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CONTENTS
Extended contents vii

List of abbreviations xix
Acknowledgments xxv
Reader’s guide xxvii
Table of instruments xxix
1 Introduction 1
2 History 5
3 A general overview of IHL based upon its major delimitations 15
4 The sources of IHL 33
5 Respect of the law 68
6 Scope of application: when does IHL apply? 168
7 International and non‑international armed conflicts 204
8 The protective regimes 231
9 IHL and other branches of international law 422
10 Selected cross-cutting issues 486
11 Conclusion 625
Index 629
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EXTENDED CONTENTS
List of abbreviations xix

Acknowledgments xxv
Reader’s guide xxvii
Table of instruments xxix
1. INTRODUCTION 1.01
2. HISTORY 2.01
3. A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF IHL BASED UPON ITS

MAJOR DELIMITATIONS 3.01
3.1 IHL APPLIES ONLY TO ARMED CONFLICTS 3.02
3.2 THE THRESHOLD OF APPLICATION IN IACS VERSUS NIACS 3.04
3.3 THE INDEPENDENCE OF IHL FROM JUS AD BELLUM 3.10
3.4 THE FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CIVILIANS AND COMBATANTSAND
THE RESULTING IHL PROTECTION REGIMES 3.14
3.4.1 The starting point: the difference between civilians and combatants in IACs 3.14
3.4.2 The legal regime protecting civilians and fighters in NIACs 3.19
3.4.3 Factors limiting the relevance of the principle of distinction between
combatants and civilians 3.23
3.5 THE DISTINCTIONBETWEEN THE PROTECTION OF PERSONS IN THE POWER OF A
PARTY AND THE PROTECTION OF PERSONS DURING THE CONDUCT OF HOSTILITIES 3.28
3.5.1 The protection of persons who are in the power of a party 3.34
3.5.2 The rules on the conduct of hostilities 3.37
4. THE SOURCES OF IHL 4.01

4.1 TREATIES 4.03
4.1.1 The Hague Conventions of 1907 4.08
4.1.2 The Geneva Conventions of 1949 4.11
4.1.3 The Additional Protocols 4.15
4.1.4 Weapons treaties 4.17
4.1.5 Treaties protecting cultural heritage 4.19
4.1.6 ICL treaties 4.20
4.1.7 Special agreements between belligerents 4.21
4.1.8 IHL treaties under the law of treaties 4.23
4.1.9 The future of IHL treaty law 4.29
4.2 CUSTOMARY LAW 4.34
4.2.1 The revival of customary IHL 4.34
4.2.2 Difficulties to determine customary IHL rules 4.35
4.2.3 Practice to be considered 4.36
a. Forms of practice 4.36
b. Practice of non-belligerents 4.37
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c. Military manuals 4.38

d. Participation in treaties 4.39
e. Practice of non-State armed groups? 4.41
4.2.4 Continuing importance of customary IHL 4.45
4.2.5 Limits of customary IHL 4.46
4.3 GENERAL PRINCIPLES 4.47
4.3.1 The various meanings of ‘general principles’ 4.47
4.3.2 The principles of IHL 4.50
4.3.3 The Martens Clause 4.51
4.4 UNILATERAL ACTS 4.54
4.5 HYBRID SOFT LAW INSTRUMENTS 4.55
4.5.1 The evolving concept and controversial relevance of ‘soft law’ 4.57
4.5.2 New forms of ‘soft law’ in the field of IHL 4.59
a. Non-binding documents adopted in informal processes by States 4.60
b. Manuals resulting from expert processes 4.62
c. Documents interpreting IHL 4.65
i. The ICRC Commentaries 4.66
ii. The Interpretive Guidance on Direct Participation in Hostilities 4.69
4.5.3 Some concerns about new processes leading to new forms of ‘soft law’ 4.70
4.6 SUBSIDIARY MEANS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF RULES 4.72
4.6.1 International jurisprudence 4.73
4.6.2 National jurisprudence 4.77
4.6.3 Scholarly writings 4.78
4.7 STATE POSITIONS ON THE INTERPRETATION OF IHL 4.81
5. RESPECT OF THE LAW 5.01

5.1 THE RESPECT OF IHL 5.03
5.1.1 Why is IHL violated? 5.05
5.1.2 IHL is often respected 5.15
5.1.3 Non-legal factors that contribute to the respect of IHL 5.17
5.1.4 The perception is worse than reality 5.24
5.1.5 The increasing credibility gap between promises and reality 5.25
5.1.6 The consequences of the credibility gap: a self-fulfilling prophecy 5.27
5.1.7 How to overcome the credibility gap? 5.29
5.2 THE WEAKNESSES OF IMPLEMENTING IHLAS A BRANCH OF PUBLIC
INTERNATIONAL LAW 5.33
5.2.1 Reciprocity, reprisals and mutual interest 5.34
a. Reciprocity and the ‘tu quoque’ argument 5.37
b. Reprisals as countermeasures 5.38
i. The prohibition of reprisals in IACs 5.40
ii. Reprisals in NIACs? 5.41
iii. Countermeasures against IHL violations 5.42
5.2.2 State responsibility 5.43
a. Attribution 5.45
i. Members of armed forces 5.46
ii. Participants in a ‘levée en masse’ 5.48
iii. Non-State armed groups under the direction and control of a foreign
State 5.49
iv. Private actors exercising elements of governmental authority 5.50
b. Circumstances precluding unlawfulness 5.51
c. IHL violations as serious breaches of peremptory norms 5.56
d. IHL as erga omnes obligations 5.58
5.2.3 Reparation 5.59
a. Do individuals have a right to reparation? 5.61
b. Forms of reparation 5.67
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c. Setting up special mechanisms 5.74

d. Can the right to reparation be waived? 5.77
e. The gap between the law and reality 5.78
5.2.4 The United Nations 5.81
a. The UN Security Council 5.84
b. Peace operations 5.89
c. Humanitarian organizations of the UN system 5.90
5.2.5 Regional organizations 5.91
a. Prevention 5.93
b. Reaction to violations 5.96
c. The role of peace operations deployed by regional organizations 5.98
5.2.6 Traditional peaceful settlement of disputes and international adjudication
in particular 5.101
5.2.7 Human rights mechanisms 5.107
5.2.8 The role of national courts 5.116
5.2.9 The role of NGOs 5.120
5.3 SPECIFIC IHL IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS 5.127
5.3.1 Measures to be taken already in peacetime 5.128
a. Dissemination and training 5.129
b. Legislation of application 5.136
c. Practical measures of implementation 5.144
5.3.2 The obligation to respect IHL and ensure its respect 5.145
a. Dimensions 5.146
i. Internal dimension 5.146
ii. External dimension 5.147
b. Possible measures 5.151
i. Countermeasures? 5.151
ii. Collective or individual measures? 5.153
iii. Measures which may and must be taken 5.154
c. Consequences of the widespread non-respect of the obligation to
‘ensure respect’ 5.158
5.3.3 Scrutiny by Protecting Powers 5.159
5.3.4 The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 5.163
a. The institution 5.164
b. ICRC activities 5.168
c. The legal basis for ICRC activities 5.175
d. The role of IHL in the ICRC’s work 5.177
e. The ICRC’s approach 5.181
f. Challenges 5.185
5.3.5 Fact-finding, in particular the IHFFC 5.194
5.3.6 The role of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 5.199
5.3.7 Individual criminal responsibility for violations 5.204
a. The obligation to prosecute grave breaches and war crimes 5.206
b. Universal jurisdiction 5.210
c. Modes of criminal liability: command responsibility 5.214
d. Defences 5.216
e. Judicial guarantees 5.220
f. International criminal tribunals 5.223
i. The ad hoc international criminal tribunals 5.224
ii. The ICC 5.236
iii. An assessment of the role of international criminal tribunals 5.244
6. SCOPE OF APPLICATION: WHEN DOES IHL APPLY? 6.01

6.1 MATERIAL SCOPE OF APPLICATION: WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ARMED CONFLICT? 6.02
6.1.1 International armed conflicts 6.03
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a. Inter-State armed conflicts 6.04

i. Violence 6.06
ii. Intensity? 6.07
iii. Target 6.08
iv. Declarations of war still matter 6.12
b. Inter-State armed conflicts by proxy 6.13
c. Belligerent occupation without armed resistance 6.22
d. National liberation wars 6.26
6.1.2 Non-international armed conflicts 6.31
a. The lower threshold of application of Common Article 3 and customary
IHL of NIACs 6.32
i. Differentiation from IACs 6.32
ii. The concept of NIAC in customary law 6.33
iii. Intensity and degree of organization 6.34
iv. Duration? 6.37
v. Political aim of the armed group? 6.38
vi. Policy considerations 6.39
b. Higher thresholds of Protocol II and possibly of some rules in the ICC
Statute 6.40
6.1.3 Mixed conflicts 6.42
6.2 IHL RULES EQUALLY APPLICABLE IN PEACETIME 6.45
6.3 GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE OF APPLICATION: WHERE DOES IHL APPLY IF THERE IS AN
ARMED CONFLICT? 6.46
6.4 TEMPORAL SCOPE OF APPLICATION: WHEN DOES THE APPLICATION OF IHL
START AND END? 6.54
6.5 PERSONAL SCOPE OF APPLICATION 6.61
6.5.1 Who is bound by IHL? 6.61
a. States 6.61
b. International organizations 6.63
c. Non-State armed groups 6.67
d. Individuals 6.72
6.5.2 Who is protected by IHL? 6.76
6.6 NEXUS: IHL APPLIES ONLY TO CONDUCT LINKED TO AN ARMED CONFLICT 6.80
7. INTERNATIONAL AND NON‑INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICTS 7.01

