectives.
The Report on the Practice of Algeria states that tanks and munitions and ammunition stores were considered military objectives during the war of independence.
The Report on the Practice of Lebanon states that, according to an advisor of the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, any position used by the occupying army for military purposes is considered a military objective.
Report on the Practice of Lebanon, 1998, Interview with an advisor of the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chapter 1.3.
In 1991, in a report submitted to the UN Security Council on operations in the Gulf War, the United Kingdom listed ammunition storage depots among the targets the Royal Air Force had attacked.
In 1997, in the case concerning the events at La Tablada in Argentina, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated that a military base is a “quintessential military objective”.
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Case 11.137 (Argentina), Report, 18 November 1997, § 155.
To fulfil its task of disseminating IHL, the ICRC has delegates around the world teaching armed and security forces that military objectives include “the establishments, buildings and positions where armed forces or their material are located (e.g. positions, barracks, stores)”.
In 1985, in the context of the conflict in El Salvador, the FMLN declared “those places visited by military elements, both from the army of the puppet regime as well as foreign military personnel involved in repressive and genocidal activities against the popular revolutionary movement” to be military objectives. It also considered houses or any other property leased to foreign military advisers as military objectives.
In 1985, in a report on violations of the laws of war in Nicaragua, Americas Watch listed “military works, military and naval establishments, supplies, vehicles, camp sites, fortifications, and fuel depots or stores which are or could be utilized by either party to the conflict” as objects which “can arguably be regarded as legitimate military objectives subject to direct attack”.
In 1989, in a report on violations of the laws of war in Angola, Africa Watch listed “military works, military and naval establishments, supplies, vehicles, camp sites, fortifications, and fuel depots or stores that are, or could be, utilized by any party to the conflict” as objects which “may be regarded as legitimate military objectives subject to direct attack by combatants and mines”.
Africa Watch, Angola: Violations of the Laws of War by Both Sides, New York, April 1989, pp. 139–140.

References: § 527
 § 916
 § 9
 § 407
 § 4
 § 4
 § 1
 § 155