The Richard Baxter Military Prize of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) is reserved exclusively for serving members of the armed forces, veterans, reserve personnel, and civilian employees of defence institutions. Major Pornomo received the award for his outstanding research in his article on the complex legal status of auxiliary vessels.
In his article, “Between Warships and Merchant Ships: The Legal Status, Operational Functions and Targeting Rules of Auxiliary Vessels,” published in the International Review of the Red Cross (2026) Major Pornomo examines the increasingly important yet legally ambiguous role of auxiliary vessels in contemporary maritime operations. Auxiliary vessels occupy a unique and unsettled position within the law of naval warfare: they do not possess the sovereign belligerent rights enjoyed by warships, while at the same time they are generally excluded from the civilian protections and immunities granted to ordinary merchant ships. Despite their growing operational significance in modern naval logistics and support missions, international law provides no formal treaty definition of auxiliary vessels, resulting in divergent interpretations among States and military manuals.
The article explores a number of unresolved legal questions surrounding auxiliary vessels, particularly whether such vessels should automatically be considered military objectives by their nature, as several naval warfare manuals suggest, or whether their status should instead depend upon their specific operational purpose or actual use during armed conflict at sea. Major Pornomo further analyses the legal implications arising from unclear criteria concerning exclusive State control, crew composition, logistical support functions, targeting rules, and the limits of self-defence.
By drawing upon treaty law, military manuals, restatements of international law, and contemporary State practice, the article highlights the significant operational and humanitarian risks created by the absence of clear legal standards. Major Pornomo argues that greater precision is urgently needed to distinguish auxiliary vessels from ordinary merchant ships temporarily engaged in support activities, as well as to clarify the legal limits of maritime support functions that may lawfully be conducted without conferring warship status.
The Lieber Society recognized the article not only for its academic excellence, but also for its practical relevance to contemporary naval operations and the evolving character of maritime conflict. The work has additionally supported the naval warfare workstream of the Geneva International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Dialogue (GIIHL), contributing to broader international discussions on the modernization and clarification of the law applicable to naval warfare.