The first part of this paper gives an overview of the Law of Armed Conflict. There are various international treaties governing armed conflicts: the main Hague Conventions (1907) and Geneva Conventions (1949), the Hague Cultural Property Convention (1949 and 1954), the protocols added to the Geneva Conventions, and the convention on certain conventional weapons (1977 and 1980). LOAC is described according to its basic principles and definitions. The second part of the paper concentrates on Rules of Engagement, one of the best tools available to policy-makers to help manage armed forces during a crisis. ROE are guidelines specifying under what conditions or circumstances force may be used to satisfy political and/or military demands. As these will vary greatly from situation to situation, this paper does not describe ROE, but discusses the principles of how ROE should be drawn up. Tension inescapably exits in a system that subordinates armed forces under civilian control while retaining military command. Managing this tension by delineating the boundaries of military action in support of political objectives is another major role of ROE. There are vital links between the strategic and tactical levels of conflict. The strongest of these links are often ROE. The ROE for counter-terrorist operations are different to war and crisis ROE in terms of applicable law and the political desire.