In terms of concrete action, preserving [humanity in war] means using our voices to reaffirm the universality and relevance of [international humanitarian law] on every possible occasion – in multilateral fora, in conversations with leaders, in academia.
ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, 28 November 2022
Introduction: War, international humanitarian law and academia
It may seem that nothing could be further apart than the realities of war and the academic world, but while this may be true for most fields of study, for some it is not, among them international humanitarian law (IHL). Originally established by States to uphold humanity in war, IHL has greatly benefited from the contributions of academia, from its genesis to the present day.
Since its founding in 1863, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has recognized academia’s significant role in upholding humanity in war. Whether by promoting understanding of the 1864 Geneva Convention,Footnote 1 by studying later treaties to clarify their provisions and improve their effective implementationFootnote 2 or by advancing proposals for further development of legal norms around IHL,Footnote 3 many initiatives, writings and other academic projects have shaped the history of contemporary IHL. For its part, the ICRC has consistently sought out and supported academia’s contributions to IHL, and since the 2000s it has redoubled these efforts, putting academic expertise to use to spread knowledge of IHL widely, respond to humanitarian issues arising in armed conflicts and influence developments in the law. This engagement has taken multiple forms: developing interactive teaching tools designed to improve students’ and other target audiences’ understanding and appreciation of IHL;Footnote 4 establishing online media intended to stimulate and respond to the global debate on IHL and humanitarian action;Footnote 5 organizing expert meetings and seminars on the implementation of IHL;Footnote 6 and stimulating academic research aimed at identifying similarities between IHL and the traditional laws and customs of war.Footnote 7
While academic circles continue to help safeguard humanity in war, the world is witnessing unprecedented and increasingly far-reaching challenges that also affect academia. The dehumanization of the enemy, misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, perceived double standards in the application of IHL,Footnote 8 disillusionment among educators,Footnote 9 the arms and technology race, States’ withdrawal from IHL treaties, and permissive interpretations of IHL – these are just some of the issues of our time. Such challenges give academia all the more reason to reflect on its role in upholding humanity in war by way of IHL. What influence has the academic world had on the development of IHL and bringing humanity to warfare? In what domains and through what activities has this influence taken shape? What lessons may be drawn to address current and future challenges facing IHL? It would take many volumes to answer these questions and do justice to the breadth of academia’s contribution to upholding humanity in war since the advent of contemporary IHL. Yet, given the few existing contributions on this topic,Footnote 10 and in an effort to honour the many unrecognized students, teachers and researchers who have devoted themselves tirelessly to this cause for more than a century, it seems necessary to take up the task. Nevertheless, in doing so, this article does not and cannot exhaustively list the names of all academics who have contributed to the preservation of humanity in warfare through IHL. It should thus be read as a humble attempt to pay tribute to all such academics, the naming of some being done merely to illustrate the remarkable endeavours of the whole community of “IHL academic heralds”.
It should be noted that there are at present certain scholars and instructors of IHL who distance themselves from efforts to preserve humanity in war. They do so by advancing interpretations of the law that elevate military necessity over humanity and thereby dangerously narrow IHL’s protective scope, contrary to both its spirit and its letter. However, in response to the Review’s call for papers to contribute to the Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment to IHL,Footnote 11 this article focuses instead on the academics that have contributed and can contribute to this objective. It also invites all scholars to reflect on what “humanity in war” means for them and to hopefully contribute, through their teaching, research and dissemination, to the alleviation of the humanitarian problems faced by people affected by today’s armed conflicts.
This article focuses on civilian and secular academic institutions and does not address the potential contribution of military or religious schools and institutions, a topic that calls for separate study. Far from seeking to be exhaustive, this article endeavours to answer the above-mentioned questions by assessing the significance of academia’s contribution to IHL through the latter’s promotion, study and development. It also makes recommendations concerning the role of academia in upholding humanity in war in light of current challenges. To this end, the article explores three distinct perspectives: that of States, by suggesting the systematic inclusion of academic institutions in structures and initiatives dedicated to the implementation of IHL; that of universities, by recommending increased support for academic bodies and efforts aimed at preserving humanity in war through IHL; and that of teachers and researchers themselves, by envisaging new approaches to teaching, research and innovation in IHL.
Promoting IHL: Academia’s response to human suffering in war
Since its founding in the mid-nineteenth century, the ICRC has been aware of the need to solidify IHL by fostering broad adherence to the idea of upholding humanity in war. To this end, it has developed its engagement with scholars and researchers in order to promote this body of law as effectively as possible. As early as 1869, Eugène Cauchy, a member of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, addressed his colleagues on the neutrality enshrined in the Geneva Convention of 1864 and the proposed Additional Articles of 1868 at the Institut de France.Footnote 12 Oral presentations, such as those given at lectures and conferences, have assumed a prominent place in the promotion of IHL within academic circles;Footnote 13 this is no doubt due to the modest resources required for such appearances compared with more complex modes of communication such as academic articles or other publications. They are also a key way of conveying IHL to target audiences through direct engagement, and as such, they offer a particularly valuable channel of influence as they enable speakers to gauge immediately how their messages are being received. Since the early days of modern IHL, this form of communication has played a central role in academic settings. Conferences and talks on IHL continue to be widely favoured today, whether in person,Footnote 14 onlineFootnote 15 or in the media.Footnote 16
The pre-eminent means of promoting IHL: University teaching
Of course, teaching is the primary means of spreading knowledge in academic settings. This also applies to IHL, in light of States Parties’ obligation – under the Geneva Conventions, their Additional Protocols and customary law – to raise awareness of IHL among the civilian population as widely as possible.Footnote 17 It should be noted, however, that university teaching of IHL only developed and became widespread relatively late in IHL’s history, from the 1980s onwards.Footnote 18 Although records of IHL courses can be found as early as the beginning of the twentieth century, these were initially delivered by ICRC representatives themselves. In 1922, Paul Des Gouttes, the ICRC’s vice-president and secretary-general, gave a series of twelve lectures at the Geneva Graduate Institute focusing on the ICRC before, during and after the First World War.Footnote 19 In 1963, the ICRC published a five-lesson teaching aid to support the teaching of IHL in academia.Footnote 20 The first IHL course to be offered regularly was introduced at the University of Geneva in 1965;Footnote 21 the instructor was Jean Pictet, the ICRC jurist widely regarded as the principal architect of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the lead author of the ICRC Commentaries on those Conventions. Although the teaching of IHL at universities subsequently spread through the initiative of various professors (such as the late Professor Françoise Hampson, one of the first to teach IHL in the United Kingdom, from the 1970sFootnote 22), it was not until the 2000s that it truly became widespread at the global level.
Aside from the motivation of the instructors and universities to teach IHL, three factors contributed to this development: the emergence of international criminal justice as a means of implementing IHL, with the creation of ad hoc tribunals by the United Nations in the 1990s, followed by the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998; improved access to information on IHL with the expansion of the internet in the 2000s; and the ICRC’s academic programme to promote the teaching of IHL in universities, launched in the 1990s in post-Soviet States and extended to the rest of the world from the 2000s.Footnote 23
Before this period, IHL did not attract the same level of interest from teachers and students. Within law faculties, IHL courses faced competition not only from domestic law but also from other branches of international law supported by international treaty-monitoring mechanisms. As a result, the academic rise of IHL lagged behind. In the face of these challenges, the emergence of international criminal justice in the 1990s effected a shift in perception – namely, that IHL is justiciable – which undoubtedly played a decisive role in attracting students’ interest.
