SWAMI VIVEKANAND SUBHARTI UNIVERSITY,

MEERUT, U.P.

SUBJECT: Legal Education and Advance Research Methodology

Project Topic – “Research Design on – Challenge before Domestic enforcement
of IHL: An Analysis”
SUBMITTED TO
Professor: - Dr. Vaibhav Goel Bhartiya
SUBMITTED BY:
Ravi Saxena
LL.M IInd SEMESTER

SARDAR PATEL SUBHARTI INSTITUTE OF LAW

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to give special thanks to my teacher Prof. ‘Dr. Vaibhav Goel
Bhartiya’ who gave me the golden opportunity to do this Project Topic “Research
Design on – Challenge before Domestic enforcement of IHL: An Analysis”
which helped me in doing a lot of research and I came to know about so many new
things I am really thankful to him. Secondly I would like to thanks my parents and
friend who helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the limited time fit.

………………………
Ravi Saxena
LL.M
IInd SEMESTER

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..…...4
Recognition of IHL…………………………………………………………………………….…4
Development and acceptance of IHL instrumentalities by the States ……………………………5
Scope of IHL ……………………………………………………………………………………6

Challenges before Domestic enforcement of IHL - An Analysis………………………………...7

A. Prosecuting War Crimes at National Level: Main challenges
B. Specific challenges of the transitional justice process

C. Inherent Challenge
IHL and Domestic law – Criminal law ………………………………………………………11-16
Solution to challenges - Methods of incorporating international crimes into Domestic law
Conclusion

Reference

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Abstract -
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is frequently neglected by the Parties to the Geneva Conventions during armed conflict
(AC). In the contemporary world, IHL has been facing a great threat due to lack of proper implementation which resulted in the
severe wounds, unnecessary sufferings, superfluous injury, and even death to the civilians, children, women, and combatants in and
outside the armed field. For the implementation of IHL, it is essential that States must take proper steps during peace, conflict, and
post-conflict time. The article presents the various mechanisms of implementation of IHL need to be taken by the States during the
time of peace. It also focuses the most significant peace time steps sought to be taken by the State to make the IHL rules familiar to
the civilians and combatant, to ensure the availability of the necessary instrumentalities for using those during AC for protection
and minimization of the sufferings of the victims and to enact essential legislation for trial of the violators after the end of the
conflict.

Introduction

International humanitarian law (IHL) is a set of rules which seek for humanitarian reasons to
limit the effects of armed conflict. IHL protects persons who are not or who are no longer
participating in hostilities and it restricts means and methods of warfare. IHL is also known as
the law of war or the law of armed conflict. IHL is part of international law, the body of rules
governing relations between States. The sources of international law include, among others,
written agreements between States (treaties or conventions which bind only those States that
have expressed their consent to be bound by them), customary rules (which consist of unwritten
rules derived from constant State practice considered by States as legally binding), and general
principles of law.

Recognition of IHL -

A major part of IHL is contained in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. More recently they
have been developed and supplemented by three further agreements: the 1977 Additional
Protocols I and II, relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts, and the 2005
Additional Protocol III, relating to the adoption of an additional distinctive emblem.

Other IHL treaties complement these fundamental instruments. Some prohibit or restrict the use
of means and methods of warfare and protect certain categories of people and goods. These
treaties include:

a. The 1925 Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other
Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare

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 b. The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of
Armed Conflict, plus its two Protocols of 1954 and 1999;
c. The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention;
d. The 1976 Convention on the Prohibition of Military or any Hostile Use of Environmental
Modification Techniques;
e. The 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and its five Protocols;
f. The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention;
g. The 1997 Mine Ban Convention;
h. The 1998 Statute of the International Criminal Court;
i. The 2000 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflict; and
j. The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions

Development and acceptance of IHL instrumentalities by the States

In the middle of the last century, IHL was quite unknown to the world communities. Even less
than three decades ago, IHL was hardly known by people and few persons namely ICRC
lawyers, military lawyers and so on (Murphy, 2004:47). It is mentionable that in 1970s only the
University of Geneva offered a regular IHL course (National Implementation of IHL, 2010)

“Today, the scenario has revolutionarily changed. Now people of all sectors either
belligerents or politicians or lawyers or journalists or students or diplomats or terrorists
or rebels, NGO activists, ICRC representatives, demonstrators, civilians populations and
so on constantly refer IHL. And it is worthy to mention here that now IHL is offered in
different levels of educations such as undergraduate, graduate and post graduate. This
huge development of IHL both in documentations and oncreating awareness among
people has lessened the difficulties of implementation of IHL significantly. For
implementation of IHL, sufficient international documents have already been adopted
and now it needs to be implemented in national level by signing and ratifying those
documents and simultaneously nationalizing those international documents by making
State legislations”.