7.1 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IHL OF NIACS AND IHL OF IACS 7.02
7.1.1 IHL of IACs as a starting point for the understanding of IHL 7.02
7.1.2 Policy considerations 7.05
a. Crowding out IHRL 7.06
b. Does IHL of NIACs authorize killing and detention? 7.08
c. Are non-State armed groups able to comply with IHL of IACs? 7.09
7.2 REASONS FOR THE DISTINCTION 7.13
7.3 DISADVANTAGES OF THE DISTINCTION 7.17
7.4 FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO BRINGING IHL OF NIACS CLOSER TO IHL OF IACS 7.18
7.5 THE LAW APPLICABLE IN NIACS 7.23
7.5.1 Treaty law of NIACs 7.23
a. Common Article 3 7.24
b. Protocol II 7.31
i. The drafting history of Protocol II 7.32
ii. Additional details provided by Protocol II compared with Common
Article 3 7.34
iii. New issues covered by Protocol II 7.37
7.5.2 Methods to make IHL of IACs directly applicable to NIACs 7.39
7.5.3 Allegedly largely the same customary law 7.44
7.5.4 The need and limits of analogies 7.52
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a. Analogy in international legal reasoning and for IHL in particular 7.52

b. Reasons for analogies and examples 7.58
c. Controversial cases 7.62
d. The remaining differences 7.64
8. THE PROTECTIVE REGIMES 8.01

8.1 WOUNDED, SICK AND SHIPWRECKED 8.02
8.1.1 Obligations towards the wounded, sick and shipwrecked 8.04
a. The beneficiaries 8.04
b. The obligations 8.07
8.1.2 Medical personnel 8.11
a. Definition 8.13
b. Protection 8.19
c. Loss of protection 8.21
d. Duties of medical personnel 8.23
8.1.3 Medical units and transports 8.24
a. Protection 8.25
b. Loss of protection 8.27
8.1.4 Possibility to create hospital, safety or neutralized zones 8.30
8.1.5 The distinctive emblems 8.34
a. The three emblems and technical means of identification 8.37
b. Protective use 8.41
c. Indicative use 8.43
d. The need for national legislation and the repression of misuses 8.46
8.2 COMBATANTS AND POWS 8.50
8.2.1 Importance and implications of the regime 8.50
8.2.2 Who is a combatant? 8.55
a. Under general international law and Convention III 8.56
i. Members of regular forces 8.61
ii. Members of irregular forces, including resistance movements 8.62
iii. Participants in a levée en masse 8.67
b. Under Protocol I 8.68
8.2.3 Excluded, special and controversial categories 8.71
a. Mercenaries 8.71
b. Spies 8.73
c. Deserters 8.74
d. Political leaders 8.75
e. Child soldiers 8.76
8.2.4 Who is a POW? 8.78
a. The principle 8.78
b. POWs who are not combatants 8.79
c. Combatants who lose POW status 8.80
d. Persons benefiting from POW treatment without POW status 8.81
8.2.5 Procedures to determine combatant and POW status 8.86
8.2.6 Protection of POWs 8.89
a. Protection from the moment of falling into the power of the enemy 8.89
b. Internment 8.91
c. Treatment during internment 8.93
d. Punishment 8.96
e. Transfers 8.98
f. Transmission of information 8.100
g. ICRC visits 8.101
8.2.7 Release, repatriation and accommodation in neutral countries 8.102
a. During hostilities 8.103
i. Direct repatriation 8.103
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ii. Accommodation in neutral countries 8.106

b. At the end of active hostilities 8.108
8.2.8 Status and treatment of persons who do not have combatant and POW
status: ‘unlawful combatants’? 8.112
a. In the conduct of hostilities 8.114
b. When fallen into the power of the enemy 8.115
8.2.9 The regime of NIACs 8.120
a. In the conduct of hostilities 8.122
b. Protection when in the power of the enemy 8.123
8.3 CIVILIANS IN THE POWER OF THE ENEMY 8.125
8.3.1 The structure of Convention IV 8.126
8.3.2 Rules benefiting all civilians 8.130
a. Special protection afforded to women 8.132
i. The prohibition of discrimination against women 8.133
ii. Grounds for preferential treatment 8.134
b. Special protection afforded to children 8.136
i. Special rules on the treatment of children 8.136
ii. Prohibition of recruitment and use of children in hostilities 8.138
c. Special protection afforded to journalists 8.142
d. Restoring family links 8.144
e. Fundamental guarantees for everyone 8.146
8.3.3 Rules on all ‘protected civilians’ 8.149
a. Who is a ‘protected civilian’? 8.149
b. Humane treatment 8.159
c. Forced labour and working conditions 8.162
d. Prohibition of collective punishment 8.163
e. Prohibition of pillage 8.164
f. Transmission of information 8.166
g. ICRC visits 8.167
h. Possible derogations 8.168
8.3.4 Specific rules concerning ‘protected civilians’ in a party’s own territory 8.171
a. Applicability of the rules protecting foreigners in peacetime 8.171
b. Some specific rules 8.172
c. Right to leave? 8.174
8.3.5 Specific rules on the protection of civilian internees 8.177
a. The legal basis for internment 8.178
b. Admissible reasons for internment 8.179
c. Procedure to be followed 8.181
d. Treatment of civilian internees 8.184
8.4 IHL OF BELLIGERENT OCCUPATION 8.189
8.4.1 Concept and beginning of occupation 8.192
a. Effective control by the occupying power 8.195
i. Are ‘boots on the ground’ required? 8.195
ii. The existence of occupation despite resistance? 8.199
iii. Necessary duration and extent 8.202
iv. Indirect occupation through a non-State armed group 8.204
v. The special case of occupation without armed resistance 8.206
b. Loss of effective control by the adverse party 8.207
c. Lack of consent 8.210
d. Other criteria are irrelevant 8.213
e. Does IHL of belligerent occupation apply during the invasion phase? 8.215
8.4.2 The end of application of IHL on belligerent occupation 8.226
8.4.3 The general principles of IHL on belligerent occupation 8.235
8.4.4 Legislation to be applied 8.239
8.4.5 Treatment of detainees and judicial guarantees 8.247
8.4.6 Protection of property 8.252
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a. Private property 8.253

b. Public property 8.255
c. The delimitation between private and public property 8.256
d. The definition of property 8.257
e. The destruction of property 8.258
8.4.7 The administration of the territory 8.259
8.4.8 Prohibitions of transfers 8.261
8.4.9 A right to leave occupied territory? 8.263
8.4.10 Protection of social, economic and cultural rights 8.264
8.5 THE MISSING AND THE DEAD 8.268
8.5.1 The relationship between the missing and the dead 8.270
8.5.2 The obligation to search for the missing 8.271
8.5.3 Prevention 8.272
8.5.4 Re-establishing family links between persons who are alive 8.273
8.5.5 Identification of the dead and information to their family 8.276
8.5.6 Handling of human remains 8.279
8.5.7 Clarification of the fate of persons who remain missing
at the end of the conflict 8.282
8.5.8 The need for domestic legislation 8.283
8.6 THE PROTECTION OF THE CIVILIAN POPULATIONAGAINST THE EFFECTS OF
HOSTILITIES 8.284
8.6.1 Prohibitions or rules on targeting? 8.284
8.6.2 Fundamental principles 8.288
8.6.3 Field of application 8.294
8.6.4 Legitimate targets 8.299
a. Military objectives and combatants 8.299
b. Civilians directly participating in hostilities 8.311
c. Members of armed groups? 8.314
8.6.5 The proportionality rule 8.319
8.6.6 Precautions 8.329
a. Active precautions to be taken by the attacker 8.330
b. Passive precautions to be taken by the defender 8.334
c. The prohibition against using human shields 8.338
d. Consequences of a violation 8.343
e. Do attackers and defenders have an equal obligation to take
precautionary measures? 8.347
f. The particular challenges for non-State armed groups 8.349
8.6.7 Presumptions 8.350
8.6.8 Specially protected objects 8.351
a. Objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population 8.353
b. Works and installations containing dangerous forces 8.355
8.6.9 Protected zones 8.357
8.6.10 Civil defence 8.361
8.7 MEANS AND METHODS OF WARFARE 8.366
8.7.1 The principles 8.367
a. The right to choose means and methods of warfare is not unlimited 8.367
b. The prohibition against causing superfluous injury and unnecessary
suffering 8.368
c. Does military necessity imply additional restrictions?: the ‘capture rather
than kill’ debate 8.373
d. The prohibition of indiscriminate means and methods of warfare 8.374
8.7.2 The obligation to determine the legality of new means and methods of
warfare 8.375
8.7.3 Specific rules on certain weapons 8.378
a. Prohibitions against using certain conventional weapons 8.380
i. Non-detectable fragments 8.381
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ii. Blinding weapons 8.382