Nevertheless, the role of the ICRC’s academic programme in promoting IHL – supported by National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (National Societies) – must not be underestimated: it has cultivated interest in IHL as such, rather than ceding the field entirely to international criminal law. Designed to strengthen academia’s role in upholding humanity in war through the teaching of IHL, the programme is built on three pillars: stimulating student interest through IHL competitions in the form of role-play, directly inspired by the Jean-Pictet Competition, created in 1989 by Christophe Lanord, then a student of IHL;Footnote 24 training teachers through courses such as the IHL course for university professors developed in 1993 by Professor Theodor Meron, when he was teaching at the Geneva Graduate Institute;Footnote 25 and developing interactive teaching tools such as How Does Law Protect in War?, created on Marco Sassòli and Antoine Bouvier’s initiative in 1999Footnote 26 and a widely visited online platform since 2014.Footnote 27 This last pillar illustrates how the rise of the internet – one of the above-listed factors explaining the renewed interest in IHL courses – continues to play a crucial role today. The internet first made IHL databases globally accessible,Footnote 28 and then enabled a range of learning and teaching tools for students and educators around the world.Footnote 29 Today, the internet is democratizing access to IHL through massive open online courses (MOOCs), such as those launched by Professors Robert Heinsch, Raphaël van Steenberghe and Jérôme de Hemptinne.Footnote 30 The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated the development of fully online IHL courses (for instance, with the online executive master in international law in armed conflict offered by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (Geneva Academy)), providing a viable, practical and cost-effective alternative to in-person teaching.Footnote 31 Recently, IHL teaching tools have become more specific and inclusive of previously less studied subject areas – one example of this is the ICRC pilot course on the protection of the natural environment in armed conflict that is currently being tested and reviewed by professors and their students in several countries before being finalized and made widely available in 2026.
A final development in IHL teaching that must be mentioned is the rise of IHL clinics. Law clinics arose in the United States as a means of professionalizing students by exposing them to domestic law practice during their studies. The model was extended to IHL through the efforts of professors such as Laurie Blank before spreading to other continents.Footnote 32 The IHL clinic model has inspired young researchers and professors who, often with ICRC support, have since established numerous IHL clinics in various regions – including Gabriel Lee Mac Fadden and Julio Veiga-Bezerra in Brazil,Footnote 33 Lea Mehari Redae in EthiopiaFootnote 34 and Professor Maryam Idris Abdulkadir in Nigeria.Footnote 35 There are now ten IHL clinics across five continents, playing a key role in practice-based IHL training by linking students with professional environments.Footnote 36 Under the leadership of Professors Robert Heinsch and Giulio Bartolini, these clinics first joined together in a consortium developing cases illustrating respect for IHL for the ICRC’s IHL in Action platform,Footnote 37 and later in the IHL Research, Education and Dissemination (IHL RED) network.Footnote 38 These initiatives have led to the development of a methodological guide on creating, developing and managing IHL clinics in universities,Footnote 39 as well as a global directory of IHL clinics. Regular meetings between clinics continue to be organized.Footnote 40
Today, university teaching of IHL is widespread across the world. The ICRC currently interacts with some 630 universities in at least ninety-one countries. Of these universities, most teach IHL: 11% teach it at the undergraduate, postgraduate (master) and doctoral levels, 12% teach it at undergraduate and postgraduate level only, 15% teach it at postgraduate level only, and 35% teach it at undergraduate level only. These universities exert significant intellectual influence over decision-makers in their respective countries, highlighting another key aspect of academia’s contribution to making warfare more humane.
Other modes of promoting IHL: Academic communication and advocacy
While the teaching of IHL is the backbone of its promotion within universities, academics and experts also rely on other means for promoting it among the broader public. The first consists of remarks made via audiovisual media. There has been a marked increase in the media presence of professors and specialists in IHL – they are frequently invited to comment on the status of the law and compliance with it in the context of specific armed conflicts.Footnote 41 This commentary is particularly valuable when it explains IHL in accessible terms and in context. Likewise, when such contributions come from recognized academic experts in IHL and refocus attention on the law protecting people who are not, or are no longer, taking part in hostilities and limiting the means and methods of warfare, they can help to defuse polarized political debates and uphold humanity in war. Alongside these media appearances, there has also been a proliferation of individual or collective initiatives led by IHL professors that may be seen as academic advocacy of a sort.Footnote 42 In 2020, for instance, Professor Fatima Alkali called on African States to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, after Nigeria became one of the first fifty States Parties to ratify the treaty, which would trigger its entry into force.Footnote 43 Another type of academic advocacy has emerged in the form of collective letters, drafted by IHL scholars and open for signature, urging governments to uphold, comply with and implement their IHL obligations, usually in relation to specific armed conflicts.Footnote 44
Given these efforts and their undeniable success, how might contemporary challenges be addressed? What can be done in the face of dehumanizing rhetoric targeting adversaries, flagrant and highly publicized violations of IHL, and the inaction of the international community in response? How should we respond to cynicism and disillusionment, especially when such sentiments are expressed by IHL educators themselves? How can academic institutions adapt their role in order to uphold humanity in war through spreading IHL?
