SPECIALISED COURSES ON IHL

Rules of Engagement Course

20 – 24 October 2025, Sanremo (Italy)

The aim of the Rules of Engagement (RoE) Course is to provide participant’s with an understanding of the functions of ROE, their formulation, implementation, interpretation and management.

Overall objectives

The Course examines the relationship between legal, political, and operational parameters in the formulation of RoE and the inherent tensions between the competing concerns of risk to mission and risk to force. Using an end to end approach, RoE issues are placed within the context of staff processes from operational design to mission execution by operators.

Target audience

The Course is designed as core training for military officers and civilian personnel, staff advisers and operators concerned with RoE in the planning, training, or conduct phases of operations.

The Course is a specialised Course for those practitioners with a foundation of relevant legal and operational experience. Participants must have attended the IIHL Foundation Course or a national or international equivalent.

Additionally, in order to fully benefit from the programme, the Teaching Staff requests participants to read the Sanremo ROE Handbook and the ROE Course Scenario Introduction before the start of the ROE Course (see links to Course Documentation).

Methodology

RoE topics are examined in the single service, national, joint and multinational environments and from a strategic, operational, and tactical level of command perspective. The focus throughout the Course is an experienced based practical methodology which practically addresses topics.

The key overarching teaching objectives of the Course are for participants to understand:

  1. The legal bases for the use of force under IHL in RoE (including conflict classification).
  2. ROE and law of the sea, air law, and SOFAs.
  3. ROE as a command and control tool for the use of force.
  4. The relationship between RoE and Staff processes, products (including targeting directives) associated with RoE formulation, promulgation, and modification (RoE management).
  5. The definitions and relationships of Self-defence, Hostile Intent & Hostile Act to RoE.
  6. Key elements of selected national and multinational RoE systems including caveats, interoperability.
  7. Drafting RoE for a wide range of single service, joint, and multinational operations, using the Sanremo ROE Handbook.
  8. Interpreting RoE and application to operational issues.
  9. RoE training & training audiences.
  10. RoE incidents, investigations and consequences.
REGISTRATION FORM

Registration deadline: 7 October 2025

PROGRAMME

The Agenda will be available soon

For any additional information, please contact the Military Department at  military.department@iihl.org.

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Duration:
1 week
Language:
English
Registration fee:
€ 1.100
End of course:
Official certificate
Application Procedure
Language
Certificate
Course Documentation

Participation quota amounts to € 1.100. It must be remitted before the start of the course by bank transfer or, at the latest, upon arrival in cash or Euro currency cheque. Visa and/or Mastercard are also accepted either on the website (click here) or at the Institute.

The course will be conducted in English. There will not be simultaneous translation.

The Official Certificate will be released to participants who attend the course in full after the final session and completion of the course evaluation.

 

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