iii. Explosive bullets 8.383
iv. Dum-dum bullets 8.384
b. Restrictions on the use of conventional weapons for the benefit of the
civilian population 8.385
i. Incendiary weapons 8.385
ii. Booby-traps 8.388
c. Conventional weapons with differentiated regimes 8.390
i. Anti-personnel landmines 8.391
ii. Cluster munitions 8.396
d. Explosive remnants of war 8.398
e. Other conventional weapons for which limitations are under discussion 8.399
f. Weapons of mass destruction 8.401
i. Chemical, biological and bacteriological weapons 8.401
ii. Nuclear weapons 8.404
8.7.4 Prohibited methods of warfare 8.408
a. Giving or ordering no quarter 8.409
b. Perfidy 8.412
8.8 THE LAW OF NAVAL WARFARE 8.417
8.8.1 Distinctive features 8.418
8.8.2 Sources 8.420
8.8.3 Zones in which naval warfare may occur 8.422
8.8.4 The protection of the shipwrecked 8.423
8.8.5 Hospital ships 8.424
8.8.6 Legitimate targets of attacks and protected ships 8.426
8.8.7 Means and methods of naval warfare 8.428
a. Mines and torpedoes 8.428
b. Submarines 8.429
c. Blockades 8.430
d. Special rules on perfidy 8.432
e. Exclusion zones? 8.433
8.8.8 Prize law 8.434
a. The right to capture and destroy enemy merchant vessels 8.435
b. The right to visit, search and capture neutral merchant vessels 8.436
8.8.9 Many traditional customary rules are outdated by technological and
economic developments 8.440
8.9 THE LAW OF AIR WARFARE 8.441
8.9.1 Principles 8.442
8.9.2 Sources 8.445
8.9.3 Legitimate targets of attack and protected aircraft 8.448
a. Surrender by military aircraft 8.448
b. Medical aircraft 8.449
c. Civilian aircraft 8.453
d. A special regime for civilian airliners 8.455
8.9.4 Particular zones 8.456
8.9.5 Precautions in air warfare 8.460
a. Active precautions 8.461
b. Passive precautions 8.465
9. IHL AND OTHER BRANCHES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 9.01

9.1 IHL AND IHRL 9.04
9.1.1 Traditional differences and substantive similarities 9.04
9.1.2 When do both apply simultaneously? 9.14
a. Material scope of application 9.16
b. Possible derogations 9.18
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c. Geographical scope of application 9.21

d. Addressees 9.23
9.1.3 How to deal with the divergences between both branches? 9.26
a. The lex specialis principle 9.27
b. Alternatives to the lex specialis principle 9.34
c. Factors blurring the debate 9.39
d. A suggested nuanced and case-by-case determination
of the applicable law 9.43
9.1.4 Implementation of one branch by the mechanisms of the other branch 9.52
9.2 IHL AND ICL 9.54
9.2.1 Definition and differentiation 9.55
9.2.2 IHL as a set of substantive prohibitions criminalized by ICL provisions on
war crimes 9.59
9.2.3 ICL as an implementation mechanism for IHL 9.63
a. Advantages of enforcing IHL through ICL 9.63
b. Risks of seeing IHL through the ICL lens 9.65
9.2.4 The role of ICL in clarifying IHL 9.69
9.3 IHL AND INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION LAW 9.73
9.3.1 The protection of persons fleeing an armed conflict 9.77
a. Across a border 9.78
b. Within their country 9.79
9.3.2 IHL protection of refugees 9.82
9.3.3 The principle of non-refoulement in IHL 9.85
9.3.4 The return of refugees and displaced persons 9.86
9.4 IHL AND THE LAWON MAINTAINING OR RE-ESTABLISHING INTERNATIONAL
PEACE AND SECURITY (JUS AD BELLUM) 9.88
9.4.1 IHL violations as a threat to international peace and security 9.88
9.4.2 The separation between jus ad bellum and jus in bello 9.89
a. Reasons for the separation 9.90
b. Consequences of the separation 9.97
i. The equality of belligerents before IHL 9.97
ii. IHL applies independently of the qualification of the conflict under
jus ad bellum 9.99
iii. Arguments under jus ad bellum may not be used to interpret IHL 9.103
iv. IHL may not render the exercise of jus ad bellum impossible 9.106
c. Do the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolutions prevail over IHL? 9.107
d. New threats to the separation 9.110
i. New concepts of ‘just’ (or even ‘humanitarian’) war 9.110
ii. IACs are perceived as law enforcement actions the international
community directs at ‘outlaw States’ 9.112
9.4.3 Peace forces and IHL 9.116
a. Does IHL bind peace forces? 9.120
b. Are peace forces a party to an armed conflict and, if so, does IHL of IACs
or IHL of NIACs apply? 9.124
c. Are members of peace forces combatants? 9.125
d. The meaning and impact of the UN Safety Convention 9.126
e. Applicability of IHL of belligerent occupation to a territory administered
by peace forces? 9.128
9.5 THE LAW OF NEUTRALITY AND IHL 9.130
9.5.1 The concept of neutrality in the law of neutrality and in IHL 9.131
9.5.2 The difficulty of separating jus ad bellum and IHL in the law of neutrality 9.137
9.5.3 Specific IHL rules applicable to neutral States 9.140
a. Internment of combatants by neutral States 9.141
b. Collection and care of the wounded, sick, shipwrecked and dead and
the transmission of information on the missing by neutral States 9.145
c. Treatment of neutral nationals by parties to an IAC 9.147
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9.6 IHL AND ALL OTHER BRANCHES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 9.149

9.6.1 General considerations 9.149
9.6.2 International maritime safety law as an example 9.152
10. SELECTED CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES 10.01

10.1 DOES IHL AUTHORIZE CONDUCT OR ONLY PROHIBIT AND PRESCRIBE IT? 10.02
10.1.1 Possible reasons why belligerents need an authorization 10.04
10.1.2 The different meanings of the term ‘authorization’ 10.09
10.1.3 Implications of IHL authorizations for IHRL 10.13
10.1.4 To what extent does IHL contain strong permissions? 10.14
10.2 TERRORISM 10.20
10.2.1 When does terrorism constitute an armed conflict to which IHL applies? 10.23
a. Terrorism as an IAC? 10.24
b. Terrorism as a NIAC? 10.28
10.2.2 How does IHL deal with terrorism? 10.32
a. The prohibition of terrorist acts in IHL 10.33
b. The protection of ‘terrorists’ by IHL 10.40
i. In NIACs 10.41
ii. In IACs 10.43
10.2.3 IHL and the definition of terrorism 10.48
a. Efforts to define terrorism 10.48
b. The need to clarify whether anti-terrorism instruments apply in armed
conflicts 10.51
c. The utility of IHL for defining terrorist acts in peacetime 10.58
10.3 DRONES 10.62
10.3.1 Targeted killings with drones exacerbate issues relevant to any other attack 10.63
a. Clear legality when used against combatants in IACs 10.63
b. General controversies exacerbated by the use of drones in NIACs 10.64
10.3.2 Particular issues raised by drones operated by secret services 10.71
10.4 LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPON SYSTEMS 10.73
10.4.1 Fundamental preliminary assumptions 10.76
a. Autonomy and predictability 10.76
b. A technical assumption that may prove to be wrong 10.77
c. Must targeting decisions involve subjective judgments? 10.78
10.4.2 Advantages of autonomous weapon systems 10.81
10.4.3 Challenges to the interpretation of IHL 10.82
10.4.4 Reviewing the legality of LAWS during their development 10.90
10.4.5 Problems of responsibility and accountability 10.91
10.5 ARMS TRANSFERS AND IHL 10.97
10.5.1 Under general international law and Common Article 1 10.97
10.5.2 Under the Arms Trade Treaty 10.98
a. Prohibited transfers 10.99
b. The obligation to undertake a risk assessment 10.102
10.6 CYBER WARFARE 10.107
10.6.1 Particularities of the cyberspace 10.113
10.6.2 When do cyber operations trigger the applicability of IHL and constitute an
attack under IHL? 10.114
a. What constitutes an attack? 10.116
b. When is IHL applicable to cyber-attacks? 10.118
c. IHL applicable to cyber operations other than attacks in an armed
conflict 10.120
10.6.3 Computer networks as a military objective 10.121
10.6.4 Difficulties in applying the principle of distinction, the proportionality rule
and precautions 10.122
10.6.5 Hacking as direct participation in hostilities 10.127
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10.6.6 Perfidy in cyber operations 10.128

