Introduction

Of all the topics in international humanitarian law, arguably none is of more importance than securing compliance with the law's provisions and enforcing the law. Given that armed conflict by its very nature occasions violence, destruction and death, all too often to innocent people, there is little point in having an elaborate system of detailed rules for the conduct of hostilities and the protection of victims in war if there is no corresponding effective system for securing compliance and enforcing those rules. It is all very well having a doctrine of individual criminal responsibility for violations of humanitarian law but criminal proceedings by definition may be brought only after the crime has been committed and the damage done. While war crimes trials are undoubtedly considered more interesting and newsworthy by the media and the public at large, it cannot be doubted that adequate prevention – the task primarily of States, acting through military command hierarchies – is in many respects even more essential to a credible system of legal rules.

Thus, compliance with and enforcement of international humanitarian law at the State level of civil (as opposed to criminal) responsibility, obligations to disseminate the legal rules and incorporate them in domestic legal systems, and ensuring that armed forces are adequately instructed in their content, are crucial. By attaining these objectives, States can encourage the observance of the law in armed conflict and ensure that there is a workable system for obtaining enforcement.