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Scope of IHL

IHL applies to armed conflicts (both international and non- international) and situations of
occupation. It does not cover internal disturbances or tensions such as isolated acts of violence. It
does not regulate whether a State may or has rightfully used force; this is governed by an
important, but distinct, part of international law, primarily set out in the United Nations Charter.

a. IHL distinguishes between international and non- international armed conflicts

International armed conflicts are those involving two or more States, regardless of whether a
declaration of war has been made, or whether the parties involved recognize that there is a state
of war. Parties to international armed conflicts are subject to a wide range of rules, including
those set out in the four Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I. The law applies only
once a conflict has begun, and then equally to all sides, regardless of who started the fighting.

Non-international armed conflicts (also often called “internal armed conflicts”) usually take
place on the territory of a single State and involve either regular armed forces fighting other
armed groups, or armed groups fighting each other. A more limited range of rules apply to
internal armed conflicts than to international armed conflicts (in particular, common Article 3 to
the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II), even though customary law tends to
diminish the distinction and expands the protection of certain rules of IHL to all types of armed
conflicts.

b. IHL generally covers two areas:

a. The protection of those who are not, or who are no longer, taking part in the fighting;
b. Restrictions on the means of warfare – in particular weapons – and the methods of
warfare, such as military tactics.

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Challenges before Domestic enforcement of IHL - An Analysis

Challenges before domestic enforcement of IHL – An analysis –

A. Prosecuting War Crimes at National Level: Main challenges1

1. Many countries in SEE have established specialized chambers in existing tribunals and courts
for dealing with war crimes cases, in addition to transposing the relevant international rules. This
move has helped focus resources on the need to prioritize the fight against impunity. Yet,
additional efforts need to be made to ensure that those involved in judicial processes (members
of the judiciary, the prosecution, and defence counsel) are adequately trained on and informed
about the applicable legal frameworks and recent national and international developments.

2. The location of war crimes courts can affect the way cases will be handled. For instance,
proximity of the court to the crime scene could influence the judges’ objectivity as such cases are
quite complex and emotionally charged. Yet, being far from the crime scene (e.g. in a third
country) can entail practical obstacles with regard to the applicable procedure and law and access
to evidence (including testimonies of witnesses and victims).

3. Witness protection is an instrumental element in every war crimes case and should be thought
through well before trial, as early as during the investigation phase. Many jurisdictions in SEE
have adopted witness protection laws and also set up specialized witness support services to
assist witnesses throughout their experience with the justice system. The necessary resources
should be made available for these support services to function in a sustainable fashion

In this session -the main challenges facing prosecutorial authorities and judges in the
prosecution of international crimes - and particularly war crimes - before domestic courts.

Additional Protocol I of the 1949 Geneva Conventions (GCs) and customary IHL define the acts
which constitute international crimes and lays down specific obligations that prosecutorial bodies
and national courts must meet in the prosecution and adjudication of these international crimes.

These refer, among others, to

1
Conference Reporton Role Of Domestic Jurisdictions In the implementation Of International Humanitarian Law
(Ihl) – Law and Practice, Sarajevo, 19-20 May 2014, ICRC.

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 (i) The basis of jurisdiction,
(ii) specific forms of liability such as “command responsibility”,
(iii) the protection of procedural and judicial safeguards for suspected perpetrators, and
(iv) interstate co-operation and assistance in criminal matters. However, implementation
of these obligations is difficult. Such crimes must not only be introduced into
domestic criminal law, but the national system for criminal prosecution must also be
adapted to the specificity and the gravity of international crimes. When discussing
national strategies for war crimes processing, the panel noted the complexity of war
crimes prosecution at the domestic level. Domestic judicial authorities of countries
with significant war crimes caseloads have gradually set up comprehensive systems
and strategies to approach the prosecution of such crimes.