10.6.7 The need for specific rules? 10.130
10.7 IHL AND PMSCS 10.133
10.7.1 The facts and the legal dilemmas 10.133
10.7.2 IHL applicable to PMSCs 10.137
10.7.3 May States use PMSCs? 10.141
10.7.4 State responsibility for the conduct of PMSCs 10.144
10.7.5 Why and how does IHL bind PMSCs? 10.147
10.7.6 The status of PMSC staff under IHL 10.150
10.7.7 When do PMSC staff members directly participate in hostilities? 10.151
10.7.8 The main problem is enforcement 10.155
10.8 GENDER AND IHL 10.158
10.8.1 The difference between gender and sex 10.158
10.8.2 The feminist criticism of IHL 10.160
10.8.3 IHL does not specifically address LGTBIQ people 10.167
10.9 THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE 10.171
10.9.1 Specific rules and instruments protecting cultural heritage 10.174
10.9.2 The protection of cultural heritage against the effects of hostilities 10.180
10.9.3 The protection of cultural heritage in the power of a party 10.181
10.10 THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 10.186
10.10.1 Protection through general IHL rules 10.187
10.10.2 Specific rules on the environment 10.190
10.10.3 Protection through international environmental law 10.195
10.10.4 Room for improvement 10.196
10.11 HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 10.198
10.11.1 The prohibition of starvation as a method of warfare 10.199
10.11.2 Provision of humanitarian assistance from the outside 10.201
a. Definition of humanitarian assistance 10.202
b. The obligation to allow free passage of particular relief consignments 10.203
c. The obligation to consent to humanitarian assistance for the benefit of
the population of occupied territories 10.204
d. All other delivery of humanitarian assistance is subject to the consent of
the party concerned 10.205
i. Whose consent is needed? 10.206
ii. The prohibition against arbitrarily denying consent 10.207
e. Consequences of refusing consent 10.211
f. Modalities of humanitarian assistance once consent is given 10.213
g. Protection of personnel delivering humanitarian assistance 10.216
10.12 NON-STATE ARMED GROUPS 10.217
10.12.1 Are the rules of IHL of NIACs the same for States and non-State armed
groups? 10.218
a. Are all rules of IHL of NIACs realistic for non-State armed groups? 10.219
b. Are States and non-State armed groups equal before IHL of NIACs? 10.221
c. Introduce a sliding scale of obligations? 10.227
10.12.2 How to generate respect for IHL by non-State armed groups 10.233
a. Participation in the process of drafting new rules 10.238
b. Dissemination 10.240
c. Obtain commitments 10.242
i. The work of Geneva Call 10.243
ii. The binding nature of commitments by non-State armed groups 10.248
d. Provide advice 10.251
e. Respect for IHL should be rewarded 10.252
f. Self-reporting by armed groups 10.253
g. Monitoring respect 10.254
h. Responsibility for violations 10.255
i. Obstacles 10.256
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10.13 WHO MAY BE TARGETED IN A NIAC? 10.259

10.13.1 The treaty rules applicable to NIACs 10.261
10.13.2 Customary IHL 10.263
10.13.3 Reasoning by analogy to IHL of IACs 10.264
10.13.4 IHRL rules on the use of force 10.268
10.13.5 An attempt to apply the lex specialis principle 10.273
10.14 DETENTION IN NIACS 10.284
10.14.1 The treaty rules applicable to NIACs 10.286
10.14.2 Customary law 10.288
10.14.3 Reasoning by analogy to IHL of IACs 10.290
10.14.4 The regime under IHRL 10.294
10.14.5 An attempt to apply the lex specialis principle 10.298
a. IHRL normally prevails 10.299
b. Internment by armed groups 10.302
c. Are the IHRL requirements realistic for States? 10.303
d. The need for specific rules 10.305
11. CONCLUSION 11.01
Index 629
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Academy Commentary Andrew Clapham et al. (eds), The 1949 Geneva Conventions: A Com-
mentary (OUP 2015)
Academy Handbook Andrew Clapham and Paola Gaeta (eds), The Oxford Handbook of
International Law in Armed Conflict (OUP 2014)
ACHR American Convention on Human Rights (22 November 1969)

1144 UNTS 123
ACHPR African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (27 June 1981)
(1982) 21 ILM 58
Additional Protocols Protocol I and Protocol II to the 1949 Geneva Conventions
AJIL American Journal of International Law
Art Article
ATT Arms Trade Treaty (2 April 2013) (2013) 52 ILM 988
AU African Union
Bothe/Partsch/Solf Michael Bothe et al., New Rules for Victims of Armed Conflicts: Com-
Commentary mentary on the Two 1977 Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conven-
tions of 1949 (2nd edn, reprint revised by Michael Bothe, Martinus
Nijhoff 2013)
BYBIL British Yearbook of International Law
CCW Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain

Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively
Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (10 October 1980)
1342 UNTS 137 as amended by Amendment 1 of the CCW (21
December 2001) 2260 UNTS 82
CCW Protocol I Protocol on Non-Detectable Fragments (Protocol I) (10 October
on Non-Detectable 1980) 1342 UNTS 168
Fragments
CCW Protocol II on the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Boo-
Use of Mines, Booby- by-Traps and Other Devices as amended on 3 May 1996 (Protocol
Traps and Other Devices II) (3 May 1996) 2048 UNTS 93
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List of abbreviations
CCW Protocol III on Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary

Incendiary Weapons Weapons (Protocol III) (10 October 1980) 1342 UNTS 171
CCW Protocol IV on Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons (Protocol IV) (13 October
Blinding Laser Weapons 1995) 1380 UNTS 370
CCW Protocol V on Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War (Protocol V) (28 Novem-

Explosive Remnants of ber 2003) 2399 UNTS 100
War
CoE Council of Europe
Convention I Geneva Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of

the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field (12 August
1949) 75 UNTS 31
Convention II Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition

of the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of the Armed
Forces at Sea (12 August 1949) 75 UNTS 85
Convention III Geneva Convention (III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of

War (12 August 1949) 75 UNTS 135
Convention IV Geneva Convention (IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian

Persons in Time of War 1949 (12 August 1949) 75 UNTS 287
CUP Cambridge University Press
Doc Document
ECHR European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and

Fundamental Freedoms (4 November 1950) 213 UNTS 221
ECtHR European Court of Human Rights
EHRR European Human Rights Reports
EJIL European Journal of International Law
EU European Union
fn footnote
GC I See Convention I
GC II See Convention II
GC III See Convention III
GC IV See Convention IV
GCs Geneva Conventions I to IV of 12 August 1949
Geneva Conventions See GCs
HC Hague Convention
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HC IV Hague Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War

on Land and its annex: Regulations Concerning the Laws and Cus-
toms of War on Land (18 October 1907)
Hague Convention IV See HC IV
Hague Convention on Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the
Cultural Property Event of Armed Conflict (14 May 1954) 249 UNTS 240
Hague Regulations Hague Regulations Concerning the Laws and Customs of War on
Land, annexed to Hague Convention IV (18 October 1907)
Henckaerts and Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, Customary In-
Doswald-Beck ternational Humanitarian Law – Volume 1: Rules (CUP 2005). Text
also available in ICRC CIHL Database listed below.
HPCR Manual The Harvard Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Re-
search, Manual on International Law Applicable to Air and Missile
Warfare (CUP 2013)
HR See Hague Regulations
HRC UN Human Rights Council
HRCtee UN Human Rights Committee
IAC International armed conflict
IACommHR Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
IACtHR Inter-American Court of Human Rights
ICC International Criminal Court
ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (16 December

1996) 999 UNTS 171
ICC Statute Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (17 July 1998)
2187 UNTS 3
ICJ International Court of Justice
ICJ Statute Statute of the International Court of Justice (24 October 1945),
annexed to the UN Charter
ICL International criminal law
ICLQ International & Comparative Law Quarterly
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
ICRC CIHL Database ICRC, ‘IHL Database: Customary IHL’ <https://ihl-databases.

icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/home> accessed 11 August 2018
ICRC Commentary APs Yves Sandoz et al. (eds), Commentary on the Additional Protocols of 8
June 1997 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 (ICRC and
Martinus Nijhoff 1987)
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ICRC DPH Guidance Nils Melzer, ‘Interpretative Guidance on the Notion of Direct Par-
ticipation in Hostilities under International Humanitarian Law’
(ICRC 2009)
ICTR International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
IHFFC International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission
IHL international humanitarian law
IHRL international human rights law
ILC Articles on State ‘Draft articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally

Responsibility Wrongful Acts, with commentaries’ in ILC, ‘Report of the Interna-
tional Law Commission on the Work of its 53rd Session (23 April
– 1 June and 2 July – 10 August 2001) UN Doc A/56/10, 26-143
ILM International Legal Materials
ILS International Law Studies
IMT International Military Tribunal
Intl International
IRRC International Review of the Red Cross
IYBHR Israel Yearbook on Human Rights
J Journal
JICJ Journal of International Criminal Justice
L Law
MN Margin Number
MONUSCO UN Organization Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Repub-

lic of the Congo
MPEPIL Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law
National Societies National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NGO Non-governmental organization
NIAC Non-international armed conflict
No Number
OAS Organization of American States
Online Casebook Marco Sassòli, Antoine Bouvier and Anne Quintin, How Does Law
Protect in War? (ICRC), regularly updated at <https://casebook.
icrc.org>
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Oslo Convention on Convention on Cluster Munitions (30 May 2008) 2688 UNTS 39
Cluster Munitions
OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Ottawa Convention on Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production

Landmines and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction
(18 September 1997) 2056 UNTS 211
OUP Oxford University Press
PI See Protocol I
P II See Protocol II
P III See Protocol III
para Paragraph
Pictet Commentary Jean S. Pictet (ed), Commentary on the Geneva Conventions of 12 Au-
GC I gust 1949 (ICRC 1952) vol I
GC II gust 1949 (ICRC 1960) vol II
GC III gust 1949 (ICRC 1960) vol III
GC IV gust 1949 (ICRC 1952) vol IV
PMSC Private military and security company
POW Prisoner of war
Protocol I Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August