An evolution in the dissemination of IHL: Moving towards impactful, empathetic and innovative teaching
The responsibility to comply with IHL lies with States and the parties to a conflict. It would be a mistake to assign elsewhere – such as to academics – responsibility for the deeply troubling violations of IHL that we see today; instead, it is worth considering how universities might improve their role in promoting IHL so as to help prevent and respond to such violations. States and parties responsible for, or complicit in, IHL violations often act at the instigation of their leaders, and it therefore bears asking whether these leaders received training in IHL during their studies or, at the very least, whether they benefit from the advice of national academic experts who interpret IHL in accordance with its letter and spirit. These questions should inform the academic approach to promoting IHL. In a field where effective implementation is crucial for the protection of people affected by armed conflict and for the law’s credibility (and thus its effectiveness), universities should direct their efforts as far as possible towards national political decision-makers. This may, for example, take place through national IHL committees – inter-ministerial platforms tasked with supporting domestic development of IHL.Footnote 45 Systematically integrating academic experts in IHL with established teaching experience into national IHL committees could help address the disconnect between theory and practice that sometimes arises in countries where there is significant IHL expertise but where political decisions fall far short of expected implementation. For the presence of IHL experts in such committees to be effective, it should translate into the systematic provision of IHL courses and topical briefings aimed at the highest levels of decision-making. In addition, with the support of the relevant National Society, and potentially the ICRC, the IHL experts should mobilize the committees, where they already exist, to establish a genuine national programme for IHL education within the armed forces, the judiciary, the media and all levels of education (primary, secondary and tertiary), in keeping with the dissemination obligations found in treaty and customary law.Footnote 46
Among those affected by violations of IHL, the general public and even students and teachers of IHL, there are perceived double standards in IHL’s application. This creates a dangerous sense of powerlessness, distress and cynicism that undermines the credibility of the law precisely when the victims of the 130 armed conflicts we are witnessing today are in greatest need of its protection. The perception of double standards, fuelled by dehumanizing rhetoric that targets entire populations in an attempt to strip them of their rights, requires a rapid, robust and innovative response from universities and IHL educators. An evolution in IHL teaching is needed so that it becomes impactful, empathetic and innovative for its target audiences, from students to senior State authorities.Footnote 47 Teaching the substance and technical application of IHL rules no longer suffices to address the profound challenges of the current moment. When one reads – correctly, for the purposes of interpretation – the obligation to spread knowledge of IHL among armed forces and civilians in conjunction with the universal obligation to comply with and ensure compliance with IHL, the boundary between promotion and implementation dissolves.Footnote 48 Together they form a continuum that fosters an environment conducive to respect for the law and to the upholding of humanity in war.Footnote 49
Making an impact: IHL courses that lead to implementation
To counter dehumanization and disillusionment, States and academic institutions must develop IHL instruction that generates the most direct possible practical impact. The first means of doing this is through broader provision of IHL education worldwide, training many more specialists and decision-makers who will play a role in implementing IHL.Footnote 50 In addition, civilian IHL professors may play a greater role in training instructors at military academies and in secondary and primary education, in partnership with National Societies.Footnote 51 Conversely, in some contexts the experience of military lawyers can contribute to honing the understanding of the laws of war among academia and the general public. Such partnerships would effectively enable the implementation of the universal obligation to communicate IHL rules to armed forces and civilians, creating widespread knowledge of the law among these groups and enabling them to call on their governments to comply with – and ensure compliance with – convention-based and customary IHL.Footnote 52
Another means of generating impact is through students themselves becoming involved in IHL implementation, whether through direct work on domestic implementing legislation, studies assessing the compatibility of domestic legislation with treaty obligations, research into the relationship between religious or cultural traditions and positive IHL, or any other work contributing to the advancement of IHL implementation at the national, regional or international level. Further impact may come from combining IHL courses with civic education on the different avenues available to citizens through which students may demand compliance with and implementation of IHL by their government. Finally, impact may be made by exposing students to IHL practitioners during their studies, either by inviting practitioners to participate in parts of the course or by enabling students to work alongside them at IHL clinics. In the face of students’ and teachers’ perception that IHL is unevenly applied,Footnote 53 adapting IHL teaching to make it more impactful is in the interest of both universities and States, and remains the most effective means of channelling frustration and ensuring a calm and constructive academic environment.
Fostering empathy: Practical and reflective IHL instruction
Alongside dehumanizing rhetoric, misinformation and disinformation, excessively permissive interpretations of IHL rules contribute to the unbearable suffering of persons affected by contemporary armed conflicts.Footnote 54 This toxic combination threatens to strip IHL of its substance and credibility, which heightens the sense of powerlessness among students and teachers. Under such circumstances, IHL risks being undervalued, abandoned or even rejected. Rooted in ancient and universal cultural, traditional and religious principles that protect life in wartime, contemporary IHL was crafted by States as a bulwark against total war and unrestrained violence, its legal architecture having been strengthened conflict after conflict in the interest of the parties themselves. In short, IHL does not necessarily authorize violence as such, but rather limits it.Footnote 55 To respond effectively to the challenges outlined above, IHL instruction should address not only the content of its rules and their application in practice but also how and why compliance with these rules protects people affected by armed conflict. Pedagogical tools that facilitate practical learning of IHL should be encouraged.
How Does Law Protect in War?, an online compendium of case studies developed by Marco Sassòli, Antoine Bouvier, Anne Quintin and Julia Grignon with the support of the ICRC, is directed in particular at IHL teachers. The platform comprises four components: a detailed outline for a fifteen-part IHL course; over 450 case studies based on past and current armed conflicts reported in public sources, accompanied by questions on the application of IHL in each case; pedagogical resources including tailored course plans by renowned instructors and other interactive teaching tools; and a comprehensive index of more than 420 legal concepts – a true online dictionary of IHL.Footnote 56 Highlights addressing specific contemporary issues are added regularly to aid dynamic and interactive IHL teaching that responds to students’ concerns. Through its case studies, the platform offers students the opportunity to reflect concretely on the operation and importance of IHL rules in contemporary conflicts. Through concrete examples, it illustrates the impact that IHL may have on the lives of those it protects, depending on whether the rules are violated or complied with. According to IHL instructors, students and researchers, the platform is accessible, rich in content and well designed. It helps anchor IHL instruction in contemporary practice and thus offers a direct, interactive and stimulating alternative to the dehumanizing, misinformed and overly permissive interpretations that challenge IHL today, and IHL teachers ought to make the most of this tool.
IHL in Action – created at the initiative of the ICRC with initial support from the IHL clinics of Leiden University, Roma Tre University, Emory University and the Interdisciplinary Centre HerzliyaFootnote 57 – is an online platform compiling concrete examples of IHL respect, presented as case studies modelled on those included in How Does Law Protect in War?.Footnote 58 Given the prevalent scepticism about IHL’s protective effect, teaching through case studies that demonstrate respect for the rules and the resulting positive consequences for protected persons is particularly valuable. In a world inclined to oversimplify often-complex realities, IHL in Action also enables educators to highlight the relationship between violations and compliance with the rules and to foster a mature understanding of the factors that facilitate IHL compliance and the processes of applying the law. This is especially important in preparing students as future professionals who may work in armed conflict environments, and it should encourage IHL teachers to use this tool more extensively.
Although these two pedagogical tools have existed for some time, the practical learning approach they promote is adapted to the problems of contemporary armed conflicts. The regularly updated case studies aid the concrete study of contemporary issues, such as the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and new technologies in warfare. Beyond the opportunities for spreading IHL offered by How Does Law Protect in War? and IHL in Action, the platforms’ use is increasingly necessary in the face of contemporary challenges. Academics must make the best possible use of these platforms in order to centre their teaching on current practice in IHL, thereby bolstering their response to the challenges of upholding humanity in war today and in the future.
Encouraging innovation: Immersive and gamified IHL teaching
Faced with innovations in military technology, academic institutions are also innovating in their teaching methods. For example, Professor Kubo Mačák has created the Cyber Law Toolkit with the support of the ICRC, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, the University of Exeter, Wuhan University and the United States Naval War College.Footnote 59 This interactive online resource is designed for legal professionals working on issues at the intersection of international law – including IHL – and cyber operations. With an award from the American Society of International Law, the Cyber Law Toolkit can be explored and used in various ways and offers thirty-two hypothetical scenarios. Each scenario contains a description of cyber incidents inspired by real examples, together with detailed legal analysis examining the applicability of international law and the questions raised. The toolkit is therefore particularly suited to guiding students through issues concerning the application of IHL in relation to new technologies and the ways in which they may affect people during armed conflict, regardless of where they live.
While teaching IHL through case studies is a key component in developing students’ empathy for people affected by armed conflict, new technologies also offer opportunities to harness emotion in IHL instruction. The interactive film If War Comes to You, developed by the European Legal Support Group with the support of the ICRC, puts students in the shoes of a civilian, a humanitarian worker or a soldier, each affected differently by an armed conflict.Footnote 60 Though fictional, the scenarios mirror many realities of contemporary conflicts and, crucially, place the student in an active role embodying the experience of affected people, from three distinct perspectives. Such a tool – like the use of role-play in IHL learning, as practised in the Jean-Pictet Competition and its many successorsFootnote 61 – has the advantage of adding an emotional dimension to practical instruction on the rules, how they function and their underlying rationale.Footnote 62 Whether used as preparatory work or during class, immersive IHL teaching offers a particularly appropriate response to contemporary challenges and strengthens, on an emotional level, the link between promotion and implementation that arises from impactful, practice-oriented teaching.
