Contact David Turns

Background

David graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with an Upper Second Class LLB (Honours) degree in 1990 and an LLM in 1992, and has been a non-practising barrister and Member of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple since 1992. From 1990 to 1994 he taught Public International Law as a Part-time Lecturer at the London School of Economics, and was a full Lecturer in Law at the University of Liverpool from 1994 to 2007.

He has specialised in the education and training of military legal advisers since 1995 and has also delivered courses on international law for humanitarian aid workers, military officers (non-legal, including senior commanders) and civil servants, in the UK and many other countries around the world.

David was a Visiting Professor at the Institute of International Law and International Relations, University of Vienna, in 2002, and is a Member of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (San Remo, Italy), the Board of Directors of the International Society for Military Law & the Law of War, and the Advisory Board of the Hungarian Yearbook of International Law & European Law.

Research opportunities

International Humanitarian Law (the Law of Armed Conflict) (jus in bello)

Legality of the Use of Force by States (jus ad bellum)

International Criminal Law

Current activities

David's current scholarly interests are:

the historical and contemporary evolution of warfare and its effect on the development and interpretation of the laws of war;

Rules of Engagement as a tool for the governance of armed and security forces;

the doctrine of armed reprisals.

Clients

British Army Legal Services

Royal Air Force Legal Branch

Royal Navy Legal Services Directorate

Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence

International Committee of the Red Cross

The Scottish Government

Publications

Articles In Journals

Books