1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International
Armed Conflicts (8 June 1977) 1125 UNTS 3
Protocol II Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August

1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-Interna-
tional Armed Conflicts (8 June 1977) 1125 UNTS 609
Protocol III Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August

1949, and Relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive
Emblem (8 December 2005) 2404 UNTS 261
Protocol I to the Hague Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of
Convention on Cultural Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (Protocol I) (14
Property May 1954) 249 UNTS 358
Protocol II to the Hague Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Pro-
Convention on Cultural tection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (26
Property March 1999) 2253 UNTS 172
PUF Presses universitaires de France
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Recueil des Cours Recueil des Cours de l’Académie de droit international de la Haye;
Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law
Rep(s) Report(s)
Res Resolution
Rev Review
San Remo Manual Louise Doswald-Beck (ed), San Remo Manual on International Law
Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (CUP 1995)
SCSL The Special Court for Sierra Leone
The Conventions See GCs
UK United Kingdom
UK Military Manual UK Ministry of Defence, The Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict
(OUP 2004)
UN United Nations
UN Charter Charter of the United Nations (26 June 1945) 1 UNTS XVI
UNESCO UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNGA UN General Assembly
UNSC UN Security Council
Updated ICRC ICRC, Commentary on the First Geneva Convention: Convention (I)
Commentary GC I for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed
Forces in the Field (CUP 2016)
Updated ICRC ICRC, Commentary on the First Geneva Convention: Convention (II)
Commentary GC II for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick and Ship-
wrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea (CUP 2017)
Updated ICRC ICRC, Commentary on the First Geneva Convention: Convention

Commentary GC III (III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (forthcoming,
CUP)
US United States of America
US Law of War Manual US Office of the General Counsel, Department of Defense, ‘De-
partment of Defense Law of War Manual’ (2015, updated Decem-
ber 2016)
VCLT Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (23 May 1969) 1115
UNTS 331
YIHL Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law
YIIHL Yearbook of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The ideas, opinions, understanding of IHL and mistakes contained in this

book are exclusively mine (except where a footnote indicates another source).
Nevertheless, this book could not have been written without the assistance,
contribution and influence of many others, all of whom I would like to thank
wholeheartedly.
First and foremost, my research assistant (and doctoral candidate) at the Uni-
versity of Geneva, Patrick S. Nagler, LLM, provided invaluable help by revising
my English as well as the references, conducting some research and making
countless remarks and suggestions on how the text could be made more easily
understandable for the reader and more legally accurate. I did not take all of
them into account and therefore any errors or ambiguities are attributable to
me. We often intensely debated every single sentence in our common aspiration
to make sure that readers understand and do not misinterpret what I wanted to
explain. Mr. Nagler’s sense of precision, desire for total accuracy and absolute
mastery of IHL impressed me every single day while I was writing this book,
and I appreciated his constant good humour, flexibility and complete commit-
ment to the project. Interacting with him has been a privilege, and I learned
something for life thanks to him beyond just English grammar and style.
The research for a few parts of this book and drafts for a few sub-sections have
also been made quietly but highly efficiently by Alessandra Spadaro, who is a
doctoral candidate at the Graduate Institute of International and Development
Studies. Some of the secretarial work was made patiently, rapidly and always
with a smile by my secretary at the University of Geneva, Edith Muerrlé.
In the conception of this book and in its production, I also had the privilege of
being encouraged and unfailingly supported by the pragmatic and flexible yet
principled team of Edward Elgar Publishers, in particular Laura Mann, Steph-
anie Tytherleigh and Luke Adams. I also thank Tom Fryer and Richard Walshe
from Sparks Publishing Services Ltd for having ensured rapid, consistent and
non-invasive copy editing.
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Acknowledgments
As often mentioned in this book’s footnotes, my thinking on several issues has

been profoundly influenced, and sometimes even completely modified, by the
results of the research made by my former and current doctoral students in view
of their PhD theses, many of whom have also been or still are my teaching as-
sistants at the University of Geneva: Lindsey Cameron, PhD; Djemila Carron,
PhD; Julia Grignon, PhD; Christiane Johannot-Gradis, PhD; Zakaria Da-
boné, PhD; Sharon Weill, PhD; Anne Quintin, LLM; Elvina Pothelet, LLM;
Yvette Issar, LLM; Sophie Rondeau, LLM; Anaïs Maroonian, Master in Law;
Carlos Sibille Rivera, LLM; and Eugénie Duss, Master in Law. My thanks go
also to Théo Boutruche, PhD, Professor Andreas Ziegler and Ms Nele Achten
who have graciously reviewed certain sections.
Questions, which were sometimes critical but more often simply expressed the
desire to understand, asked by my LLM students at the Geneva Academy of
International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights as well as by my Mas-
ter and Bachelor students at the University of Geneva and the Université du
Québec à Montréal were also invaluable. In particular, their questions helped
me understand the issues of IHL that learners do not comprehend, what must
be explained and the concepts that are especially confusing as well as issues that
I myself do not really understand because I am unable to explain them in an
intelligible way.
Before joining academia, I was first exposed to IHL through my work with the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), where I had the privilege
to serve for 13 years at both its headquarters and in conflict areas. My supervi-
sors, colleagues and subordinates in the ICRC, my interlocutors from States (in
particular their militaries), armed non-State actors and, above all, those who
were hopefully the beneficiaries of my work made indelible marks on the mix-
ture between pragmatism and a principled approach that transpires everywhere
in this book. It is only with hesitation, a feeling of humility and gratitude that I
emancipate myself from what is now the ICRC opinion on certain IHL issues.
Finally, I want to thank the University of Geneva for allowing me to accumulate

through my teaching and research the knowledge I try to transmit in this book,
granting me a sabbatical that allowed me to write this book and paying Patrick
Nagler, without whom, once again, this book would never have been published.
Marco Sassòli
Geneva, 31 August 2018
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READER’S GUIDE
This book has been primarily written for law students willing to familiarize
themselves with IHL. However, it may also be used for the same purpose by
military, civilian and humanitarian practitioners. It also allows those who al-
ready master IHL to obtain a summary of the debates surrounding certain is-
sues through its detailed table of contents, index and numerous cross-references.
For learning purposes, most chapters, sub-chapters and sub-sections are pre-
ceded by a bolded overview of key concepts. Each chapter as well as the sub-
chapters of Chapters 8 to 10 are meant to be self-contained, that is, they may be
understood without studying the other chapters. Teachers may therefore assign
only certain chapters for their students to study, preferably combined with the
bold introductions of the other chapters.
This book is meant to be used in conjunction with the ICRC’s Online Case-
book entitled How Does Law Protect in War? (Online Casebook), which is ac-
cessible for free at the ICRC’s website (https://casebook.icrc.org), that I co-
authored. Therefore:
1. This book does not contain bibliographies on every subject dealt with. Such
bibliographical references can be found in the Online Casebook in a sys-
tematic way under ‘The Law’ and in the index ‘A-Z’. A general bibliography
on IHL may also be found there (https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/gen-
eral-sources-ihl). The bibliographical references of the Online Casebook
are currently in the process of being updated. This book provides references
to scholarly works and articles only where this is either necessary to avoid
plagiarism or, in cases of controversies, to provide references to those who
adopt and explain different positions.
2. As for the practice of States, courts, armed groups and NGOs, this book
most often refers to the more than 500 cases contained in the Online Case-
book, all of which have been carefully edited and may be discussed through
the relevant questions that appear at the end of each case. References to
such cases are provided with the title under which they can easily be found
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Reader’s guide
in the Online Casebook (for instance, ‘Online Casebook, ICJ, Nuclear

Weapons Advisory Opinion’) instead of the primary source citation (in this
example, ‘ICJ, Legality of the Threat of Use of Nuclear Weapons (Advisory
Opinion) [1996] ICJ Rep 66’).
It is my hope that the user will not only enjoy reading this book, but, most
importantly, that they understand that IHL provides realistic solutions to hu-
manitarian problems arising in armed conflicts. Although armed conflicts are
inherently inhumane, the fate of most of those affected by current armed con-
flicts would be incomparably better if those rules were systematically respected
in good faith. I sincerely wish that this book contributes to improving the re-
spect of IHL through enhancing the understanding of IHL by those who ap-
ply it as well as by the public at large. To that end, this book equally seeks to
explain the values underlying IHL, its inherent limitations, other limitations
that are dictated by the current state of the international community and its
many complexities.
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TABLE OF INSTRUMENTS
1856 Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law...............................................................8.420

para 1.........................................................................................................................10.143
1863 Lieber Code...................................................................................................................2.09
1864 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in
the Field................................................................................................................2.06–2.08
Art 6..............................................................................................................................8.02
(1)...........................................................................................................................6.77
1868 Saint Petersburg Declaration..................................................................8.288, 8.368, 8.383
1899 Hague Declaration (IV,3)................................................................................... 4.17, 8.384