Pursuing this path further, the ICRC plans to develop, through its Advisory Service on International Humanitarian Law (ICRC Advisory Service)Footnote 63 and its Virtual Reality Centre, an immersive IHL course using virtual reality.Footnote 64 Virtual reality is recognized as pedagogically effective for teaching IHL,Footnote 65 and the tool will offer students immersive simulations on contemporary IHL challenges, such as the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, attacks on hospitals or obstacles to humanitarian assistance for civilians. Based on an inductive approach and combined with teacher-led practical role-play inspired by the Jean-Pictet Competition, the course will aim to effect change through empathetic and innovative IHL instruction.Footnote 66 It will be tested and developed in collaboration with various IHL clinics worldwide before being made available online in the course of 2028.Footnote 67
Getting involved on behalf of IHL: Increasing scholarly presence in the global debate
In an increasingly polarized and fragmented world, the involvement of the academic community in media, public and governmental spheres is crucial to spreading knowledge of IHL, ensuring respect for it, and upholding and even further developing the law. Explaining IHL rules in accessible terms equips the broader public with the knowledge necessary to demand, through peaceful and lawful means, that States comply with these rules, as envisaged by IHL.Footnote 68 Individual and collective academic advocacy aimed at States and influential stakeholders is also extremely important in reminding them of their obligations, thereby improving the chances of securing compliance with IHL and of upholding humanity in war. An increased academic presence in the media and in inter-State debates is therefore highly desirable. Whether by training journalists and policy-makers in IHL or through occasional public remarks, IHL scholars should seek to increase their visibility in the media and the public sphere in order to respond to the major challenges facing IHL today. When doing so, however, they must preserve their independence as academics and emphasize scientifically grounded commentary based on the applicable law, interpreted in accordance with generally recognized principles.Footnote 69 When commenting on specific situations, they should also be able to support their remarks with facts confirmed through a variety of reliable and verifiable sources. The strength of academic advocacy for IHL rests primarily on intellectual authority, which must be safeguarded at all costs, and remarks must be kept above the political and emotional fray so that they may resonate as widely as possible in support of preserving humanity in war.
Research in IHL: Seeking and upholding humanity in war
Unintentionally, as early as 1863, the ICRC established a new field of study and research for the academic world. It did so through its very founding, which was premised upon the two ideas expressed by Henry Dunant in A Memory of Solferino: the creation of voluntary relief societies to provide assistance and care to wounded soldiers, and “a Convention inviolate in character” intended to protect them and the relief actions carried out on their behalf – the embryo of modern IHL.Footnote 70
From the outset, the academic community played a major role in interpreting and clarifying IHL, as evidenced by the numerous contributions published in the Bulletin International des Sociétés de Secours aux Militaires Blessés (Bulletin International, renamed the Bulletin International des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge in 1886), the precursor to today’s International Review of the Red Cross. Until at least the 1930s, these contributions focused largely on general themes relating to humanitarian law and action.Footnote 71
Although academic research has never fully abandoned general questions in IHL,Footnote 72 it has progressively evolved towards increasingly specialized topics – whether related to specific armed conflicts or to distinct areas of IHL – and has examined law and humanitarian action from ever more refined angles. This trend is reflected in the high degree of specialization found in articles published in recent decades of the Review, covering topics such as the protection of the global information space during armed conflict,Footnote 73 reparation for victims of terrorism in the SahelFootnote 74 and the role of urban architecture in relation to the effects of armed conflict.Footnote 75 Indeed, since 1997, with only a few exceptions, each issue of the Review has been devoted to a specific theme, such as non-State armed groups,Footnote 76 persons with disabilities in armed conflictFootnote 77 or memory and war,Footnote 78 to name but a few examples.
Studies on the compatibility between IHL and rules derived from various religions, cultures and traditions
Since the end of the nineteenth century, the ICRC, supported by the academic world, has recognized that the concept of limiting warfare pre-dated the 1864 Geneva Convention. Several scholarly articles have highlighted the existence within various cultures and religions of traditional rules intended to limit the effects of war.
In 1874, for instance, Military Wounded before the Red Cross, a historical survey by Professor Ernst Julius Gurlt, demonstrated the existence of treaties, rules and practices protecting the wounded, sick and prisoners of war in various European countries as well as in South and North America during the 300 years preceding the 1864 Geneva Convention.Footnote 79 This study reinforced the idea of the legitimacy of the rules of the 1864 Convention, by positioning it as the inheritance of an international tradition. Similarly, the article “The Laws of War among the Ancient Hindus”, published in 1881 by Paul Oltramare, a professor of Asian and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Geneva, identified traditional customary rules in ancient India (the Mahabharata) that resembled modern IHL rules.Footnote 80 The ICRC highlighted this publication, perhaps in order to underscore the legitimacy and universality of modern IHL at a time when its relevance was still strongly contested, particularly in light of the numerous abuses reported during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). Other works by scholars of that period, presented in the Bulletin International, explored the foundations of IHL in ancient societies, including the Roman Empire in antiquity.Footnote 81
The ICRC then proactively took up this field of research, commissioning scholars to explore the correlations between IHL and various religions and traditions, such as Islamic law,Footnote 82 the traditional warrior codes in SomaliaFootnote 83 and northern India,Footnote 84 and, more recently, BuddhismFootnote 85 and African values,Footnote 86 thanks to experienced researchers such as Professor Mutoy Mubiala.Footnote 87 In 2016, building on decades of studies on the correspondences between IHL and Islamic law carried out by Professor Zidane Meriboute and Dr Ameur Zemmali,Footnote 88 the ICRC Advisory ServiceFootnote 89 appointed Dr Ahmed Al-Dawoody, a specialist in both fields, as legal adviser on Islamic law and jurisprudence, thus providing the organization with permanent research capacity on the relationship between those two bodies of law.Footnote 90 With the support of other specialized legal advisers at the ICRC, Dr Al-Dawoody has since published numerous research papers on various aspects of the law of armed conflict, highlighting the links between IHL and Islamic law across multiple areas.Footnote 91
In 2024, marking the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the ICRC Advisory Service organized an international symposium bringing together specialists in rules of warfare from various religions, cultures and traditions.Footnote 92 The ICRC consulted scholars from around the world on the methodological aspects of studying compatibility between IHL and religious, cultural and traditional legal systems. Rooted in the ICRC’s 2024–27 institutional strategy, this approach reflects the organization’s commitment to systematizing support for academic research in this field. That commitment is undoubtedly linked to the findings of the ICRC’s 2018 study The Roots of Restraint in War,Footnote 93 which emphasized the importance of traditional rules in promoting armed groups’ internalization of IHL norms and highlighted their effectiveness in encouraging restraint in armed conflict.Footnote 94
Research aimed at clarifying, interpreting and determining IHL
Since the nineteenth century, many scholars have contributed to clarifying and interpreting IHL through their work. The 1864 Geneva Convention and the role of the nascent Red Cross were already the focus of studies and doctoral theses by 1876.Footnote 95 Often, the dividing line between the clarification of IHL and its further development has been fuzzy, as is discussed further on.Footnote 96 These efforts continued throughout the twentieth century and into the present day, with an increasing trend towards specialization.Footnote 97 A constant feature of academic research in IHL – at least until the 2000s, it would seem – has been the aspiration to make war more humane through the law. Many articles, theses and monographs have sought to respond to, or even anticipate, problems arising from the evolution of means and methods of warfare, with a view to upholding humanity in war by clarifying and interpreting IHL.Footnote 98
Over time, the expertise of IHL scholars, initially offered spontaneously, came to be actively sought out by the ICRC to support its work and activities. From the twentieth century onwards, some university researchers even joined the ICRC to contribute to its reflections on the development of IHL in order to preserve humanity in war, publishing regular articles and chronicles in the Review.Footnote 99 The ICRC has also drawn on the legal expertise of professors, practitioners and researchers through calls for submissions to the Review,Footnote 100 its blogFootnote 101 or the Paul Reuter Prize,Footnote 102 encouraging reflection on solutions to contemporary legal and humanitarian problems, anticipating future challenges and fostering research on these issues. Academia contributes to upholding humanity in war via several modes of IHL research, including ideas competitions, commentaries on treaties, work to identify practice underpinning each customary IHL rule, and topic-specific expert meetings.
