Two World Wars and Their Law of Armed Conflict Results

Gary D. Solis

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511757839.005

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3 - Two World Wars and Their Law of Armed Conflict Results

from LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT: INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW IN WAR

Gary D. Solis

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Gary D. Solis: Affiliation:
United States Military Academy

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Summary

Introduction

The 1863 Lieber Code and 1907 Hague Regulation IV are the foundations of much of today's law of war. In this chapter we examine the fruit of those initial efforts, the jus in bello, the battlefield law, that is in effect today, along with some of the efforts to give clearer definitions of Lieber and the Hague outcomes. What brought us from the 1863 Lieber Code to the 1949 Geneva Conventions? What are the Geneva Conventions and, in our study of law of armed conflict/international humanitarian law (LOAC/IHL), how should we navigate them?

The 1906 Geneva Convention

The passage of time brought calls for the revision of the first Geneva Convention for protection of the wounded. In 1868, several Articles were added to the 1864 Convention and, in 1906, thirty-five states, including the United States, met in Geneva, and a revised version of the 1864 Convention, now containing thirty-three Articles, was adopted.

The revised Convention, again addressing care of the wounded, added provisions for the transfer of information between the warring states regarding wounded prisoners. These informational provisions evolved into today's Central Prisoners of War Information Agency, and the Central Information Agency for protected persons. First envisioned by Hague Regulation IV, the two agencies collect information on prisoners of war (POWs) and protected persons and transmit it to their states of origin or residence, informing not only the state but the families, of the status and whereabouts of loved ones held by the opposing side.

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Type: Chapter
Information: The Law of Armed Conflict
International Humanitarian Law in War
, pp. 73 - 118

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511757839.005 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2010

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