International humanitarian law

Helen Duffy

doi:10.1017/CBO9781139028585.012

6 - International humanitarian law

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2015

Helen Duffy

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Helen Duffy: Affiliation:
Universiteit Leiden

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Summary

I observed that men rushed to war for slight causes or no causes at all, and that when arms have once been taken up there is no longer any respect for law, divine or human; it is as if, in accordance with a general decree, frenzy had openly been let loose for the committing of all crimes

(Hugo Grotius, 1625)

The war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated.

(G.W. Bush, 2001)

We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us.

(B. Obama, 2013)

Discussions around the scope and nature of IHL have dominated legal discourse in the ‘war on terror’. Whether this attention is deserved, or represents an overstretching of the notion of ‘war’ and with it an inflation of the relevance of IHL, is a matter of considerable dispute. IHL applies to particular conduct carried out in association with an ‘armed conflict’ as understood under IHL. Undoubtedly a critical preliminary matter, on which the nature of applicable law depends, is whether, when and where operations aimed at counter-terrorism form part of an armed conflict properly so called. Beyond disputes concerning the applicability of IHL are other myriad questions regarding its interpretation and application, and even the adequacy of a legal framework often impugned post-9/11 as ill equipped to address a ‘new war’ against a new enemy.

This chapter seeks to set out the legal framework as it currently governs the conduct of states and non-state parties to armed conflicts. Part A of the chapter – which sketches out the legal framework of IHL – will begin with the law that defines whether there is an armed conflict, if so what sort of conflict, and when it begins and ends. This will be followed by a summary of specific provisions of the legal framework of IHL, in relation to who may be targeted, lawful methods and means of warfare and humanitarian protections that are relevant to terrorism and action against terrorism in such armed conflicts.

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Type: Chapter
Information: The ‘War on Terror' and the Framework of International Law , pp. 344 - 455

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139028585.012 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2015

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