DSCA is recruiting for an Attorney-Adviser (Intl/Mil, GS-0905-13/14). This position is located within DSCU/DIILS with a duty location in Arlington, VA or Newport, RI. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply by following the link above.
COL Elizabeth "Liz" Allen, Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) Director, and other DIILS colleagues were pleased to meet up with many former DIILS Resident Course alumni at the African Military Law Forum in Zambia last month. African Military Law Forum.
This was the seventh iteration of the Forum, hosted by AFRICOM and the Zambia Defence Force. The Forum brings together African military legal professionals from throughout the continent to discuss current legal issues confronting them. It provides a venue to share best practices, meet colleagues, and address challenging legal issues in service of our militaries.
For over 30 years, DIILS, located in Newport, R. I., has been the lead U.S. Department of Defense Security Cooperation resource for global legal engagement with Partner Nation security sector institutions and personnel. As a component of the Defense Security Cooperation University, DIILS’ broad mission is to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests by building the capacity of foreign security forces to respond to shared security challenges in a responsible, accountable, and legally compliant manner.
Last month, a DIILS team traveled to Ghana to conduct a three day human rights and law of armed conflict executive seminar with members of the Ghanaian military and other government agencies.
The Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) and legal colleagues from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (MOD) recently partnered to conduct a two-week proof of concept training course on operational law. The course was specifically tailored to train Ukrainian legal advisors providing operational law guidance to battlefield commanders.
“Any cooperation with partners is valuable – it's not just about weapons, money, or ammunition, it's about sharing experience and knowledge. I thank The Defense Institute of International Legal Studies for their cooperation. Congratulations to the officers of the Legal Service of the Ministry of Defense system on completing the professional course. Apply the knowledge for the benefit of Ukraine”, said Oleksandr Balanutsa, the Ukraine Deputy Minister of Defenсe for European Integration.
“This course is only one facet of an ongoing and a sustained DIILS partnership with Ukraine,” said U.S. Army Col. Elizabeth Allen, DIILS Director. “Our team will continue to be responsive to emergent Ukrainian legal needs. In coordination with USEUCOM, we will maintain and cultivate this vital partnership with the Ukrainian MOD through other DIILS and Defense Security Cooperation University Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) lines of effort, which bolster Ukrainian efforts to lawfully counter Russia’s invasion.”
With Ukrainian operational legal advisors in attendance as students, the pilot course provided an opportunity for critique and adjustment before the Ukrainian MOD permanently incorporates the curriculum into their training regimen. Ukrainian MOD operational law experts taught most of the materials and led practical classroom exercises, while a DIILS team provided some of the instruction.
“Our Ukrainian legal colleagues demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of the law of armed conflict, especially in the context of the learned experience of fighting against an unlawful invasion,” said Allen.
USEUCOM’s Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Army Col. Ian Iverson, provided opening remarks to the course.
“This course is a powerful symbol highlighting the moral and legal differences between the military actions of Russia and those of Ukraine,” said Iverson. “And you, as Ukrainian legal advisors, play a critical role in ensuring that Ukrainian military operations comply with the applicable laws of armed conflict; you play a critical role in safeguarding Ukraine’s legitimacy and international support.”
During a key leader engagement following opening remarks to the course, Col. Iverson, Col. Allen, and the Staff Judge Advocates for U.S. Army Europe and Security Assistance Group – Ukraine met with Ukrainian counterparts led by Col. Kyrylo Hankevych, Deputy Director of the Ukrainian MOD Legal Department. Discussions focused on future legal training and exchange opportunities between the U.S. and the Ukrainian Armed Forces to further inform one another's knowledge in a rapidly evolving battlespace.
The recent pilot course was the culmination of a year-long effort to create an organic Ukrainian training course for legal advisors on the relevant legal issues of armed conflict, with particular focus on the current war with Russia. Additionally, wartime innovations reinforced a need to ensure the course incorporated the latest legal developments for an increasingly sophisticated battlefield.
DIILS and Ukrainian operational law experts met in person multiple times in the past year, with much work completed between each meeting. DIILS and Ukraine legal teams collaborated to create and review training briefs. The briefs were complete with video clips, scenarios, and discussion points, which incorporated and applied both international and Ukrainian law as it relates to armed conflict.
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As a component of the Defense Security Cooperation University, DIILS broad mission is to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests by building the capacity of foreign security forces to respond to shared security challenges in a responsible, accountable, and legally compliant manner.
In June, a DIILS team traveled to Vietnam to conduct a two day human rights and law of armed conflict executive seminar with members of the Vietnamese military and other government ministries.
For more than 30 years, DIILS, located in Newport, Rhode Island, has been the lead U.S. Department of Defense Security Cooperation resource for global legal engagement with Partner Nation security sector institutions and personnel. As a component of DSCU, DIILS broad mission is to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests by building the capacity of foreign security forces to respond to shared security challenges in a responsible, accountable, and legally compliant manner.
DIILS graduated thirty-eight students from the 2024 Cyber Law and Hybrid Warfare course. Countries represented were Austria, Belize, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Fiji, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Slovak Republic, Malaysia, Morocco, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Slovenia, Tanzania, Trinidad-Tobago, Thailand, Taiwan, and Zambia.
DIILS offers this four- week, in-residence course for military officers, legal advisors, and their civilian counterparts provides an in-depth global perspective of domestic and international legal aspects of cyber operations and emerging technologies present in hybrid warfare and their impact on modern state governance. Presented by internationally recognized subject matter experts, this course begins with a discussion of the application of cyber and emerging technologies and a review of the legislative and evidentiary challenges of cybercrimes. The course also includes Cultural familiarization activities under the DIILS Field Studies Program (FSP) that may take place in Newport, Boston, New York City, and Washington DC.
Learn more about DIILS offerings in the 2024-2025 DIILS Program Overview.
DSCA is recruiting for an Attorney-Adviser (International/Military), GS-0905-14. This position is located within DSCU/DIILS located at Newport, RI or Arlington, VA. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply by following the link above.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency is recruiting for an Attorney-Adviser (International/Military) GS-0905-14 to serve as a Maritime Program Director. This position is located within Defense Security Cooperation University/Defense Institute of International Legal Studies, located in Newport, RI. Interested candidates are encouraged to learn more and apply by following the link above to ABA Career Center website.
A DIILS team recently traveled to the Philippines to conduct seminars on Human Rights and the Law of Armed Conflict with members of that country's military.
For more than 30 years, DIILS, located in Newport, Rhode Island, has been the lead U.S. Department of Defense Security Cooperation resource for global legal engagement with Partner Nation security sector institutions and personnel. As a component of the Defense Security Cooperation University, DIILS broad mission is to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests by building the capacity of foreign security forces to respond to shared security challenges in a responsible, accountable, and legally compliant manner.
A team from the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) recently traveled to Bosnia and Herzegovina to conduct a seminar on Human Rights and the Law of Armed Conflict with members of their military.
For more than 30 years, DIILS, located in Newport, Rhode Island, has been the lead U.S. Department of Defense Security Cooperation resource for global legal engagement with Partner Nation security sector institutions and personnel. As a component of the Defense Security Cooperation University, DIILS broad mission is to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests by building the capacity of foreign security forces to respond to shared security challenges in a responsible, accountable, and legally compliant manner.
