INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW treaties.

DISTINCT FEATURE AT A REGIONAL LEVEL:

Definition: The work of regional
A set of rules which seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed human rights courts and
conflict. It is commonly known as the LAW OF WAR or the LAW ON ARMED commissions established
CONFLICT. It only applies to armed conflicts but it does not regulate whether a under the main regional
State may actually use force. human rights treaties in
Europe, the Americas and
History: Africa  They examine
Four Geneva Conventions of __________ the violations of IHL
The Additional Protocols of __________ relating to the protection of victims of
armed conflicts.
The Philippines, as a party to the 4 Geneva Conventions subscribes to the basic
INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW vs . INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW principle of disinterested humanitarian aid to all victims of war and armed
IHL IHRL conflict.
APPLICABILITY
Basic Principles of International Humanitarian Laws
WHO ARE BOUND? All actors to an armed conflict
Governments in their
relations with “War is in no way a relationship of man with man but a relationship between
_______________ States, in which individuals are enemies only by accident; not as men, nor even as
ARE INDIVIDUALS Establishes universal GENERALLY, NO. citizens, but as soldiers...- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762
ALSO BOUND? jurisdiction over persons
suspected of having XPN: International crimes " Until a more complete code of the laws of war is issued, the High Contracting
committed which are subject to Parties think it right to declare that in cases not included in the Regulations
_________________________ _____________________ adopted by them, populations and belligerents remain under the protection and
of Geneva Conventions and _____________________ empire of the principles of international law, as they result from the usages
ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL 1
established between civilized nations, from the laws of humanity and the
WHO ARE Persons who do not, or are no
PROTECTED? longer taking part in Applies to requirements of the public conscience. "-Friedrich Martens, 1899 (Martens
hostilities. __________________. Clause)
SYSTEM OF AT NATIONAL LEVEL: AT NATIONAL LEVEL:
IMPLEMENTATION Lies with the states Lies with the states The principles of humanity " and " ____________________________________.”

1. The distinction between civilians and combatants;

AT AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL:
_________________________
AT AN INTERNATIONAL
LEVEL: bodies established 2. The prohibition to attack those hors de combat;
either by the 3. The prohibition to inflict unnecessary suffering; and
____________________ 4. The principle of necessity, and
or by the main IHRL 5. The principle of proportionality.

1. Distinction between ______________ and ________________
The parties to the conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians and
combatants. Attacks may only be directed against combatants. Attacks must not
be directed against civilians
Case Law: Ryuichi Shimoda et al. v. The State (1963)
The Hague Regulations- Article 25--- prohibits “the attack or bombardment, by
whatever means, of towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are
undefended.”
The prohibition on directing attacks against civilians is also laid down in Protocol
II, Amended Protocol II and Protocol III to the Convention on Certain Conventional
Weapons and in the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines.
St. Petersburg Declaration of 1868 prohibiting the use of projectiles under 400
grammes which are either explosive or charged with combustible or inflammable
substances.
Upon the invitation of the Russian diplomat and statesman Prince Alexander
Gorchakov, for the purpose of considering the existing rules of war, a conference
of delegates met at Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, in December 1868.
2. Prohibition to attack those ____________________
HORS DE COMBAT- enemy who is out of combat. A person who is recognized or
who, in the circumstances, is no longer able to participate in combat, shall not be
attacked (e.g. surrendering, wounded, dead, shipwrecked in water, descending by
parachute from an aircraft in distress, Prisoners of War, Parachutist of Disabled
Aircraft, Medical Personnel)
Article 41(1) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I provides: “A person who is
recognized or who, in the circumstances, should be recognized to be hors de
combat shall not be made the object of attack.”
3. Prohibition to inflict _______________________________
The rule requires that a balance be struck between military necessity, on the one
hand, and the expected injury or suffering inflicted on a person, on the other
hand, and that excessive injury or suffering, i.e., that which is out of proportion to
the military advantage sought, therefore violates the rule.
4. The Principle of _______________________
Launching an attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life,
injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which
would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage
anticipated, is prohibited.
5. The Principle of _________________________
A. The “____________________” permits measures which are actually
necessary to accomplish a legitimate military purpose and are not
otherwise prohibited by international humanitarian law. Only legitimate
military purpose is to weaken the military capacity of the other parties to
the conflict.
B. “__________________” are limited to those objects which: by their
nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to
military action, and whose partial or total destruction, capture or
neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite
military advantage
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Established in ___________, the ICRC operates worldwide, helping people
affected by conflict and armed violence and promoting the laws that protect
victims of war. An independent and neutral organization, its mandate stems
essentially from the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
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