Ideas competitions
Academic engagement began with ideas competitions organized by the ICRC through the Bulletin International from 1875 onward. These competitions addressed various issues raised by present and future armed conflicts, to which the ICRC wished to develop responses in order to uphold humanity in war.Footnote 103 Far from being merely theoretical, these exercises reveal the direct influence of the academic community on IHL’s development. For example, Professor Karl Lueder of Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen–Nuremberg won the 1875 competition on the Geneva Convention,Footnote 104 which aimed to gather proposals for updating the 1864 Convention after the relative failure of the 1868 reform attempt.Footnote 105 His work served as a useful contribution to the reflections that led to the revision of the Convention in 1906.Footnote 106 The ICRC continues to organize ideas competitions today, inviting students and scholars worldwide to help uphold humanity in war by applying IHL to modern methods of warfare.Footnote 107
Commentaries on treaties
Another way in which academia contributes to upholding humanity in war is through commentaries on IHL treaties. This form of legal research – essential for interpreting IHL in the context of contemporary realities of warfare and ensuring its protective effect – was initiated by Gustave MoynierFootnote 108 and developed from the second half of the nineteenth century.Footnote 109
The most significant landmark in treaty commentary is undoubtedly the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions of 1949, produced by Jean Pictet and his team.Footnote 110 Although this group of ICRC lawyers had legitimacy owing to their deep involvement in the preparatory work, the Commentaries did not, strictly speaking, involve representatives of academia. This approach was maintained for the Commentaries on the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, although the contributing ICRC staff were reportedly granted some level of academic freedom, as the organization viewed the Commentaries above all as a scientific work.Footnote 111
In 2018, prepared under the auspices of the Geneva Academy, an updated Commentary on the four Geneva Conventions was produced by sixty IHL experts under the direction of Professors Marco Sassòli, Paola Gaeta and Andrew Clapham.Footnote 112 The ICRC also produced its own updated Commentaries on Geneva Conventions I, II, III and IV in 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2025 respectively. To do so, it assembled an editorial board composed of leading academic figures and practitioners, as well as nearly 100 scholars from around the world in a peer-review process.Footnote 113 The updated Commentaries play an essential role in interpreting the provisions protecting prisoners of war in current international armed conflicts and in ensuring humane treatment in the face of contemporary challenges.
Contribution to the ICRC’s work to identify customary IHL
In addition to written law, customary IHL plays an essential role in regulating armed conflicts. Although numerous examples of academic research in the field exist from the late nineteenth century onwards, particularly remarkable were academia’s contributions to the ICRC’s Customary Law Study carried out from 1996 to 2005. Experts from fifty countriesFootnote 114 selected and provided the ICRC with excerpts from military manuals, judicial decisions and official positions of their respective States that illustrated practice linked to rules identified in the study. The study also benefited from the expertise of a steering committee composed of leading scholars in IHL.Footnote 115 Awarded the American Society of International Law’s Jus Gentium Research Prize in 2015 for its online database, the ICRC Customary Law Study – carried out with extensive academic support – plays a vital role in upholding humanity in war.Footnote 116 First, it identifies customary IHL rules applicable to all States and non-State armed groups, even where treaties have not been ratified. Second, it highlights numerous IHL rules applicable to non-international armed conflicts, thereby strengthening protection for victims of such conflicts., which is far less developed in treaties.
Topic-specific expert meetings
Academia also contributes to preserving humanity in war by mobilizing expertise to address specific IHL issues. Scholars participate in expert meetings – often organized under the auspices of the ICRC – aimed at clarifying and interpreting IHL in order to provide concrete responses to contemporary challenges of armed conflict and thereby improve IHL’s implementation. These expert meetings have produced guidance in several areas of the law, including the notion of direct participation in hostilities,Footnote 117 the interplay between IHL and human rights law in the use of force during armed conflict,Footnote 118 the law of occupationFootnote 119 and the application of the principle of proportionality.Footnote 120
Contextual research
Academia also advances the upholding of humanity in war by providing detailed, up-to-date analysis of IHL’s implementation in context. Aside from numerous journal articles, chapters in edited volumes or posts on specialist blogs, contextual research – now readily accessible online – offers near-real-time legal analysis of IHL as applied in armed conflicts. For example, the Geneva Academy’s War WATCH portal catalogues situations that, in the assessment of its authors, meet the criteria for armed conflicts under IHL.Footnote 121 Each context analysis includes the applicable law, the parties to the conflict and additional factors. It also evaluates compliance with IHL in situations classified as armed conflicts around the world.Footnote 122
Contextual research not only supports real-time compliance with IHL but also contributes proactively to upholding humanity in war by analyzing the compatibility between domestic law and IHL, encouraging States to implement their treaty obligations within their own borders. Compatibility studies between IHL and domestic law, promoted by the ICRC Advisory Service and carried out in several countries by specialist university researchers, play a significant role in improving domestic implementation of IHL.Footnote 123
Beyond such studies, academic initiatives have sometimes been at the origin of domestic laws implementing IHL that are eventually adopted by State authorities, playing a key role in ensuring that the protection conferred by IHL takes effect at both the national and local levels.Footnote 124
Books, articles, blog posts and IHL databases
As evidenced by the multi-year IHL bibliography produced by the ICRC Library for more than 150 years, the academic world makes extensive written contributions to the preservation of humanity in war.Footnote 125 In the field of IHL monographs, a prize was created in 1983 on the initiative of Paul Reuter, a member of the Institute of International Law, to promote a better understanding of IHL. Since then, the Paul Reuter Prize has been awarded to sixteen researchers whose work has contributed to improving understanding of the law and its protective effect.Footnote 126 For example, Andrew Clapham, recipient of the 13th prize, argues in his book War Footnote 127 that the concept of “war” cannot justify derogations from the law to permit killings, harm to personal or material integrity, or unlawful destruction.Footnote 128 He also proposes concrete reforms to the law of naval warfare to ensure that it better reflects the contemporary prohibition on the use of force between States in international law. Other awards, such as the Francis Lieber Prize, similarly highlight the contribution of academia to the law of armed conflict.Footnote 129
Beyond monographs, academia contributes to upholding humanity in war through numerous articles aimed at clarifying and interpreting the law or proposing solutions to problems arising in armed conflict. These can be found in the Review,Footnote 130 in other global,Footnote 131 regionalFootnote 132 and localFootnote 133 IHL journals or yearbooks, and online in specialized blogs such as the ICRC’s Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog.Footnote 134
Academic research has also contributed to the development and updating of pedagogical IHL tools such as How Does Law Protect in War? and IHL in Action.Footnote 135 The case studies and concepts presented in these two databases largely result from research carried out by students in the framework of partnerships between the ICRC and various universities and IHL clinics.Footnote 136 As these resources are used in many countries to teach IHL based on contemporary practice and examples of compliance, the research underpinning them may rightly be considered essential to IHL education aimed at preserving humanity in war.
