Should Heads of State and Government Enjoy Protection from Direct Attack in Armed Conflict? Some Insights from Vattel

This article explores the issue of the elimination of state leaders, in particular in the context of armed conflict, with reference to the work of international lawyer Emer de Vattel (1714–1767). The article highlights the value of the Vattelian concepts of proportionality, necessity and state survival as tools for assessing targeted attacks on heads of state and government. It points out that the elimination of state leaders may produce unintended and indeterminate consequences, thereby increasing the complexity of proportionality and necessity calculations. The impact of the targeting may be less unpredictable if the targeting entity carries out a full-fledged regime change, yet this practice is legally controversial on its own.