In warfare, a reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of the laws of war to punish an enemy who has already broken them. A legally executed reprisal is not an atrocity. To be legally justified, a reprisal may be directed only against the party carrying out the original violation, may be carried out only as a last resort after formal notice of the planned reprisal having been given, must be proportionate to the original violation, must have the aim of persuading the original violator to comply with the legally accepted behavior in future, and must not continue after the illegal behavior ends.
OmegaWiki Dictionary
Ω
reprisal Action taken to respond to an insult, injury or other wrong by trying to harm its perpetrator.
