eli5 How is something “banned” in war and what would happen if you break the “war rules”?

Question

eli5 How is something “banned” in war and what would happen if you break the “war rules”?

In: 2

Answer 1

If you and me decide to fight, we might agree on some rules beforehand. No biting, no eye poking, no kicks to the nuts. Once the fight is going strong, somebody might be tempted to break those rules. Since (in this case) there’s no “world policeman” that can step in, the only punishment for you breaking the rules is that it might make me decide to break the rules too. Or maybe other people might jump in if they think the move you pulled was dirty enough.

Same thing with war.