These systems and strategies can include: (i) adaptation of the legal framework, (ii)
establishment of specialized entities at various levels (police, prosecution and judiciary) and (iii)
the creation of specialized courts.

Different measures are taken in domestic contexts to protect vulnerable witnesses and victims. In
Croatia, for example, the law provides for two types of protection for witnesses giving
testimony: (i) vulnerable witnesses may testify through video link or through voice or image
distortion and (ii) protected witnesses may testify in open court, however, following their
testimony they will be enrolled in the witness protection programme, thus their identity is
changed and they may even be relocated abroad

Interaction between International and Domestic Law and System

1. The systematic application of international standards in domestic legal frameworks was

largely debated as some participants were of the view that international standards offer a broader
scope of protection and larger basis for prosecutions and as such, should be directly invoked in
current war crimes cases. Other participants argued for a more cautious approach as international
law is not a uniformly codified and coherent source of law. A difficult yet necessary balance
must be found between these two approaches in order to ensure that the perpetrators of the most
serious international crimes are brought to justice.

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2. It was agreed that strong reasoning in judgements related to these complex crimes is
instrumental for decisions to be accessible, legitimate and authoritative. This applies also to
international tribunals’ judgments which often exceed a few hundred pages and are drafted in a
convoluted style.

3. A plea was made to go beyond the mere repression of international crimes and to pay due
attention to prevention mechanisms. The example of criminalizing any incitement to genocide
was used to show how prevention efforts could mitigate the risk of the commission of more
serious crimes.

B. Specific challenges of the transitional justice process

1. Transitional justice relies on various tools which at times pursue conflicting goals. Mention
was made of amnesty which is often seen as a renunciation of justice for the victims. Some
participants argued that amnesty could be applied to lowest-level perpetrators provided that it
also helps society to move on by, for instance, requiring the perpetrators to reveal information on
victims or missing persons. Truth and reconciliation commissions and reparations for victims
were seen as important ways to promote lasting peace in society.

2. Sexual violence crimes constitute a particularly difficult challenge from the perspective of
reconciliation and transitional justice. The large scale of sexual crimes committed in the Balkans
makes the justice process long and complex. In addition, justice actors must strive to avoid re-
victimization of sexual violence survivors during criminal proceedings.

3. The fate of missing persons remains a serious challenge for many regions affected by armed
conflicts. In that regard, investigation on the fate and the whereabouts of missing persons
requires both factual information and scientific resources. Both courts and specialized bodies
have a specific and complementary role in this respect and should work together to find a
balance between accountability and the victims’ and families’ right to know.

In this session -The challenges faced by victims in the transitional justice process were initially
discussed with a focus on victims of sexual violence crimes and missing persons. ICTY case law
has had a positive influence on domestic prosecution of these crimes as domestic jurisdictions
have closely followed the case law of the ICTY on this issue. Victims of international crimes
often face trauma which makes testifying before the court a challenge for them. Victims of

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sexual violence are often reluctant to speak about their experience which makes prosecution
difficult. Although victims of sexual violence were mostly women and girls, in certain cases
males were victims as well. The panel discussed that instead of ‘gender-based violence’, the term
‘conflict-related sexual violence’ could be used so as not to exclude male victims. Although rape
is one of the most frequent types of sexual violence crimes, other types of sexual violence occur
in times of armed conflict as well, such as sexual slavery, torture or inhumane treatment.

C. Inherent Challenge -

IHL applies in an international society of States not willing to uphold the rule of international
law -

a. Limits of the ICRC

The ICRC’s assets are its independence, its humanitarian action, its impartiality and its
principled approach. However, the ICRC is not without its own limitations.

First, despite its independence from States, the ICRC exists on a planet dominated by them. Its
leverage on powerful States like India (Kashmir) and Russia (Chechnya) is so limited that it
may not even try to put pressure on them publicly. Even if from a legal and humanitarian point
of view it should probably have done otherwise, one can understand that the ICRC accepted the
(rather counter-factual and counter-intuitive) determination by the unanimous UN Security
Council that the occupation of Iraq had ended on 30 June 2004.15 Second, when confronted with
the alternative of either getting access to persons in need of its protection and assistance or
insisting on the respect of the law, the ICRC will generally choose the former. Third, even where
the ICRC insists upon the respect of the law, it will most often do so confidentially and
bilaterally, which may have positive effects for those protected by the rules, but increases the
public perception that the law does not matter. Fourth, having faced repeated attacks against its
personnel, the ICRC must unfortunately be increasingly concerned about the security of its own
staff. Thus it is obliged to balance the protection of those it has a mission to protect against the
risks of fulfilling such mission. In more and more situations (Eastern Congo, Iraq, Chechnya), it
is no longer able to be fully present in midst of the fighting and therefore cannot directly monitor
the respect of IHL where it is most violated.