1899 Hague Regulations......................................................................2.08, 2.10, 2.14, 3.29, 4.51
1907 Hague Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land...............4.08
Art 3..................................................................................................................... 5.46, 5.60
1907 Hague Convention (V) Respecting the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons
in War on Land.......................................................................................9.131, 9.134, 9.140
Arts 1–2.......................................................................................................................9.137
Art 10..........................................................................................................................9.137
Art 11..........................................................................................................................9.142
Art 12..........................................................................................................................9.134
Art 14..........................................................................................................................9.145
Arts 16–18...................................................................................................................9.148
Art 17(b)......................................................................................................................9.148
1907 Hague Convention (VII) on the Conversion of Merchant Ships into War-Ships.......8.420
1907 Hague Convention (VIII) relative to the Laying of Automatic Submarine
Contact Mines.................................................................................................. 8.420, 8.428
1907 Hague Convention (IX) Concerning Bombardment by Naval Forces
in Time of War............................................................................................................8.420
1907 Hague Convention (XI) relative to Certain Restrictions with regard to the Exercise of
Capture in Naval War..................................................................................................8.420
1907 Hague Convention (XIII) Concerning the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in
Maritime War.............................................................................. 8.420, 9.131, 9.134, 9.140
Arts 12–20...................................................................................................................9.144
Arts 12–24...................................................................................................................9.134
Art 21(2)......................................................................................................................9.144
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Table of instruments
Art 24..........................................................................................................................9.144
1907 Hague Declaration (XIV) Prohibiting the Discharge of Projectiles and Explosives from
Balloons.......................................................................................................................8.446
1907 Hague Regulations Concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land as annexed to
Hague Convention IV........................... 2.09–2.10, 2.14, 2.16, 3.29, 4.08–4.10, 4.19, 5.224,
6.22, 8.57, 8.215–8.216, 8.237, 8.252, 8.368, 10.172
Arts 1 to 20....................................................................................................................4.08
Art 2..................................................................................................................... 5.48, 8.67
Art 3.....................................................................................................................8.56–8.57
Art 22..........................................................................................................................8.367
Art 23
(a).........................................................................................................................8.403
(e).........................................................................................................................8.368
(g)............................................................................................................ 8.442, 10.188
Art 26..........................................................................................................................8.330
Art 27...................................................................................................4.19, 10.174, 10.180
Art 28..........................................................................................................................8.164
Art 42.....................................................................8.193–8.194, 8.200, 8.203, 8.215, 8.222
Arts 42–56........................................................................................................ 8.190, 8.246
Art 43............................................ 8.224, 8.239–8.240, 8.244, 8.259, 10.19, 10.146, 10.204
Art 44..........................................................................................................................8.222
Art 46........................................................................................................................10.167
(2).........................................................................................................................8.253
Art 47..........................................................................................................................8.164
Arts 48–49...................................................................................................................8.260
Art 51..........................................................................................................................8.260
Art 52............................................................................................................. 8.254, 10.143
(2).........................................................................................................................8.254
Art 53............................................................................................................... 8.255, 10.19
(2).........................................................................................................................8.253
Art 55..........................................................................................................................8.255
Art 56...................................................................................................4.19, 10.174, 10.183
(1).........................................................................................................................8.256
(2).......................................................................................................................10.184
Section III.................................................................................................4.09, 8.190, 8.246
1923 Hague Rules Concerning the Control of Wireless Telegraphy in Time of War and Air
Warfare.............................................................................................................8.446–8.447
Art 30..........................................................................................................................8.454
Arts 33–34...................................................................................................................8.454
Art 35..........................................................................................................................8.454
Arts 50–51...................................................................................................................8.454
1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or
Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare................................... 4.17, 8.401
xxx
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Table of instruments
1929 Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.....2.08, 2.10–2.11, 5.39
1935 Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic
Monuments...................................................................................................... 4.19, 10.174
1936 London Submarine Protocol............................................................................ 8.420, 8.429
1937 Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Terrorism (16 November 1937)
Art 1(2)........................................................................................................................10.50
1945 Charter of the International Military Tribunal

Art 8............................................................................................................................5.217
1945 Charter of the United Nations (UN Charter)................................... 5.33, 5.42, 5.81, 5.108,
6.27, 9.113, 9.129, 10.114
Art 1(1)..........................................................................................................................5.81
Art 1(3).................................................................................................................5.82–5.83
Art 2(4)..........................................................................................................................9.89
Art 24................................................................................................................... 5.25, 5.87
Art 25..........................................................................................................................9.108
Arts 33–38...................................................................................................................5.101
Art 42............................................................................................................................9.89
Art 43..........................................................................................................................9.118
Art 51............................................................................................................................9.89
Art 55............................................................................................................................5.82
Art 56............................................................................................................................5.82
Art 103................................................................................................ 9.107–9.108, 10.258
Chapter VI........................................................................................................9.116–9.117
Chapter VII............5.240, 6.25, 8.206, 8.230, 8.245, 8.360, 9.89, 9.116, 9.118, 9.127, 9.133
1945 Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ Statute).................................... 4.02, 4.78
Art 36(2)......................................................................................................................5.196
Art 38(1)........................................................................................................................4.55
(b)...........................................................................................................................4.35
(c)...................................................................................................................4.47–4.48
(d)......................................................................................................... 4.68, 4.72–4.73
1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations..........................9.111
1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.....................................................................9.149
1948 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man.............................................5.112

1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Art 21(3)......................................................................................................................8.192
Art 29............................................................................................................................9.25
1949 Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed
Forces in the Field (Geneva Convention I)................2.16, 3.16, 3.29, 3.31, 3.34, 4.12, 5.77,
7.59, 8.05, 8.32–8.33, 8.37, 8.115, 8.152
xxxi
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Another random document with
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as we count sleep, but it is awake at last and its every
member is tingling with Chinese feeling—'China for the
Chinese and out with the foreigners!'
"The Boxer movement is doubtless the product of official

inspiration, but it has taken hold of the popular imagination
and will spread like wildfire all over the length and breadth
of the country: it is, in short, a purely patriotic volunteer
movement, and its object is to strengthen China—and for a
Chinese programme. Its first experience has not been
altogether a success as regards the attainment through
strength of proposed ends,—the rooting up of foreign cults and
the ejection of foreigners, but it is not a failure in respect of
the feeler it put out—will volunteering work?—or as an
experiment that would test ways and means and guide future
choice: it has proved how to a man the people will respond to
the call, and it has further demonstrated that the swords and
spears to which the prudent official mind confined the
initiated will not suffice, but must be supplemented or
replaced by Mauser rifles and Krupp guns: the Boxer patriot of
the future will possess the best weapons money can buy, and
then the 'Yellow Peril' will be beyond ignoring."
Robert Hart,
The Peking Legations
(Fortnightly Review, November, 1900).
{109}
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (March-April).

Proposed joint naval demonstration of the Powers
in Chinese waters.
On receipt of the telegram from Peking (March 10) recommending

a joint naval demonstration in North Chinese waters, the
British Ambassador at Paris was directed to consult the
Government of France on the subject, and did so. On the 13th,
he reported M. Delcassé, the French Minister for Foreign
Affairs, as saying that "he could not, of course, without
reflection and without consulting his colleagues, say what the
decision of the French Government would be as to taking part
in a naval demonstration, but at first sight it seemed to him
that it would be difficult to avoid acting upon a suggestion
which the Representatives of Five Powers, who ought to be good
judges, considered advisable." On the 16th, he wrote to Lord
Salisbury: "M. Delcassé informed me the day before yesterday
that he had telegraphed to Peking for more precise
information. I told him that I was glad to hear that no
precipitate action was going to be taken by France, and that I
believed that he would find that the United States' Government
would be disinclined to associate themselves with any joint
naval demonstration. I added that, although I had no
instructions to say so, I expected that Her Majesty's
Government would also adhere to their usual policy of
proceeding with great caution, and would be in no hurry to
take a step which only urgent necessity would render
advisable."
On the 23d of March, Sir Claude MacDonald telegraphed to Lord

Salisbury: "I learn that the Government of the United States
have ordered one ship-of-war to go to Taku for the purpose of
protecting American interests, that the Italian Minister has
been given the disposal of two ships, and the German Minister
has the use of the squadron at Kiao-chau for the same purpose.
With a view to protect British missionary as well as other
interests, which are far in excess of those of other Powers, I
would respectfully request that two of Her Majesty's ships be
sent to Taku."
On the 3d of April, the Tsung-li Yamên communicated to the

British Ambassador the following information, as to the
punishment of the murderers of Mr. Brooks, and of the
officials responsible for neglect to protect him: "Of several
arrests that had been made of persons accused of having been
the perpetrators of the crime or otherwise concerned in its
committal, two have been brought to justice and, at a trial at
which a British Consul was present, found guilty and sentenced
to be decapitated—a sentence which has already been carried
into effect. Besides this, the Magistrate of Feichen, and some
of the police authorities of the district, accounted to have
been guilty of culpable negligence in the protection of Mr.
Brooks, have been cashiered, or had other punishments awarded
them of different degrees of severity."
For some weeks after this the Boxer movement appears to have
been under constraint. Further outrages were not reported and
no expressions of anxiety appear in the despatches from
Peking. The proposal of a joint naval demonstration in the
waters of Northern China was not pressed.
Great Britain, Papers by Command:

China, Number 3, 1900, pages 6-17.
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (May-June).

