W. Hays Parks is a renowned expert on the law of armed conflict who has served as a senior attorney in the U.S. Department of Defense. He has been widely recognized for his expertise in international humanitarian law and the law of war. He contributed to The Weekly Standard in 2013, writing about the long-delayed Department of Defense Law of War Manual.
Since 1914, the United States Army has published and periodically updated a Law of War Manual. Its purpose is to provide authoritative guidance to military personnel on the customary and treaty law of war.