3 Scope of Application of International Humanitarian Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kleffner Jann K
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
The Law ◽  
Humanitarian Values ◽  
The One

This chapter addresses the scope of application of international humanitarian law. International humanitarian law regulates, and as a rule applies in times of, armed conflicts. Accordingly, it is also referred to as the law of armed conflict or jus in bello. The three interchangeable terms denote the only branch of public international law that is specifically designed to strike a balance during armed conflicts between preserving humanitarian values, on the one hand, and considerations of military necessity, on the other by protecting those who do not or no longer directly participate in hostilities and by limiting the right of parties to the conflict to use armed force only to the amount necessary to achieve the aim of the conflict, which is to weaken the military potential of the enemy. While international humanitarian law specifically regulates situations of armed conflicts, it does not automatically supersede all other areas of public international law in the event of an armed conflict. The chapter then focuses on the law enforcement aspects, the continued relevance of rules of international law of peace during armed conflict, and the relevance of humanitarian law in peacetime and post-conflict military operations.

Ten questions to Philip Spoerri, ICRC Director for International Law and Cooperation

2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (887) ◽  
pp. 1125-1134 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
The One

With the globalisation of market economies, business has become an increasingly prominent actor in international relations. It is also increasingly present in situations of armed conflict. On the one hand, companies operating in volatile environments are exposed to violence and the consequences of armed conflicts. On the other hand, some of their conduct in armed conflict may lead to violations of the law.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) engages with the private sector on humanitarian issues, with the aim of ensuring compliance or clarifying the obligations that business actors have under international humanitarian law (IHL) and encouraging them to comply with the commitments they have undertaken under various international initiatives to respect IHL and human rights law.In times of conflict, IHL spells out certain responsibilities and rights for all parties involved. Knowledge of the relevant rules of IHL is therefore critical for local and international businesses operating in volatile contexts. In this Q&A section, Philip Spoerri, ICRC Director for International Law and Cooperation, gives an overview of the rules applicable to business actors in situations of conflict, and discusses some of the ICRC's engagement with business actors.Philip Spoerri began his career with the ICRC in 1994. Following a first assignment in Israel and the occupied and autonomous territories, he went on to be based in Kuwait, Yemen, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Geneva, he headed the legal advisers to the Department of Operations. He returned to Afghanistan as head of the ICRC delegation there from 2004 to 2006, when he took up his current position. Before joining the ICRC, he worked as a lawyer in a private firm in Munich. He holds a PhD in law from Bielefeld University and has also studied at the universities of Göttingen, Geneva, and Munich.

Treaties for Armed Conflict

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Kolb ◽  
Katherine Del Mar
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Law

This chapter begins with a discussion of the importance of treaties in the law of armed conflict. Specifically, it presents seven reasons why the law of armed conflict is one of the branches of public international law that has been the most intensely codified through treaties. It then discusses treaties and international customary law; the main treaties on international humanitarian law (IHL); problems of ratification of IHL treaties; reservations to IHL treaties; legal relationships between IHL treaties; interpretation of IHL treaties; special agreements; denunciation of IHL treaties; and the legal effects of a breach of an IHL treaty.

The 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons and the applicability of rules governing means of combat in a non-international armed conflict

1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (279) ◽  
pp. 551-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Plattner
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
General Rules ◽  
Conventional Weapons ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
The Law

Having reached the tenth anniversary of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects, adopted on 10 October 1980 (hereinafter referred to as the 1980 Convention), we can measure the progress brought about by the treaty within the limits which the law sets for the suffering caused by war. Paradoxically, however, we are witnessing an increasing number of situations which, in form at least, fall outside the scope of application of the 1980 Convention, namely non-international armed conflicts.Yet international humanitarian law on methods and means of combat includes general rules applicable to all armed conflict, and hence to non-international armed conflicts too. The provisions of the 1980 Convention are an application of those general rules to the means of combat which the treaty is intended to regulate. The question thus arises whether some of the rules of conduct laid down in the 1980 Convention are applicable to all armed conflicts, whether international or non-international. In the present study, we shall attempt to reply at least to some extent to that question.

scholarly journals Armed Conflicts in Outer Space

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 335-357
Author(s):  
Juan Felipe Idrovo Romo
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Dual Use ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Unique Nature ◽  
Rules And Principles

The paper critically explores those scenarios (hypothetical, but probable) in which armed conflicts take place in outer space. First, the problem regarding the definition and delimitation of outer space will be analyzed. In this regard, the reasons why there is no consensus among the States, and even within the scientific community, will be explained. Subsequently, the relevant branches (for the topic) of Public International Law will be introduced (International Space Law, International Humanitarian Law, and Ius ad Bellum) and their key regulations will be identified. At this point, the main reasons why International Humanitarian Law shall be applied in the event that an armed conflict develops in outer space will be explained taking into account PIL formal and auxiliary sources. Likewise, specific challenges, that result from the application of International Humanitarian Law in outer space, will be exposed and analyzed. These challenges include: (i) attacks on dual-use objects; (ii) the obligations of the parties to the conflict when there is human direct or physical participation; and (iii) the applicable regulations for the development and use of new weapons. For each problem raised, possible solutions based on the rules and principles of current law will be provided. Finally, the need for the eventual creation of a specific treaty to regulate the matter will be emphasized, in view of the unique nature of this type of conflict.

