MISTREATMENT OF THE WOUNDED, SICK AND SHIPWRECKED BY THE ICRC STUDY ON CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 175-219
Author(s):  
James P. Benoit
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
International Committee ◽  
The State ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Traditional Theory ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
The Us ◽  
State Practice ◽  
The Guardian

AbstractIn 2005, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) completed a ten-year study on customary international humanitarian law, based on an assessment of the State practice of over 150 nations over the preceding thirty years. Somewhat surprisingly, but perhaps owing to the sheer size of theICRC Study, only two states have officially responded to the ICRC: the United States and Israel. Although an analysis of the US response is beyond the scope of this paper, it generally criticizes theICRC Study'sunorthodox methodology, including both the State practice it considered, and its lack of proof ofopinio juris.The ICRC is a venerable organization, traditionally viewed as the guardian of international humanitarian law. Its study is a monumental work compiling a surfeit of State practice. Nevertheless, theICRC Studyarticulates ‘rules’ that are not sustainable under the traditional theory of customary international law formation, as may be seen by the examination in Section 3 of the three seemingly uncontroversial rules proposed for handling the wounded, sick and shipwrecked.

Customary international humanitarian law: An overview of Kenya’s state practice in the post-2010 Constitution era

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 121-158
Author(s):  
Kenneth Wyne Mutuma
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
State Practice

With the exception of the shifta wars in the northern part of the country, Kenya has, for the greater part of its post-colonial history, enjoyed relative conditions of peace. This, in turn, has affected the volume of and quality of knowledge on Kenya’s state practice on international humanitarian law (IHL). The Customary IHL study of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 2005 reviewed state practice in the country at the time, based on materials such as military manuals, national laws and case law. However, since 2005, two significant events have had a direct bearing on the country’s IHL state practice. The first is the ushering in of a new constitutional order through the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, and the second is the Kenyan military troops’ incursion into Somalia against the Somali terrorist group, Al-Shabaab. This paper looks at the significant ways in which these two events have led to key additions to Kenya’s state practice, under four main headings: military manuals, national laws, court cases and other sources.

Prevention in practice: Teaching IHL in US legal academia

2014 ◽  
Vol 96 (895-896) ◽  
pp. 987-1027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Jastram ◽  
Anne Quintin
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Law School ◽  
Law Students ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Law Schools ◽  
Law Faculty ◽  
The Us ◽  
Practice Teaching

AbstractThis paper assesses the evolution of teaching international humanitarian law (IHL) in law schools in the United States since 2007, analyzes progress made in overcoming challenges to more effective integration of IHL content in law school curricula, and provides a measure of the contribution of promotional initiatives and strategies undertaken by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to this effort. The findings and recommendations should serve to support law faculty and law schools in the US and elsewhere, as well as the ICRC, in expanding opportunities for teaching and scholarship, and in encouraging law students and professors to pursue their interest in this field.

The ICRC Library goes digital

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Keyword(s):  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Reference Library ◽  
Parallel Development ◽  
Humanitarian Action ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past

The ICRC Library is home to unique collections retracing the parallel development of humanitarian action and law during the past 150+ years. With the core of these collections now digitized, this reference library on international humanitarian law (IHL) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a resource available to all, anytime, anywhere.

Bridging the Accountability Gap

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-597
Author(s):  
Hannes Jöbstl
Keyword(s):  
War Crimes ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Penal Sanctions ◽  
Accountability Gap ◽  
Alternative Solutions

Abstract During non-international armed conflict, war crimes often go unpunished in areas where state authorities are unable to enforce the law. While states are under a customary law obligation to investigate and prosecute war crimes committed on their territory or by their nationals, the Customary International Humanitarian Law Study of the International Committee of the Red Cross has not found that this obligation extends to armed non-state actors (ANSAs). Nevertheless, command responsibility requires the individual commander to punish their forces in case war crimes have been committed and a growing amount of state practice demanding similar commitments — both legally and politically — from these actors as such can be observed over the past two decades. Indeed, ANSAs routinely impose penal sanctions onto their subordinates and often establish judicial structures in order to do so. This article argues that whereas ANSAs should be under some form of obligation to ensure accountability, alternative solutions to makeshift courts and penal proceedings might be better suited to prevent impunity and maintain fair trial guarantees.

scholarly journals Instytucjonalizacja współpracy w zakresie grobownictwa wojennego

2015 ◽  
pp. 88-103
Author(s):  
Joanna Szymoniczek
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Organizations ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Us ◽  
Special Protection

Resting places of fallen soldiers – war cemeteries – are monuments to soldiers’ heroism, and thus are of special significance not only for those who have lost their loved ones, but also for entire nations, countries and communities. Therefore, such cemeteries are created under the provisions of relevant authorities, and then put under the special protection of the public. These issues are closely regulated by international law established throughout the twentieth century. Cemeteries are protected by the state on whose territory individual objects are placed. However, the problem of cemeteries is more and more often the responsibility of social organizations. According to the international humanitarian law of armed conflict, specific tasks in this respect are assigned to the tracing services of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, who deal with the registry of exhumation, inhumation and body transfer, hold deposits, establish the fate of victims of war and issue death certificates. Institutions that deal with exploration, keeping records, exhumation of remains and the construction or revaluation of the graves of fallen citizens buried outside the borders of their own countries include the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites, the German People’s Union for the Care of War Graves, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Austrian Red Cross (Österreichisches Schwarzes Kreuz), the American Battle Monuments Commission, the US Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad and the Italian Commissariat General for the Memory of Killed in War (Commissariato Generale per le Onoranze Caduti in Guerra). For political reasons, tasks related to war cemeteries are assigned to social organizations, because their actions are believed to be more effective and less bureaucratic than those of states.

scholarly journals The International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Criminal Court: Turning international humanitarian law into a two-headed snake?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Fernanda García Pinto
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Critical Approach

Abstract The International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Criminal Court are two very different entities that simultaneously apply international humanitarian law but do so after their own perspectives. This article proposes a cautious yet critical approach to some of their divergent interpretations (conflict classification, the difference between direct and active participation in hostilities, intra-party sexual and gender-based violence, and the notion of attack) and examines how the broader legal system copes with these points of divergence. The analysis considers the institutional characteristics of these two organizations and the pluralistic nature of international humanitarian law as well as its dynamic rapport with international criminal law in order to highlight the versatility needed to face the challenges posed by contemporary armed conflicts.

UN Peacekeeping Operations: Applicability of International Humanitarian Law and Responsibility for Operations-Related Damage

2000 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 406-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphna Shraga
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
First Time

In the five decades that followed the Korea operation, where for the first time the United Nations commander agreed, at the request of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to abide by the humanitarian provisions of the Geneva Conventions, few UN operations lent themselves to the applicability of international humanitarian law

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