Through their writings, scholars have thus played a major role in proposing solutions to contemporary legal and humanitarian problems, anticipating future issues and encouraging further research on those issues.Footnote 137 Academic research, building upon the gradual consolidation of IHL, has continued to develop for over a century and a half, resulting in increasing specialization of the issues addressed. This evolution may give the impression that both written and customary IHL have reached a certain level of maturity, but what lessons can be drawn in a world where the most basic rules – such as protections for civilians and hospitals during military operations – are routinely violated in full view of the public? What direction should IHL research take to address today’s challenges and contribute to upholding humanity in war? What changes must be considered to ensure that this ambition can still be realized today?
Focusing research on the lack of respect for IHL and advocating for ethical scientific research with greater multidisciplinarity
Academic research clearly plays a fundamental role in clarifying, interpreting and determining the law, yet contemporary challenges to the implementation of IHL raise concerns – particularly with respect to the interpretation of the law. As the ICRC points out in its 2024 report on International Humanitarian Law and the Challenges of Contemporary Armed Conflicts, overly permissive interpretations of the law have emerged that weaken compliance on the ground and erode the law’s credibility.Footnote 138 This dangerous trend, which directly affects the people and objects protected by IHL, requires a principled, united and forceful response from the academic community: research on IHL must meet the requirements of scientific rigour. In international law, these standards are expressed, inter alia, in the rules of treaty interpretation as set out in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), which reflect customary international law, and in the conditions articulated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for identifying rules of customary international law.Footnote 139
Furthermore, the protective framework of IHL can only be effectively realized if the application of its rules remains reasonably realistic for armed actors on the ground. While the value and importance of contemporary academic work on IHL are unquestioned, authors should, as far as possible, systematically take this dimension into account in their projects and prioritize communicating their findings to military audiences.Footnote 140 Researchers and universities seeking to uphold humanity in war through their work could come together to back scientific, ethical and practice-oriented research, and to advocate for such research to follow the interpretative standards required by the VCLT and the ICJ, as well as the necessary scientific and ethical standards, in order to reflect clearly the object and purpose of IHL: the protection of people affected by armed conflict, in particular by imposing limits on how belligerents use force.Footnote 141 They could also facilitate the communication of research to armed actors, such as the integration of practical summaries into each project to improve the implementation of its conclusions on the ground, and prioritizing the circulation of research within military sectors.Footnote 142
While substantive legal research plays a crucial role in clarifying and strengthening IHL, today’s most critical problems concern compliance and implementation. Academic institutions are therefore encouraged to invest in “para-IHL” research fields in order to develop concrete and effective solutions to violations and non-implementation of IHL. Encouragingly, in recent years scholars have begun to expand their research in this direction, examining the sociology of armed groups and sources of influence that may limit combatants’ violence;Footnote 143 the factors that promote respect for IHL;Footnote 144 the role of emotions in compliance;Footnote 145 and the sociological role of IHL competitions in fostering environments conducive to compliance with the law.Footnote 146 Research must now be directed towards the key stakeholders involved in the implementation of IHL, such as political and military leaders, government representatives, diplomats, judges and magistrates.
As discussed, studies examining the compatibility between IHL and religious, cultural and traditional norms – which facilitate the acceptance and integration of IHL by armed groups – have continued to develop.Footnote 147 While the value of traditional substantive scholarship is not in doubt and researchers’ intellectual independence must be respected, contemporary challenges clearly call for greater academic engagement in identifying the factors that lead to compliance with IHL and how these factors may be put into action to reduce the gap between the rules’ content and compliance with them in practice. The following questions, for instance, may merit priority in researchers’ work:
• What impact can citizens and civil society have in demanding compliance with IHL from their governments, in light of the political system in place? What roles and initiatives should they adopt?
• What role should the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement play in ensuring compliance with IHL by parties to conflicts and by States?
• What impact does compliance with IHL have on the establishment of a sustainable peace after active hostilities have stopped?
• What economic cost do violations of IHL impose on each State in a given armed conflict, or in multiple conflicts?
• What consequences does compliance with IHL have for the internal discipline, effectiveness and strategic success of armed forces in military operations?
• What impact can IHL education have at primary, secondary and tertiary levels on compliance with the law? At what scale, and with what means?
• What role may the present or past existence of an armed conflict play in shaping an environment conducive to compliance with the law? How might violations of IHL in such a conflict influence this role, and why?
• What role can religious, cultural or traditional norms play in influencing compliance with IHL by a given armed group? What happens when different sets of norms overlap?
• To what extent should religious, traditional and cultural rules be promoted alongside IHL to ensure compliance? To which audiences, and for what reasons?
These questions are far from exhaustive and undoubtedly call for many others. They may be examined at the local, regional or global levels, focusing on one or several actors, whether similar or distinct. While they can be adapted in a number of ways, the questions share a common denominator: their crucial importance for addressing the defining challenge of our era, compliance with and implementation of IHL. Beyond the law itself, these questions call for innovative, multidisciplinary research partnerships involving fields such as sociology, psychology, military science, humanitarian action, economics, international relations, political science and education. Hopefully, the academic community will recognize the paramount importance of these questions for communities affected by violations of IHL and will invest in this emerging research field with a vigour that matches its significance.