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 b. IHL is law and therefore needs a minimum of structure to be implemented –

All law needs a minimum of structure of authority within the society to which it applies. As will
be discussed later, international law is still centered on States. IHL is certainly also addressed to
individuals, but its implementation depends heavily on ‘parties’ of armed conflicts: States and, in
non-international armed conflicts, organized armed groups. This raises problems in failed States,
where formal structures of authority have collapsed and informal structures are non-transparent,
transient and based upon interpersonal relations rather than rules. In such situations, a legal
question of applicability and a practical problem of application appear2.

IHL of non-international armed conflicts does not apply to every act of violence within a State.
To apply, the situation must meet a minimum threshold in terms of intensity, number of active
participants, number of victims, duration and protracted character of the violence, organization
and discipline of the parties, capacity to respect IHL, collective, open and coordinated character
of the hostilities, and de facto authority by the non-State actor over potential victims

IHL and Domestic law – Criminal law

Solution to challenges - Methods of incorporating international crimes into

Domestic law –

The legislator has a number of options available when translating serious violations of IHL into
domestic criminal legislation and when making them subject to domestic law.

This first option consists of applying the existing military or ordinary national criminal law. This
approach proceeds from the view that domestic criminal law provides adequate punishment for
serious violations of IHL and that it is therefore unnecessary to introduce new crimes. On the
assumption that the precedence of international law over national law is recognized, domestic
legislation must be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of international law by which
the State is bound, and any gaps in the law must be closed.

2
Research Article on-THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW: CURRENT
AND INHERENT CHALLENGES, published in: Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law 2007, by Marco
Sassòli.

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The second option aims at criminalizing serious violations of IHL at the national level by
providing for a general reference to the relevant provisions of IHL, to international law in
general, or to the laws and customs of war (customary law), and specifying a range of penalties.

The third option consists of providing in domestic law for specific crimes corresponding to those
found in international treaties. This can be achieved in various ways, in particular:

1. by transcribing into national law the full list of crimes with identical wording to that of
the treaties and laying down the penalties applying to each offence, whether individually
or by category; or
2. by separately redefining or rewriting in national law the description of the types of
conduct constituting the crimes.

Finally, under the fourth option, national authorities may prefer to adopt a mixed approach which
involves combining criminalization by a generic provision with the explicit and specific
criminalization of certain serious crimes. In this case, the generic provision is residual in the
sense that it concerns facts which are not specifically criminalized and subjected to punishment
(in accordance with the principle lexspecialisderogatlegegenerali). The combination of general
and specific criminalization may also be complemented by the subsidiary application of other
provisions of common criminal law3.

A. Party to IHL Treaties – Fundamental requirement for effective enforcement of IHL

First, it is important that States ratify IHL treaties because they are instruments specifically
designed to provide protection to victims in times of armed conflict. These conventions,
regulating the conduct of hostilities and aiming at the protection of the people who do not or who
no longer participate directly in hostilities, constitute the essential juridical basis safeguarding
the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict.

The ratification of IHL treaties creates the obligation for States to disseminate the rules and
obligations they contain in order to have them respected by all parties to an armed conflict and to
ensure a more humane conduct of armed conflict. In incorporating those conventions into
domestic law, States have to provide for sanctions for serious breaches of their provisions.
Therefore, the prospect of being sanctioned can eventually have a deterrent effect on potential

3
ICRC Manual on the Domestic Implementation of International Humanitarian Law.

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criminals and perpetrators of war crimes and, when the provisions are applied, decrease
impunity. In other words, the ratification of IHL treaties, which implies spreading knowledge
and ensuring that appropriate and sufficient sanctions are provided for serious violations of their
provisions, should contribute to greater respect for IHL and human rights in general.

In short, it is important that States ratify IHL treaties because these are the result of an
international consensus on the necessity to limit the effects of armed conflict. Universal
ratification should lead to greater predictability and protection for the victims of armed conflicts
since it implies that the same rules apply to all parties. The fact that the four Geneva Conventions
have been ratified by all States demonstrates the universal approval of the obligations
surrounding the conduct occurring during an armed conflict. More and more States recognize the
obligations resulting from IHL treaties; therefore, they contribute to solidifying the international
framework of fundamental rights and helping to protect the most vulnerable persons in time of
armed conflict.

B. Domestic Measures for effective enforcement of IHL4 –

Under IHL a range of measures must be taken. Among the main ones are:

I. To have IHL instruments translated into the national language(s);

II. To spread knowledge of them as widely as possible both within the armed forces and the
general population;
III. To repress all violations of IHL instruments and, in particular, to adopt criminal
legislation that punishes war crimes;
IV. To ensure that persons, property and places specifically protected by the law are properly
identified and marked;
V. To adopt measures to prevent the misuse of the red cross, the red crescent, the red crystal
and other emblems and signs provided for in IHL;
VI. To ensure that protected persons enjoy judicial and other fundamental guarantees during
armed conflicts;

4
Research Article on -Domestic measures during peace time for the implementation of International Humanitarian
Law (IHL), Mohammad Saidul Islam Department of Laws International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC),
Bangladesh.

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VII. To appoint and train persons in IHL; in particular, to ensure the presence of legal advisers
within the armed forces;
VIII. To provide for the establishment and/or regulation of: − National Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies and other voluntary aid societies, − civil defence organizations, −
national information bureaux;
IX. To take account of IHL when selecting military sites and in developing and adopting
weapons and military tactics;
X. To provide for the establishment of hospital zones, neutralized zones and demilitarized
zones.

1. Translation of the conventions and protocols into the mother languages -English and
French are recognized as the official versions of the GCs of 1949 (Art. 55, GC I) whereas the
two APs are found in Arabic, English, Chinese, French, Spanish and Russian six official
languages (Art. 102, AP I of 1977). The States parties whose national languages are different
from the above ones are under the obligation to translate the text into their mother language,
so that the nationals can easily understand the conventions and protocols and abide by them.
The Geneva Conventions impose another important obligation to communicate these
translations to the other contracting parties in peace time to avoid the difficulties on
interpretation of translations by various countries in many ways (Articles 48, 49,128 and 144
respectively first, second and third and fourth Geneva Conventions, 1949).
2. Dissemination of the conventions and protocols - Knowledge is the prerequisite to show
respect to any law. The disseminating the Geneva Conventions and Protocols to the general
people and military personnel in various ways is considered an effective way of acquainting
the people with these laws. All the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols
impose on every member State an obligation to disseminate widely the Conventions and the
Protocols to the people during both peace and armed conflicts so that the members of armed
forces and general people being well acquainted with these texts (arts. 47, 48,127 and 144 of
respectively GCs I, II, III, IV).
3. Advisers in the armed forces- The parties of the protocols are asked to appoint necessary
legal advisors in armed forces at peace time to ensure their availability at conflicting time to
advise the military commanders during conflict. Moreover it is also the responsibility of the

14
 conflicting parties to ensure legal advisors at the armed conflict for proper instructions to the
combatants to ensure compliance of the provisions of Conventions and Protocols during the
conflict (art. 82, AP I of 1977).
4. Adopting criminal legislation - One of the explicit obligations of the State parties of the
GCs of 1949 and the APs 1977 is to enact necessary national legal framework to ensure
proper prosecution and punishment of every individual for violation of IHL. Several articles,
for example, articles 49-54, GC I; articles 146-149, GC IV and articles 85-89, AP I,
expressly set forth the breaches which are to be repressed by punishment of liable
individuals. The distinctive feature of those breaches is that the perpetrators or violators of
such breach must be prosecuted and tried by impartial tribunal without considering their
place of birth, nationality and positions .
5. Establishment of hospital zones, non-defended localities and demilitarized zones - It
was earlier stated that the main purpose of GCs and its Protocols is to protect those who do
not take part in the hostilities. To achieve this object, the State parties are to take some steps,
among them to establish hospital zone, non-defended localities and demilitarized zone are
most important steps, as art. 60 (2) of the Additional Protocol 1 imposes a duty on the
contracting parties to enter into an express agreement conferring certain area the status of
demilitarized zone where attack is clearly prohibited and such agreement can be made either
during peace time or in time of conflict (art. 60.2. of AP I).
6. Establishment of national societies - The importance of establishment of national societies
was realized earlier back to 1929 when “the Convention for the Amelioration of the
Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies at Field 1906, as revised in 1929”, was
drafted inserting the provision of protection of the aid societies formed in the State working
voluntarily namely national Red Cross (RC) and Red Crescent (RC) societies established
with the approval of their governments (arts. 10 & 11).
7. Establishment of national commission for IHL- The setting up of a national commission
for IHL is neither required by the GCs nor by their APs. The Conventions represent the
essential guarantees for the victims of armed conflict as laid down in the GCs that the State
is coming forward for the satisfaction of its obligations regarding “to respect and to ensure
respect” of the GCs and Protocols

