Category Archives: Use of Force

The Ongoing Reform of the Italian Law on Arms Export and Recent Policy Trends in This Field

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Italy stands out as one of the first countries to have established a detailed legal regime for arms export control, with Law No. 185 of 1990. Despite having ratified the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in 2013, Italy has never introduced any implementing legislation or undertaken a substantial revision of Law 185/1990 to align it with the ATT obligations. The reform of such law – long awaited due to partial divergence from ATT provisions – thus appeared to many as necessary. Against this background, the draft amendments to Law 185/1990 were formally submitted to the Senate of the Republic on 11 August 2023 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in coordination with the Ministers of Defence, of the Interior, of Justice, of Economy and Finance and of Enterprises and Made in Italy. However, it is striking that the current reform makes no explicit reference to the ATT, nor does it seem to address the need for legal harmonisation.[1] This calls for a closer examination of the actual drivers behind the reform of Italy’s legislation on arms export control.

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Italy’s Stance on the Israeli-Palestinian Question and the Gaza War: Continuity and Change

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Throughout 2024, the Italian Government and Parliament remained actively engaged with the ongoing hostilities between Hamas and Israel and with their destabilising effect on the broader Middle East. Attention was also directed towards the intensification of Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, which have resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis.[1] More specifically, Italy’s position can be summarised as follows: 1) condemnation of the attacks perpetrated by both State and non-State actors against Israel; 2) recognition of Israel’s right to self-defence in accordance with international law but, at the same time, a strong emphasis on the need to guarantee humanitarian access to Gaza and a condemnation of settler violence in the West Bank; 3) endorsement of a two-State solution negotiated between the parties as the sole viable solution to the conflict.

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Italy’s Support to Ukraine’s War Effort: Neither Unconditional Military Aid, Nor Unconditional Peace

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In 2024, the Russia-Ukraine conflict remained one of the main topics of debate in foreign policy matters in Italy. Among the aspects discussed by governmental representatives, the most significant ones are the extent of Italian support to Ukraine’s war effort, the final aim this support pursues (i.e., the conditions attached to a future peace arrangement), and military aid to Russia from other States.

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Between order and (international) law: Minister Crosetto’s strategic realism and the future of multilateral institutions

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The speech delivered by Italy’s Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto, at the University of Padua on 20 June 2025, is an unusually frank address by a sitting member of government. It stands out not only for its candid tone but also for its breadth, spanning global order, European decline, security, technological supremacy, and international law. It offers particular value to foreign observers of Italian international practice for the way it lays bare the strategic doubts that animate the highest political levels of the Country.

From the standpoint of international law, the speech is significant because it reflects a realist understanding of law’s place in the international order. Far from viewing international law as an autonomous normative system, Minister Crosetto implicitly portrays it as a superstructure – one dependent on political preconditions that are now faltering. This is quite a common reading of international law as the by-product of a political and economic configuration that may not survive in its present form. The Minister’s remarks are also noteworthy for their recognition of the crisis of multilateralism, and the consequent risks for institutions – such as the United Nations and NATO – which are ordinarily seen as pillars of the present legal order.

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The Legality of Arms Transfers to Israel after 7 October: The Relationship Between the International Legal Framework on Arms Trade and Law No. 185 of 1990

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In Italy, as in several other countries, the debate on the legality of arms transfers to Israel assumed considerable political importance in late 2023 and early 2024.[1] After an initial period of shock over the Hamas attack on Israeli territory on 7 October, public and parliamentary attention to arms transfers to Israel increased in parallel with the growing number of Palestinian civilian casualties caused by the Israeli army’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Between November 2023 and April 2024, the Italian Government had to address the issue on at least five occasions during parliamentary debates.

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The Hamas Attack of 7 October and Israel’s Military Response

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On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an attack on the State of Israel, firing rockets from the Gaza Strip and breaching the Gaza “border” by air, sea and land. This attack resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths,[1] as well as the abduction of hostages in the Gaza Strip. The incident – and Israel’s subsequent military response – had a profound impact on the international community and occupied a significant part of the Italian parliamentary debate on foreign affairs in 2023, which continued in 2024.

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Violations of International Humanitarian Law and Issues of Accountability in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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Not surprisingly, in 2022, the Italian Government(s)[1] extensively dealt with several international humanitarian law (IHL) implications of the Russia-Ukraine war: firstly, the systematic violations of the rules on targeting that protect civilians and civilian objects against the effects of hostilities; secondly, the forcible transfer of civilians from occupied territories under the law of belligerent occupation; lastly, the prospects for accountability for serious violations of IHL. These aspects are explored in the following analysis.

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The Reaction to the Russian Federation’s Invasion of Ukraine and the Debate on the Provision of Weapons to the State Victim of Aggression

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At the beginning of 2022, when the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation started, several factors would have led one to question Italy’s ability to condemn the unlawful use of force. Italy was heavily dependent on gas supplies from Russia by virtue of a decades-long policy of cooperation in the energy sector (a situation that changed radically in the space of a year).[1] Some parties with governmental responsibilities in both the executive led by Mario Draghi and the subsequent one led by Giorgia Meloni,[2] had also shown over time that they had a network of relations with the Russian leadership.[3] Furthermore, the presence of a strong pacifist movement within public opinion had led some analysts to doubt whether the country would adopt a firm political stance towards the Russian Federation involving the supply of weapons or some form of participation in the conflict.[4]

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On Some International Agreements Concerning Nuclear Weapons in Light of the New Challenges Posed by the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

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The year 2022 was undoubtedly marked by a strong prominence of the debate related to nuclear weapons, driven by a series of institutional events such as the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the plenary United Nations (UN) meeting against nuclear testing and the first World Conference of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

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