Renewed activity of the "Boxers" and increasing gravity of
the situation at Peking.
Return of Legation guards.
Call upon the fleets at Taku for reinforcement and rescue.
About the middle of May the activity of the "Boxers" was

renewed, and a state of disorder far more threatening than
before was speedily made known. The rapid succession of
startling events during the next few weeks may be traced in
the following series of telegrams from the British Minister at
Peking to his chief:
"May 17.
The French Minister called to-day to inform me that the Boxers
have destroyed three villages and killed 61 Roman Catholic
Christian converts at a place 90 miles from Peking, near
Paoting-fu. The French Bishop informs me that in that
district, and around Tien-tsin and Peking generally, much
disorder prevails."
"May 18.
There was a report yesterday, which has been confirmed to-day,
that the Boxers have destroyed the London Mission chapel at
Kung-tsun, and killed the Chinese preacher. Kung-tsun is about
40 miles south-west of Peking."
"May 19.
At the Yamên, yesterday, I reminded the Ministers how I had
unceasingly warned them during the last six months how
dangerous it was not to take adequate measures in suppression
of the Boxer Societies. I said that the result of the apathy
of the Chinese Government was that now a Mission chapel, a few
miles distant from the capital, had been destroyed. The
Ministers admitted that the danger of the Boxer movement had
not previously appeared to them so urgent, but that now they
fully saw how serious it was. On the previous day an Imperial
Decree had been issued, whereby specified metropolitan and
provincial authorities were directed to adopt stringent
measures to suppress the Boxers. This, they believed, would
not fail to have the desired effect."
"May 21.
All eleven foreign Representatives attended a meeting of the
Diplomatic Body held yesterday afternoon, at the instance of
the French Minister. The doyen was empowered to write, in the
name of all the foreign Representatives, a note to the Yamên
to the effect that the Diplomatic Body, basing their demands
on the Decrees already issued by the Palace denunciatory of
the Boxers, requested that all persons who should print,
publish, or disseminate placards which menaced foreigners, all
individuals aiding and abetting, all owners of houses or
temples now used as meeting places for Boxers, should be
arrested. They also demanded that those guilty of arson,
murder, outrages, &c., together with those affording support
or direction to Boxers while committing such outrages, should
be executed. Finally, the publication of a Decree in Peking
and the Northern Provinces setting forth the above. The
foreign Representatives decided at their meeting to take
further measures if the disturbances still continued, or if a
favorable answer was not received to their note within five
days. The meeting did not decide what measures should be
taken, but the Representatives were generally averse to
bringing guards to Peking, and, what found most favour, was as
follows:—
With the exception of Holland, which has no ships in Chinese

waters, it was proposed that all the Maritime Powers
represented should make a naval demonstration either at
Shanhaikuan, or at the new port, Ching-wangtao, while, in case
of necessity, guards were to be held ready on board ship. My
colleagues will, I think, send these proposals as they stand
to their governments. As the Chinese Government themselves
seem to be sufficiently alarmed, I do not think that the above
measure will be necessary, but, should the occasion arise, I
trust that Her Majesty's Government will see fit to support
it. … I had a private interview with my Russian colleague, who
came to see me before the matter reached its acute stages. M. de
Giers said that there were only two countries with serious
interests in China: England and Russia. He thought that both
landing guards and naval demonstrations were to be
discouraged, as they give rise to unknown eventualities.
However, since the 18th instant, he admits that matters are
grave, and agreed at once to the joint note."
{110}
"May 24.
Her Majesty's Consul at Tien-tsin reported by telegraph
yesterday that a Colonel in charge of a party of the Viceroy's
cavalry was caught, on the 22nd instant, in an ambuscade near
Lai-shui, which is about 50 miles south-west of Peking. The
party were destroyed."
"May 25.
Tsung-li Yamên have replied to the note sent by the doyen of
the Corps Diplomatique, reported in my telegram of the 21st
May. They state that the main lines of the measures already in
force agree with those required by the foreign
Representatives, and add that a further Decree, which will
direct efficacious action, is being asked for. The above does
not even promise efficacious action, and, in my personal
opinion, is unsatisfactory."
"May 27.
At the meeting of the Corps Diplomatique, which took place
yesterday evening, we were informed by the French Minister
that all his information led him to believe that a serious
outbreak, which would endanger the lives of all European
residents in Peking, was on the point of breaking out. The
Italian Minister confirmed the information received by M.
Pichon. The Russian Minister agreed with his Italian and
French colleagues in considering the latest reply of the Yamên
to be unsatisfactory, adding that, in his opinion, the Chinese
Government was now about to adopt effective measures. That the
danger was imminent he doubted, but said that it was not
possible to disregard the evidence adduced by the French
Minister. We all agreed with this last remark. M. Pichon then
urged that if the Chinese Government did not at once take
action guards should at once be brought up by the foreign
Representatives. Some discussion then ensued, after which it
was determined that a precise statement should be demanded
from the Yamên as to the measures they had taken, also that
the terms of the Edict mentioned by them should be
communicated to the foreign Representatives. Failing a reply
from the Yamên of a satisfactory nature by this afternoon, it
was resolved that guards should be sent for. Baron von
Ketteler, the German Minister, declared that he considered the
Chinese Government was crumbling to pieces, and that he did
not believe that any action based on the assumption of their
stability could be efficacious. The French Minister is, I am
certain, genuinely convinced that the danger is real, and
owing to his means of information he is well qualified to
judge. … I had an interview with Prince Ch'ing and the Yamên
Ministers this afternoon. Energetic measures are now being
taken against the Boxers by the Government, whom the progress
of the Boxer movement has, at last, thoroughly alarmed. The
Corps Diplomatique, who met in the course of the day, have
decided to wait another twenty-four hours for further
developments."
"May 29.
Some stations on the line, among others Yengtai, 6 miles from
Peking, together with machine sheds and European houses, were
burnt yesterday by the Boxers. The line has also been torn up
in places. Trains between this and Tien-tsin have stopped
running, and traffic has not been resumed yet. The situation
here is serious, and so far the Imperial troops have done
nothing. It was unanimously decided, at a meeting of foreign
Representatives yesterday, to send for guards for the
Legations, in view of the apathy of the Chinese Government and
the gravity of the situation. Before the meeting assembled,
the French Minister had already sent for his."
"May 30.
Permission for the guards to come to Peking has been refused
by the Yamên. I think, however, that they may not persist in
their refusal. The situation in the meantime is one of extreme
gravity. The people are very excited, and the soldiers
mutinous. Without doubt it is now a question of European life
and property being in danger here. The French and Russians are
landing 100 men each. French, Russian, and United States'
Ministers, and myself, were deputed to-day at a meeting of the
foreign Representatives to declare to the Tsung-li Yamên that
the foreign Representatives must immediately bring up guards
for the protection of the lives of Europeans in Peking in view
of the serious situation and untrustworthiness of the Chinese
troops. That the number would be small if facilities were
granted, but it must be augmented should they be refused, and
serious consequences might result for the Chinese Government
in the latter event. In reply, the Yamên stated that no
definite reply could be given until to-morrow afternoon, as
the Prince was at the Summer Palace. As the Summer Palace is
within an hour's ride we refused to admit the impossibility of
prompt communication and decision, and repeated the warning
already given of the serious consequences which would result
if the Viceroy at Tien-tsin did not receive instructions this
evening in order that the guards might be enabled to arrive
here to-morrow. The danger will be greatest on Friday, which
is a Chinese festival."
"May 31.
Provided that the number does not exceed that of thirty for
each Legation, as on the last occasion, the Yamên have given
their consent to the guards coming to Peking. … It was decided
this morning, at a meeting of the foreign Representatives, to
at once bring up the guards that are ready. These probably
include the British, American, Italian, and Japanese."
"June 1.
British, American, Italian, Russian, French and Japanese
guards arrived yesterday. Facilities were given, and there
were no disturbances. Our detachment consists of three
officers and seventy-five men, and a machine gun."
"June 2.
The city is comparatively quiet, but murders of Christian
converts and the destruction of missionary property in
outlying districts occur every day, and the situation still
remains serious. The situation at the Palace is, I learn from
a reliable authority, very strained. The Empress-Dowager does
not dare to put down the Boxers, although wishing to do so, on
account of the support given them by Prince Tuan, father of
the hereditary Prince, and other conservative Manchus, and
also because of their numbers. Thirty Europeans, most of whom
were Belgians, fled from Paoting-fu via the river to
Tien-tsin. About 20 miles from Tien-tsin they were attacked by
Boxers.
{111}
A party of Europeans having gone to their rescue from
Tien-tsin severe fighting ensued, in which a large number of
Boxers were killed. Nine of the party are still missing,
including one lady. The rest have been brought into Tien-tsin.
The Russian Minister, who came to see me to-day, said he
thought it most imperative that the foreign Representatives
should be prepared for all eventualities, though he had no
news confirming the above report. He said he had been
authorized by his Government to support any Chinese authority
at Peking which was able and willing to maintain order in case
the Government collapsed."
"June 4.
I am informed by a Chinese courier who arrived to-day from
Yung-Ching, 40 miles south of Peking, that on the 1st June the
Church of England Mission at that place was attacked by the
Boxers. He states that one missionary, Mr. Robinson, was
murdered, and that he saw his body, and that another, Mr.
Norman, was carried off by the Boxers. I am insisting on the
Chinese authorities taking immediate measures to effect his
rescue. Present situation at Peking is such that we may at any
time be besieged here with the railway and telegraph lines
cut. In the event of this occurring, I beg your Lordship will
cause urgent instructions to be sent to Admiral Seymour to
consult with the officers commanding the other foreign
squadrons now at Taku to take concerted measures for our
relief. The above was agreed to at a meeting held to-day by
the foreign Representatives, and a similar telegram was sent
to their respective Governments by the Ministers of Austria,
Italy, Germany, France, Japan, Russia, and the United States,
all of whom have ships at Taku and guards here. The telegram
was proposed by the French Minister and carried unanimously.
It is difficult to say whether the situation is as grave as
the latter supposes, but the apathy of the Chinese Government
makes it very serious."
"June 5.
I went this afternoon to the Yamên to inquire of the Ministers
personally what steps the Chinese Government proposed to take
to effect the punishment of Mr. Robinson's murderers and the
release of Mr. Norman. I was informed by the Ministers that
the Viceroy was the responsible person, that they had
telegraphed to him to send troops to the spot, and that that
was all they were able to do in the matter. They did not
express regret or show the least anxiety to effect the relief
of the imprisoned man, and they displayed the greatest
indifference during the interview. I informed them that the
Chinese Government would be held responsible by Her Majesty's
Government for the criminal apathy which had brought about
this disgraceful state of affairs. I then demanded an
interview with Prince Ching, which is fixed for to-morrow, as
I found it useless to discuss the matter with the Yamên. This
afternoon I had an interview with the Prince and Ministers of
the Yamên. They expressed much regret at the murder of Messrs.
Robinson and Norman, and their tone was fully satisfactory in
this respect. … No attempt was made by the Prince to defend
the Chinese Government, nor to deny what I had said. He could
say nothing to reassure me as to the safety of the city, and
admitted that the Government was reluctant to deal harshly
with the movement, which, owing to its anti-foreign character,
was popular. He stated that they were bringing 6,000 soldiers
from near Tien-tsin for the protection of the railway, but it
was evident that he doubted whether they would be allowed to
fire on the Boxers except in the defence of Government
property, or if authorized whether they would obey. He gave me
to understand, without saying so directly, that he has
entirely failed to induce the Court to accept his own views as
to the danger of inaction. It was clear, in fact, that the Yamên
wished me to understand that the situation was most serious,
and that, owing to the influence of ignorant advisers with the
Empress-Dowager, they were powerless to remedy it."
"June 6.
Since the interview with the Yamên reported in my preceding
telegram I have seen several of my colleagues. I find they all
agree that, owing to the now evident sympathy of the
Empress-Dowager and the more conservative of her advisers with
the anti-foreign movement, the situation is rapidly growing
more serious. Should there be no change in the attitude of the
Empress, a rising in the city, ending in anarchy, which may
produce rebellion in the provinces, will be the result,
'failing an armed occupation of Peking by one or more of the
Powers.' Our ordinary means of pressure on the Chinese
Government fail, as the Yamên is, by general consent, and
their own admission, powerless to persuade the Court to take
serious measures of repression. Direct representations to the
Emperor and Dowager-Empress from the Corps Diplomatique at a
special audience seems to be the only remaining chance of
impressing the Court."
"June 7.
There is a long Decree in the 'Gazette' which ascribes the
recent trouble to the favour shown to converts in law suits
and the admission to their ranks of bad characters. It states
that the Boxers, who are the objects of the Throne's sympathy
equally with the converts, have made use of the anti-Christian
feeling aroused by these causes, and that bad characters among
them have destroyed chapels and railways which are the
property of the State. Unless the ringleaders among such bad
characters are now surrendered by the Boxers they will be
dealt with as disloyal subjects, and will be exterminated.
Authorization will be given to the Generals to effect arrests,
exercising discrimination between leaders and their followers.
It is probable that the above Decree represents a compromise
between the conflicting opinions which exist at Court. The
general tone is most unsatisfactory, though the effect may be
good if severe measures are actually taken. The general
lenient tone, the absence of reference to the murder of
missionaries, and the justification of the proceedings of the
Boxers by the misconduct of Christian converts are all
dangerous factors in the case."
"June 8.
A very bad effect has been produced by the Decree reported in
my immediately preceding telegram. There is no prohibition of
the Boxers drilling, which they now openly do in the houses of
the Manchu nobility and in the temples. This Legation is full
of British refugees, mostly women and children, and the London
and Church of England Missions have been abandoned. I trust
that the instructions requested in my telegrams of the 4th and
5th instant have been sent to the Admiral. I have received the
following telegram, dated noon to-day, from Her Majesty's Consul
at Tien-tsin:
{112}
'By now the Boxers must be near Yang-tsun. Last night the
bridge, which is outside that station, was seen to be on fire.
General Nieh's forces are being withdrawn to Lutai, and 1,500
of them have already passed through by railway. There are now
at Yang-tsun an engine and trucks ready to take 2,000 more
men.' Lutai lies on the other side of Tien-tsin, and at some
distance. Should this information be correct, it means that an
attempt to protect Peking has been abandoned by the only force
on which the Yamên profess to place any reliance. The 6,000
men mentioned in my telegram
of the 5th instant were commanded by General Nieh."
"Tong-ku, June 10.