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8. Formation of civil defense organizations-The Addition Protocol of 1977 obligates the
State parties to establish civil defense organizations in every State for the protection of the
civilians from dangers of the AC, for providing necessary assistance to civilian population
for protecting them from the results of conflicts and for ensuring the condition necessary for
their survival (art. 61.a. of AP I).

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Conclusion

IHL should disappear upon the disappearance of the phenomenon it regulates: armed conflicts.
This is not dreaming of a utopian world without violence. It is hoping for an international society
and for States in which violence and behaviour contrary to community interest are dealt with as
they are within peaceful, functioning States: through law enforcement. Unfortunately, we are not
at that stage.

The mere fact that international armed conflicts exist is evidence that international law does not
function. Wherever non-international armed conflicts exist, domestic law and international law
on the coordination of the jurisdiction of sovereign States do not function. In such an
environment, it is normal that the law applicable to this extraordinary situation which should not
exist – IHL – is not perfectly respected. Even if we take this inherent limitation into account and
subtract the distortions that arise from misperception, we must admit that IHL is insufficiently
enforced.

This is the greatest challenge for IHL. To meet it necessitates the creation of political will by
States and armed groups – which means first and foremost convincing individuals who decide
and fight for States and armed groups. Dissemination, training and education are crucial but not
sufficient. Depending on the individual to be convinced, diverse political, moral, religious or
utilitarian arguments can be used. The role of law in all this is limited. This contribution has
nevertheless shown that some of the challenges for the implementation of IHL are relatedto – if
not caused by – legal argument. I have not found recipes for meeting all these challenges, but I
tried to advocate some: faithful application of IHL where it applies, without manipulation, be it
for political or humanitarian purposes or even to ensure victory for a just cause; ensuring that as
few causes as possible cannot be fought for while respecting IHL; engaging all those who are
supposed to respect IHL; and reducing the credibility gap, not only by enforcing IHL, but also by
putting the emphasis on the existing rules instead of developing endlessly new ones – or, worse,
pretending that they already exist – and by convincing TVviewers, fighters and their
constituencies that IHL is much more respected than they think.

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References

1. Research Article on -Domestic measures during peace time for the implementation of
International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Mohammad Saidul Islam Department of Laws
International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC), Bangladesh.
(file:///C:/Users/VISHAL%20SAXENA/Downloads/39884-Article%20Text-142972-1-10-
20190305%20(2).pdf)
2. Conference Reporton Role Of Domestic Jurisdictions In the implementation Of International
Humanitarian Law (IHL) – Law and Practice, Sarajevo, 19-20 May 2014, ICRC.
(file:///C:/Users/VISHAL%20SAXENA/Downloads/ihl-implementation-conference_-report-
icrc-may-2014-eng.pdf)
3. Research Article on-THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL
HUMANITARIAN LAW: CURRENT AND INHERENT CHALLENGES, published in:
Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law 2007, by Marco Sassòli.
(http://web.abo.fi/instut/imr/secret/kurser/Challenges%202007/sassoli/YIHL%20chall%205.p
df)
4. ICRC Manual on the Domestic Implementation of International Humanitarian Law
(https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/publications/icrc-002-4028.pdf).

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How can IHL implementation be achieved

Careful planning and regular consultation are the keys to effective implementation. Many States have
established bodies for this purpose, such as national IHL committees, that are addressed later in Chapter
Four. In some countries, the National Societies may also be able to offer assistance with
implementation.

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