Developing IHL: Academia’s initiatives to preserve humanity in war
From the early days of contemporary IHL, many professors, scholars and researchers have contributed to shaping the law through their legal expertise. This expertise is reflected in the many commentaries and revision projects relating to the Geneva Conventions.Footnote 148 There are also examples illustrating the foresight of academic experts, who have influenced later developments in IHL. In 1874, Professor Leopold Freiherr von Neumann made a recommendation to the members of the Society of Military Sciences in Vienna to introduce rules on the protection of the dead and the use of identification tags, as well as expressing his wish that knowledge of the Geneva Convention be more widely communicated.Footnote 149 As is well known, in the decades that followed, conventional and customary IHL enshrined rules on the protection of the dead, the use of identification tags and the promotion of the Geneva Conventions.Footnote 150 Similarly, in 1903, Antoine Rougier published an article on the potential application of IHL to civil wars, anticipating by forty-six years Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions – the first provision to limit the effects of hostilities in non-international armed conflicts.Footnote 151 A particularly remarkable contribution to the development of IHL came from Professor Louis Renault, a key architect of the 1906 Geneva Convention;Footnote 152 he was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for work that directly informed that convention, updating and consolidating the 1864 Convention, including through provisions on the protection of the dead on the battlefield and the recognition of voluntary aid societies.Footnote 153
Diplomatic conferences leading to the adoption of IHL treaties
The most direct contribution of academia to the development of IHL is evident in the participation of professors and legal scholars in the Diplomatic Conferences leading to the adoption of IHL treaties. Evidence of such participation can even be found at the Diplomatic Conference adopting the 1906 Geneva Convention, where at least four law professors were present, alongside medical professors.Footnote 154 Although this number reportedly declined for the Diplomatic Conference preceding the 1929 Geneva Conventions,Footnote 155 no fewer than thirteen professors of law (each from a different State, including one from the former Soviet Union) and twenty-three doctors of law took part in the Diplomatic Conference preceding the adoption of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.Footnote 156 Participation rose dramatically at the Diplomatic Conference adopting the Additional Protocols, which included around fifty law professors, among them leading figures in international law such as Antonio Cassese, Georges Abi-Saab, Richard Baxter, Frits Kalshoven and Luigi Condorelli.Footnote 157
Although academics have continued to be represented in more recent diplomatic processes leading to the adoption of IHL treaties, the scope of this article does not permit a detailed examination of their participation.Footnote 158 Such a study would require analyzing the influence of each professor, scholar or academic researcher on the debates and final text of each treaty. One might also look at the drafting and adoption of each IHL treaty since the original Geneva Convention to assess how academics’ influence has evolved over time, using qualitative and quantitative indicators. While this question awaits more extensive research, it remains significant that academics have been involved in diplomatic processes relating to IHL treaty adoption since at least 1906. In light of the significant expertise of the academics who have taken part – particularly during the Diplomatic Conference on the Additional Protocols – one can hardly consider academia’s contribution to diplomatic treaty-making in IHL as marginal.
Amicus curiae briefs
Amicus curiae (or “friend-of-the-court”) briefs are written submissions on points of law relevant to a case or advisory proceeding before a domestic, regional or international court. Intended to aid the court by shedding light on legal issues relevant to the matter at hand, they may be submitted by a State, organization or individual, with or without a prior invitation from the court.
In public international law, amicus curiae briefs are regularly used by academics, with a notable increase – and a trend towards individual submissions – over the past decade.Footnote 159 In IHL, amicus curiae briefs have been submitted in significant numbers to several international criminal courts, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the ICC, the European Court of Human Rights and, in particular, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.Footnote 160 These submissions often come from individual academics, groups of scholars, universities or IHL clinics.Footnote 161 Although their influence on judicial outcomes varies depending on whether they were invited and on the terms of the invitation, amicus curiae briefs have undoubtedly shaped the reasoning in judgments and separate opinions.Footnote 162 This confirms that academia also contributes to some extent to the development of IHL through the jurisprudence of international courts.
Academic manuals
Another direct – and at times spectacular – contribution of academia to the development of IHL can be found in the academic manuals drafted by experts, which sometimes amount to veritable draft conventions. Although such manuals do not possess binding force, they clarify the rules of IHL and contribute directly to its development by addressing current or future humanitarian problems.Footnote 163
Perhaps the most striking example dates from the late nineteenth century: in 1880, the Institute of International Law, composed of university professors, experts and eminent jurists, published The Laws of War on Land, known as the Oxford Manual.Footnote 164 This text advanced several key ideas that would influence contemporary IHL up to the present. Article 4 establishes the cardinal principle that “[t]he laws of war do not recognize in belligerents an unlimited liberty as to the means of injuring the enemy”.Footnote 165 More broadly, the Oxford Manual sets out the material conditions distinguishing combatants from civilians, which would be reflected in Geneva Convention III almost seventy years later.Footnote 166 It also articulates the core philosophy and rules governing belligerent occupationFootnote 167 and those concerning the status and treatment of prisoners of war.Footnote 168 Finally, the Oxford Manual was the first document to articulate the principle of criminal sanctions for members of armed forces who violate IHL, as well as the State’s responsibility for prosecuting such offences.Footnote 169 In retrospect, the foresight and practical influence of the academic work embodied in the Oxford Manual is striking.Footnote 170 A similar example is found in Professor Thomas Erskine Holland’s 1908 work on the written and unwritten laws of war on land, which amounted to “a true draft international code of the laws of war”Footnote 171 expected to be useful at peace conferences revising existing IHL treaties.
Given their practical importance for IHL development, academic manuals have continued to appear – for example, the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, issued by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL);Footnote 172 the HPCR Manual on International Law Applicable to Air and Missile Warfare, produced by the Harvard Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research;Footnote 173 the Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations;Footnote 174 and the Woomera Manual on the International Law of Military Space Operations.Footnote 175 The ICRC, recognizing their importance, has monitored most of these initiatives and even provided support for some.Footnote 176
Proposals for new norms
Academia also contributes to the development and upholding of IHL in many other ways, including through proposals for new ideas. In 1872, for instance, Gustave Moynier – acting more as a jurist and member of the Institute of International Law than as ICRC president – proposed a draft convention establishing an international judicial body to address violations of IHL on a universal basis.Footnote 177 Although unsuccessful at the time, Moynier’s proposal anticipated the creation of the Permanent Court of International Justice in 1922, the ICJ in 1945 and eventually the ICC through the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998. A more recent example is the initiative to bolster the protection afforded by IHL to the natural environment by advocating the recognition of ecocide as a new international crime under the Rome Statute.Footnote 178 Launched by a group of academics, legal experts and specialists who have proposed a definition of ecocide and advocate for its adoption by States worldwide, this initiative once again highlights academia’s unique and important role – combining creativity, legal expertise and international advocacy – in preserving humanity in war.
The unique and undeniable strengths that academia brings to the development of IHL are clear. But in an age of deep polarization, proliferating armed conflicts and a lack of political will to comply and ensure compliance with IHL, how is the academic contribution to its development likely to evolve?
Strengthening the academic contribution to IHL’s development
As previously discussed, the academic community began contributing to the development of contemporary IHL fairly early on. This contribution has increased in recent decades owing to the widening global debate on IHL, growing academic expertise and stronger connections between scholars and others involved in IHL development. For this trend to continue, several avenues should be explored.
First, States should consider systematically including academics in processes for developing IHL, be it positive law or soft law. This could be achieved by ensuring the presence of at least one scholar of IHL in delegations negotiating treaty texts, either individually or through their integration into the national IHL committee, assuming the committee is consulted in such negotiations.
Second, from the academic side, one might imagine an even more proactive role for IHL professors through a coordinated global academic approach. This could take existing or emerging humanitarian problems and propose responses in the form of draft treaties, academic manuals or academic advocacy. For its part, the ICRC intends to support such an approach through the Global Gathering of IHL Professors, which is scheduled to take place in Geneva in summer 2026. The event will bring together around fifty IHL specialists from every continent, who will be consulted on the most pressing humanitarian issues and invited to sketch out possible responses. Through this gathering, the ICRC aims to cultivate a global IHL academic community working in concert to uphold humanity in war, notably through proposals for IHL development and advocacy.
Third, academia could play an even more proactive role in making war more humane by contributing to the development of IHL through education. Beyond simply teaching IHL rules, academics could create courses – particularly through law clinics – on diplomatic negotiation and treaty drafting in IHL, based on current and future humanitarian challenges, aimed at both students and policy-makers. They could also expand student participation in amicus curiae briefs through IHL clinics, and teach academic advocacy in IHL through critical blog writing, training in communicating IHL accessibly in the media, and exercises in writing collective letters reminding States and armed groups of their IHL obligations.
Such initiatives would entail the development of a new field of para-IHL expertise. Designed to equip students not only with knowledge of the rules but with an understanding of how those rules interact with the realities of armed conflict, this field would help to foster a new generation of students who are not merely recipients of IHL knowledge but active participants in the evolution of the law. These students would then be well positioned to play a meaningful role in its drafting and future development, as well as in ensuring better implementation and compliance. Ambitious as it may be, such an approach has the merit of transforming the disenchantment of students and teachers faced with IHL violations and victims’ suffering into concrete action.
Conclusion: From disillusionment to initiative – academia as an indispensable contributor to IHL
This study is far from exhaustive, and hopefully it will suggest new avenues of research for those interested in academia’s role in upholding humanity in war through IHL. Nevertheless, the significance of the role played by academics from the origins of contemporary IHL to the present day bears restating. Starting in the mid-nineteenth century, this role consisted of spreading knowledge of the newly established rules before turning towards their development by the end of the century. Academic research has continually nurtured both the communication and the development of the law since its inception. Academia’s contribution to upholding humanity in war through IHL has benefited, in this regard, from academics’ special status: as representatives of intellectual authority and advocates of IHL in their respective countries, academics were able, as early as 1869, to exchange with their peers thanks to the common language offered by IHL conventions, which were themselves emblematic of an emerging international legal order. This unique combination of domestic and international roles, coupled with a degree of academic freedom granted by States to enable progress through research, has fostered a rich and sustained contribution to IHL. This contribution has been visible in the development of IHL instruction and of pedagogical tools throughout the twentieth century; in the development, specialization and contextualization of IHL research, especially from the 2000s onwards; and finally, in academia’s role in the development of IHL through increased participation of university professors in treaty negotiations, international judicial bodies and law-making initiatives since the second half of the twentieth century.
Three factors appear to have played a key role in the increased interest in IHL within academic circles since 1990: the emergence of international justice, which has made the justiciability of IHL evident to all; the expansion of the internet in the 2000s, which facilitated the spread of information on IHL; and finally, the efforts of academics themselves to promote this body of law, supported by the ICRC and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. By the 2010s, these advances had ushered in a period of renewed interest and broader knowledge of IHL in academia and beyond – an interest that continues today in light of current armed conflicts.
On a global scale, however, it is worth noting that the number of IHL specialists in academia remained extremely limited until the 1980s, giving the air of a niche area of expertise for decades. While this number has greatly expanded since, the massive increase of armed conflicts over recent years, coupled with numerous violations of IHL, has triggered a great deal of both attention and disillusionment in academia and beyond. Faced with this paradox, what role should academia play in upholding humanity in war?
First, it is important to recall the inherent strengths of the academic sphere: expertise, a degree of freedom and authority at the national level, the ability to engage across borders, creativity and the capacity to innovate, and a genuine passion for IHL. These qualities are far from insufficient for meeting the current challenges, particularly as most of those challenges relate more to compliance with and interpretation of the rules than to the rules themselves. Second, the academic community can rely on a solid body of law – indeed, IHL is among the most developed, dense and tested bodies in public international law. At least at the level of norms, IHL is today hardly “at the vanishing point of international law” any more.Footnote 179 However, IHL has force only if it is kept alive by those who teach, interpret and develop it. In a world where conflicts are both intensifying and evolving, it is urgent that States, universities and academics join forces to preserve humanity in war, for each has an irreplaceable role in sustaining the vitality of IHL.
For States, the first task is to acknowledge fully the strategic and ethical value of their academic institutions. Researchers, teachers and institutes of higher education are crucial vectors of knowledge, innovation and advice. Their independence guarantees expertise grounded in law and fact, serving informed decision-making. States have every interest in supporting research and teaching of IHL and in involving academic experts in diplomatic conferences, national IHL committees, inter-State delegations and representations before international courts. This partnership must also extend to the training of the armed forces, political authorities, judges and the media so as to embed a culture of respect for IHL in all spheres of public action. In short, State support for the development of robust academic expertise in IHL is an investment in the quality and coherence of the State’s own humanitarian and security policies.
Universities, for their part, must fully embrace their role as sustainable centres of teaching, research and innovation in IHL. Training jurists who are capable of understanding and applying this body of law requires not only rigorous theoretical teaching but also clinical and practical approaches such as case studies, simulations, role-playing exercises and collaborations with humanitarian organizations. This requires dedicated institutional support in each university, including appropriate budgets, proactive academic recognition of clinical activities, and encouragement of participation in international competitions and conferences. Universities must also create an environment conducive to research and the spread of knowledge by supporting continuing education in IHL, scientific publications, and interdisciplinary and international partnerships. IHL can develop only if it is taught and conceived of, in universities and beyond, as a living body of expertise that lies at the heart of contemporary concerns.
Finally, academics – professors, researchers and students – bear responsibility for upholding humanity in war through the faithful communication, rigorous research and innovative development of IHL, in accordance with both its letter and spirit. Their mission extends beyond technical expertise and entails tirelessly recalling the very purpose of this body of law: protecting those who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities, and limiting means and methods of warfare. This task first requires innovating the communication of IHL so as to keep it aligned with societal change, anchoring it in practice and enabling students and the wider public, through the media, to act so that IHL is upheld. Such communication should inform the public not only about the content of the rules but also about why they must be complied with and the lawful and peaceful means of ensuring compliance: this should include practical instruction on IHL through examples of respect for the law; teaching tools such as virtual reality that draw on empathy; accessible media work on IHL issues that resonate with public concerns; and training in advocacy asking for compliance with IHL from those responsible for its implementation.
For academics, the mission of upholding humanity in war also requires the development of multidisciplinary, para-IHL research, drawing on sociology, psychology and any other discipline relevant to understanding the factors that can improve the implementation of IHL and generating useful recommendations. Such research should meet scientific quality standards, take concrete challenges facing IHL as its jumping-off point, and be oriented towards State armed forces’ and non-State armed groups’ application of the law in practice: this should include academic monitoring of humanitarian issues reported by relief organizations; networking among researchers, decision-makers, military personnel and humanitarian practitioners to foster multidisciplinary research on these issues; scientific and ethical research grounded in the interpretative standards of the VCLT and incorporating the perspectives of IHL practitioners; and the dissemination of research findings to armed actors through accessible and innovative formats aligned with societal developments.
This mission also demands that academics exercise the required intellectual creativity to adapt IHL to the needs of our time by contributing to its development, both in terms of positive law and soft law. This should include academics’ formal involvement (national IHL committees) and informal engagement (scholarly advocacy) to support diplomatic processes leading to the adoption of IHL treaties and to prevent their denunciation to the detriment of victims of armed conflict; academic manuals contributing to the regulation of new challenges in IHL; open letters by professors publicly reaffirming the law when necessary; and the empowerment of students through training that encourages them to become active participants in, rather than mere recipients of, IHL (such as IHL treaty-making and soft-law drafting exercises, and legal advocacy).
The future of IHL depends on a renewed alliance of knowledge, action and engagement. While our era appears marked by violence and uncertainty, it also offers a unique opportunity to revive the noblest calling of academic work: to unite the forces of knowledge and conscience in order to continue – at whatever cost – to uphold humanity in war.
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