BULAN, JULIE FAITH, A INTERNATIONAL LAW

FINAL TERM ASSIGNMENT NOVEMBER 22, 2022

First Activity: Final Period

1. Distinguish Jus Ad Bellum versus Jus Ad Bello with an illustrative example.

- International humanitarian law, also known as Jus in Bello, governs the conduct of warfare. IHL is
purely humanitarian in nature, aiming to reduce suffering. It is distinct from questions concerning
the justification or reasons for war, as well as its prevention, which is covered by Jus ad Bellum.
Furthermore, Jus in Bello refers to the set of rules that govern the mutual relations between
belligerents in an armed conflict, whether international or internal.
 For example, the Jus in Bello always applies to both combatant parties (Ukraine and Russia)
in their conduct of the armed conflict. Because the aggressor State initiated the war, there is
no "higher" or differential level of potential culpability for jus in Bello violations on the
aggressor State's forces. Hence, they are both belligerent forces that are subject to the same
rules and assessment standards.
- Jus ad Bellum is traditionally defined as the set of rules of international law governing the
circumstances under which a subject of international law is permitted to use armed force. Thus,
possessing just cause is the first and arguably the most important condition of jus ad Bellum which
most theorists hold that initiating acts of aggression is unjust and gives a group a just cause to defend
itself.
- The principal modern legal source of jus ad Bellum derives from the Charter of the United Nations,
which declares in Article 2: “All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat
or the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any
other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations”; and in Article 51: “Nothing in
the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed
attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations.”
 For example, just cause resulting from an act of aggression can ostensibly be a response to a
physical injury (for example, a violation of territory), an insult (an aggression against
national honor), a trade embargo (an aggression against economic activity), or even to a
neighbor’s prosperity (a violation of social justice).
 For example, if one nation invades and seizes the land of another nation, this second nation
has just cause for a counterattack to retrieve its land. However, if this second nation invades
the first, reclaims its territory, and then also annexes the first nation, such military action is
disproportional.
2. Differentiate IAC vs. NIAC. Give an illustrative example.
- International Armed Conflicts (IAC) An international armed conflict occurs when one or more
States have recourse to armed force against another State, regardless of the reasons or the intensity
of this confrontation. No formal declaration of war or recognition of the situation is required. Such
that , under the general rule of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, all Members shall refrain in their
international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political
independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United
Nations. However, under the Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, that “Nothing in the present
Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack
occurs against a Member of the United Nations until the Security Council has taken measures
necessary to maintain international peace and security”.
Example:
 Syria is involved in an international armed conflict with Israel, which has been conducting
airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria without the consent of the GoS.
  Syria is also in an international armed conflict with Turkey, who has carried out military
operations against ISIL and Kurdish armed groups in Syria, and controls parts of northern
Syria with the help of anti-government armed groups. Military confrontations between Syrian
and Turkish armed forces took place during the conflict, most recently in March 2020.

- Under Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, non-international armed
conflicts are armed conflicts in which one or more non-State armed groups are involved. Depending
on the situation, hostilities may occur between governmental armed forces and non-State armed
groups or between such groups only. Indeed, any armed conflict between governmental armed forces
and armed groups or between such groups cannot but take place on the territory of one of the Parties
to the Convention.
Furthermore, two requirements are necessary for such situations to be classified as non-international
armed conflicts:
a. Protracted armed violence
b. Such armed violence is between governmental authorities and organized armed groups or between
such groups within a State.
 Example: The Government of the Philippines is involved in multiple non-international armed
conflicts in Mindanao against the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the Maute Group and the Abu
Sayyaf Group. Furthermore, the Philippine Armed Forces are engaged in a non-international
armed conflict against the New People’s Army.
3. Compare Self-defensive War vs. Just War and Give an illustrative example.
- Self-defensive war refers to the use of force to repel an attack or imminent threat of attack directed
against oneself or others or a legally protected interest. Furthermore, under international law, refers
to the inherent right of a State to use force in response to an armed attack. Self-defense is one of the
exceptions to the prohibition against the use of force under article 2(4) of the UN Charter and
customary international law. However, whether the armed attack that gives rise to self-defense
should originate from another state (as opposed to an armed group) and whether the attack should
materialize to lawfully invoke self-defense are ongoing conundrums for scholars.
 For example, The United States went to Afghanistan in 2001 to wage a necessary war of self-
defense, it is to freeze the assets of terrorist groups and other entities that funded terrorist
activity. This was the beginning of efforts to deny financing to terrorists and terrorist groups
wherein the right of defense, which is key to the United States' view of its
armed force in Afghanistan that allows a state to act immediately.

- Just war theory is an ethical framework used to determine when it is permissible to go to war.
Historically, it is a set of mutually agreed rules of combat that may be said to commonly evolve
between two culturally similar enemies. That is, when an array of values is shared between two
warring peoples, we often find that they implicitly or explicitly agree upon limits to their warfare.
 Example: For a battle to be considered morally permissible, it must be ethical before, during,
and after the conflict. For example, an ethical war for consequentialists uses the minimum
amount of time and money to encourage a clean fight with no need for revenge. Intrinsic
consider actions themselves in war to be good or evil, such as protection for doctors or a ban
on nuclear weapons. Ethics can become challenging to discern, such as when military targets
hide in civilian centers. While the intention may be only to kill the military leader, the
foreseeable result of innocent lives lost is not accidental. 
4. Discuss the nature of any two (2) principles of IHL (4 Principles of IHL) with a good illustrative
example for each.
a. HUMANITY - The principle of humanity forbids the infliction of all suffering, injury or destruction
not necessary for achieving the legitimate purpose of a conflict.
 For example, during hostilities, military necessity may limit the notion of humanity by
allowing for destruction, but in other situations such as the protection of the wounded and
sick, the principle of humanity is at the heart of the legal rules.
Example: The International Committee of the Red Cross - Humanitarian Help for People Affected
by Armed Conflict. Since 1863, the mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
has been to protect and assist victims of armed conflict and promote understanding and respect for
international humanitarian law.

b. Military Necessity - The principle of military necessity permits only the degree and kind of force
required to achieve the legitimate purpose of a conflict, i.e. the complete or partial submission of the
enemy at the earliest possible moment with the minimum expenditure of life and resources. It does
not, however, permit the taking of measures that would otherwise be prohibited under IHL. (ICRC)
 For example, Article 52 of Addition Protocol I lists objects that can be lawfully targeted.
However, the notion cannot be applied to override specific protections or create exceptions to
rules where the text itself does not provide for one.