Legal Literacy- This article discusses the use of flechettes as weapons in war and their regulation in international humanitarian law. Flechettes are miniature darts shaped like small arrows, usually made of steel or even uranium. These weapons have a high firing capability and can be used through heavy artillery. The use of these weapons is regulated in Jus in bello, which governs the rules of law in war.

This article also discusses the Declaration of St. Petersburg and the Fourth Hague Conference, as well as the 1899 regulations of war on land that prohibit the use of certain weapons in war. In addition, this article also discusses the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which establishes a prohibition on the use of certain weapons to protect civilians and combatants from unnecessary suffering caused by the use of weapons in war.

By: Sintarda Hari Pratama

Flechettes as Weapons

In law, international humanitarian law recognizes a distinction in the law within it, namely Jus ad bellum which regulates how a war can be justified to be carried out or occur and Jus in bello namely the rules of law in war which are intended to regulate the course of warfare so that it can run in accordance with humane provisions during the conflict. These rules in war include restrictions and how the war itself is carried out. Regarding the use of flechettes as weapons, the rule of law that views their use is Jus in bello. But what is a flechette?

Flechettes are miniature shaped like small arrows (darts) usually made of steel or even uranium. This ammunition is usually used in a rifle that has a firing capability (velocity) up to 1200 m/s. Not only with rifles but it can also be used through heavy artillery weapons such as Beehive and others. When a bullet containing flechettes is fired, it can explode and spread flechettes in all directions to injure or kill enemies with a wide range.

Attacks from this ammunition are very deadly and create very serious injuries, especially if the explosive power produced pushes all flechettes to reach a speed of 900 m/s. The use of this weapon is not new because it has been used during World War I, even during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict.