The Principle of Distinction Between Civilians and Combatants

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Melzer
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Armed Actors

This chapter examines the provisions of international humanitarian law (IHL) concerning the distinction between legitimate military targets and persons protected against direct attacks. It explains that the practical application of the principle of distinction in contemporary armed conflicts has become increasingly difficult because of a number of factors. These include the growing asymmetry of military confrontations, the intermingling of armed actors with the civilian population, and the increasing involvement of civilians in the conduct of hostilities.

Proportionality in International Humanitarian Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amichai Cohen ◽  
David Zlotogorski
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
State Actor ◽  
Principle Of Proportionality ◽  
Almost All

The principle of proportionality is one of the cornerstones of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Almost all states involved in armed conflicts recognize that it is prohibited to launch an attack that is expected to cause incidental harm to civilians that exceeds the direct military advantage anticipated from the attack. This prohibition is included in military manuals, taught in professional courses, and accepted as almost axiomatic. And yet, the exact meaning of this principle is vague. Almost every issue is in dispute—from the most elementary question of how to compare civilian harm and military advantage, to the possible obligation to employ accurate but expensive weapons. Controversy is especially rife regarding asymmetrical conflicts, in which many modern democracies are involved. How exactly should proportionality be implemented when the enemy is not an army, but a non-state actor embedded within a civilian population? What does it mean to use precautions in attack, when almost every attack is directed at objects that are used for both military and civilian purposes?

Resolution of the Council of Delegates 1985

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (250) ◽  
pp. 11-15
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Harmful Effects

The Council of Delegates,Mindful of the decisive contribution made by the Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 to the development of international humanitarian law and, in particular, to the protection of the civilian population against the harmful effects of armed conflicts

Tracing the Historical and Legal Development of the Levée en Masse in the Law of Armed Conflict

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
Legal Development ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law

Levée en masse – the spontaneous uprising of the civilian population against an invading force – has long been a part of the modern law of armed conflict with regard to determining who may legitimately participate in armed conflict. The concept originated during the revolutionary wars in America and France, and was incorporated into the first codified rules of armed conflict. However, despite the prevalence of the category of levée en masse in the modern laws of armed conflict, there have been few, if any, instances of levée en masse taking place in modern armed conflicts. This article examines how and why the category of levée en masse developed. In doing so, this article situates the concept and evolution of levée en masse within the history of international humanitarian law more generally.

Twenty-five Years after the Adoption of Additional Protocol II: Breakthrough or Failure of Humanitarian Legal Protection?

2001 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 129-166
Author(s):  
Heike Spieker
Keyword(s):  
Legal Protection ◽  
International Community ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Internal Armed Conflicts

On 12 December 2002, the international community celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening for signature of 1977 Protocol II Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts. In view of today's armed hostilities around the globe, this anniversary raises the questions whether international humanitarian law provides substantive regulation protecting civilians in non-international armed conflicts; whether such legal protection is effectively countering the sufferings of the civilian population and what are now the main challenges for the international communityvis-à-visinternal armed conflicts.

scholarly journals The Problem of Cyber Espionage in the International Humanitarian Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 70-80
Author(s):  
S. Yu. Garkusha-Bozhko
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Geneva Convention ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Cyber Espionage ◽  
The Hague

INTRODUCTION. The article analyses the problem of cyber espionage in the context of armed conflict in cyberspace. The relevance of this research, as part of the problem of international humanitarian law applying in cyberspace, is confirmed by the rapid development of cyber technologies that can be used during armed conflict, as well as the availability of the Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The main sources of this research are the provisions of the Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations, the rules of Additional Protocol I of June 08, 1977 to the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949, the rules of the Hague Regulations on the Laws and Customs of War on Land of 1907, and the rules of custom- ary international humanitarian law. The methodology consists of the principles used in legal research, as well as general scientific and special methods of legal research (system and formal legal methods).RESEARCH RESULTS. The provisions of the Tallinn Manual on cyber espionage were examined for compliance with the relevant provisions of Additional Protocol I of June 08, 1977 to the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949, the Hague Regulations on the Laws and Customs of War on Land of 1907, and the rules of customary international humanitarian law, as well as the problems that may arise in the process of possible practical application of this provision of the Tallinn Manual.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. It is noted that the provisions of the Tallinn Manual 2.0 on cyber espionage are based on the relevant rules of international law. In fact, the relevant provision of the Tallinn Manual is completely copied from the relevant rules of IHL. However, based on the results of this research, the author comes to the conclusion that such blind copying does not take into account the specifics of cyberspace and leads to the following problems in the possible practical application of this provision of the Tallinn Manual: firstly, due to the anonymity of users, it will be difficult to distinguish between a cyber intelligence officer and a cyber spy in practice. Secondly, due to the difficulties in establishing clear state borders in cyberspace, including due to the use of blockchain and VPN technologies, in practice it is impossible to reliably establish whether secret information was collected on the territory of the enemy, which, in turn, leads to difficulties in qualifying such an act as cyber espionage. Finally, in the context of modern armed conflicts, espionage has ceased to be a phenomenon exclusively of international armed conflicts, and therefore it is likely that cyber espionage can be carried out not only in the context of an international armed conflict, but also in the context of a non-international armed conflict. Based on the results of this research, suggestions were made to develop state practice on this issue. It is desirable that States raise the discussion of the above issues at the UN General Assembly, which would help to identify the main trends in the development of such practices. Only And only after the practice of States on this issue becomes more obvious, the question of developing an appropriate international treaty, preferably within the UN, can be raised.

Protection of Children in International Humanitarian Law

1984 ◽  
Vol 24 (240) ◽  
pp. 140-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Plattner
Keyword(s):  
Geneva Convention ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
War Experience ◽  
Second World

The legal protection of children was introduced into international humanitarian law after the Second World War. Experience during that conflict had, in fact, pointed to the urgent need to draw up an instrument of public international law for protecting civilian population in wartime. The results of the ICRC's efforts in this field led to the adoption of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war. From that time on, children, as members of the civilian population, were entitled to benefit from the application of that Convention. Moreover, the first international humanitarian law regulations concerning armed conflicts not of an international character, contained in article 3, common to the four 1949 Geneva Conventions, were drawn up at the 1949 Diplomatic Conference. Here again, children were protected, in the same way as all “persons taking no active part in the hostilities”.

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.

The 1974 Diplomatic Conference on Humanitarian Law: Some Observations

1975 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Forsythe
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
World War ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Conventional Weapons ◽  
First Time

The 1974 Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts was the first attempt by a full-fledged diplomatic conference in 25 years to create new law for the protection of victims of wars. It was also the first time in some 40 years that a diplomatic conference has taken up the question of restricting the use of conventional weapons. And it was the first time since before World War I that an international conference had looked extensively at the question of methods of attack and had weighed their impact on the civilian population.

Assistance to the civilian population: the development and present state of international humanitarian law

1992 ◽  
Vol 32 (288) ◽  
pp. 249-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Plattner
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Present State ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
The Right

Bearing in mind the plethora of rules applicable in time of war, jurists define international law rather elaborately as follows:“International humanitarian law applicable in armed conflict means international rules, established by treaties or custom, which are specifically intended to solve humanitarian problems directly arising from international or non-international armed conflicts and which, for humanitarian reasons, limit the right of Parties to a conflict to use the methods and means of warfare of their choice or protect persons and property that are, or may be, affected by conflict”.

scholarly journals The Interplay Between International Humanitarian Law, Terrorism and the “Foreign Terrorist Fighter” Regime

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 307-310
Author(s):  
Sandra Krähenmann
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Natural Connection ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
Armed Actors

There seems to be a natural connection between armed conflict and terrorism: both involve acts of violence by nonstate armed actors. The acts of armed groups during armed conflicts are frequently labeled as acts of terrorism. Similarly, both international humanitarian law (IHL) and the international legal regime governing terrorism address acts of violence committed by nonstate armed actors. Yet, these superficial similarities obscure the significant conceptual differences between acts of violence in armed conflicts and those outside armed conflicts as well as the differences in the legal regimes governing them. Before turning to an analysis of UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2178 (2014), it is necessary to briefly explain how IHL addresses acts of terrorism, followed by a brief description of the international treaty regime governing terrorism, including how this regime regulates its relationship with IHL.

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