Displacement of Civilians during Armed Conflict in the Light of the Case Law of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 823-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALLEHONE MULUGETA ABEBE
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
State Responsibility ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
The Law

AbstractThe awards on liability and damages for violations of international humanitarian law of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission uncover both the extent of state responsibility for unlawful displacement and deportation of civilian population resulting from wrongful actions of belligerents under international law and the availability of remedies for victims of such violations. The Commission reached a number of important decisions based on government-to-government claims brought by Ethiopia and Eritrea for injuries, losses, and damage suffered by individuals and groups uprooted by the war. While these decisions bring to light the potential of international humanitarian law in addressing the plight of the displaced, they also expose the limitations of the tribunal's mandate and its interpretation of existing law. The aim of this essay is to analyse the case law of the Commission in the light of international law applicable to situations of displacement of civilians triggered by international armed conflicts, and evaluate the relevance of the Commission's jurisprudence for the development of the law in the field.

27. The Law of Armed Conflict (International Humanitarian Law)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Turns
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Prisoners Of War ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
The Law

The international law of armed conflict (also known as international humanitarian law or the law of war) regulates the conduct of hostilities—including the use of weaponry—and the protection of victims in situations of both international and non-international armed conflict. Rooted in customary law, often of very great antiquity, since the late nineteenth century it has become one of the most intensively codified areas of international law. This chapter outlines the scope of application of the law; issues of personal status (combatants and civilians); the conduct of hostilities (methods and means of warfare, including choice of weapons and targeting operations); the protection of victims (sick, wounded, shipwrecked, prisoners of war, and civilians); and various ways of securing the law’s implementation and enforcement.

The regulation of non-international armed conflicts: Can a privilege of belligerency be envisioned in the law of non-international armed conflicts?

2014 ◽  
Vol 96 (893) ◽  
pp. 29-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Kreβ ◽  
Frédéric Mégret
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Jus In Bello ◽  
The Creation ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The Law

The Debate section of the Review aims to contribute to reflection on contemporary questions of humanitarian law, policy or action. In this issue of the Review, we invited two experts in international humanitarian law (IHL) – Claus Kreβ and Frédéric Mégret – to debate on how IHL applicable in non-international armed conflict (NIAC) should develop. In the two pieces that follow, Professor Kreβ submits for debate a new norm of international law outlawing NIACs – a jus contra bellum internum – with a corresponding set of rules applicable in NIACs – a jus in bello interno. The jus in bello interno would give the “privilege of belligerency” – akin to combatants' privilege in international armed conflicts – to non-State actors in NIACs, providing an incentive for them to comply with these new rules of civil war. Frédéric Mégret critically examines the proposed privilege of belligerency, pointing out its problematic aspects and positing that the creation of such a privilege is, in fact, not desirable.

Protecting the Environment from the Perspective of the Law of Armed Conflict

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 252-260
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Krzan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Normative Framework ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Law

Abstract The present study analyses climate change from the perspective of the law of armed conflict. Climate may be both a victim and a means of warfare. Arguably, the existing normative framework is broad enough to allow for accommodating climate change. It cannot be denied that the environment is easily harmed, or at least jeopardized in times of armed conflicts. Despite the obvious lack of explicit references in the instruments of international humanitarian law, it may be argued that it is possible to fit climate change in. The accompanying analysis addresses the respective potential and the ensuing hurdles.

18 The Law of Neutrality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bothe Michael
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
The Other ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Neutral State ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter focuses on rules of the law of neutrality concerning the protection of the victims of armed conflicts, which must be considered as part of international humanitarian law. ‘Neutrality’ describes the particular status, as defined by international law, of a state not party to an armed conflict. This status entails specific rights and duties in the relationship between the neutral and the belligerent states. On one hand, there is the right of the neutral state to remain apart from, and not to be adversely affected by, the conflict. On the other hand, there is the duty of non-participation and impartiality. The right not to be adversely affected means that the relationship between the neutral and belligerent States is governed by the law of peace, which is modified only in certain respects by the law of neutrality. In particular, the neutral State must tolerate certain controls in the area of maritime commerce. The duty of non-participation means, above all, that the state must abstain from supporting a party to the conflict. This duty not to support also means that the neutral state is under a duty not to allow one party to the conflict to use the resources of the neutral state against the will of the opponent.

Proportionality in Armed Conflicts: A Principle in Need of Clarification?

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-123
Author(s):  
Ben Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Guidance Document ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
The Law ◽  
Proportionality Principle

In their quest to find ways to reduce civilian casualties during armed conflict, States often emphasise the importance of compliance with fundamental rules of international humanitarian law that apply during the conduct of hostilities. Chief among them are the rules of distinction, proportionality and precaution. This contribution focuses on the proportionality principle. It examines whether there is a need for clarification or development of this rule. After highlighting reasons why clarification of the law on proportionality is necessary, the author proposes a guidance document on proportionality decision-making in armed conflict. To lay the foundation for such a document, the author identifies a range of issues that could be addressed in the document.

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