Vice-Admiral Sir E. Seymour to Admiralty.
Following telegram received from Minister at Peking:
'Situation extremely grave. Unless arrangements are made for
immediate advance to Peking it will be too late.'
"In consequence of above, I am landing at once with all

available men, and have asked foreign officers' co-operation."
Great Britain, Papers by Command:
China, Number 3, 1900, pages 26-45.
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (June 10-26).

Bombardment and capture of Taku forts by the allied fleets.
Failure of first relief expedition started for Peking.
The following is from an official report by Rear-Admiral

Bruce of the British Navy, dated at Taku June 17, 1900:
"On my arrival here on the 11th inst. I found a large fleet,

consisting of Russian, German, French, Austrian, Italian,
Japanese, and British ships. In consequence of an urgent
telegram from Her Majesty's Minister at Peking, Vice-Admiral
Sir Edward H. Seymour, K. C. B., Commander-in-Chief, had
started at 3 o'clock the previous morning (10th June), taking
with him a force of 1,375 of all ranks, being reinforced by
men from the allied ships as they arrived, until he commanded
not less than 2,000 men. At a distance of some 20 to 30 miles
from Tientsin—but it is very difficult to locate the place, as
no authentic record has come in—he found the railway destroyed
and sleepers burned, &c., and every impediment made by
supposed Boxers to his advance. Then his difficulties began,
and it is supposed that the Boxers, probably assisted by
Chinese troops, closed in on his rear, destroyed
railway-lines, bridges, &c., and nothing since the 13th inst.
has passed from Commander-in-Chief and his relief force and
Tientsin, nor vice versa up to this date. …
"During the night of the 14th inst. news was received that all
railway-carriages and other rolling stock had been ordered to
be sent up the line for the purpose of bringing down a Chinese
army to Tong-ku. On receipt of this serious information a
council of Admirals was summoned by Vice-Admiral Hiltebrandt,
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Squadron, and the German,
French, United States Admirals, myself, and the Senior
Officers of Italy, Austria, and Japan attended; and it was
decided to send immediate orders to the captains of the allied
vessels in the Peiho River (three Russian, two German, one
United States, one Japanese, one British—'Algerine') to
prevent any railway plant being taken away from Tong-ku, or
the Chinese army reaching that place, which would cut off our
communication with Tientsin; and in the event of either being
attempted they were to use force to prevent it, and to destroy
the Taku Forts. By the evening, and during the night of 15th
inst., information arrived that the mouth of the Peiho River
was being protected by electric mines. On receipt of this,
another council composed of the same naval officers was held
in the forenoon of 16th June on board the 'Rossia,' and in
consequence of the gravity of the situation, and information
having also arrived that the forts were being provisioned and
reinforced, immediate notice was sent to the Viceroy of Chili
at Tientsin and the commandant of the forts that, in
consequence of the danger to our forces up the river, at
Tientsin, and on the march to Peking by the action of the
Chinese authorities, we proposed to temporarily occupy the
Taku Forts, with or without their good will, at 2 a.m. on the
17th inst." Early on Sunday, 17th June, "the Taku Forts opened
fire on the allied ships in the Peiho River, which continued
almost without intermission until 6.30 a.m., when all firing
had practically ceased and the Taku Forts were stormed and in
the hands of the Allied Powers, allowing of free communication
with Tientsin by water, and rail when the latter is repaired."
The American Admiral took no part in this attack on the forts

at Taku, "on the ground that we were not at war with China and
that a hostile demonstration might consolidate the
anti-foreign elements and strengthen the Boxers to oppose the
relieving column."
From the point to which the allied expedition led by Admiral

Seymour fought its way, and at which it was stopped by the
increasing numbers that opposed it, it fell back to a position
near Hsiku, on the right bank of the Peiho. There the allies
drove the Chinese forces from an imperial armory and took
possession of the buildings, which gave them a strong
defensive position, with a large store of rice for food, and
enabled them to hold their ground until help came to them from
Tientsin, on the 25th. They were encumbered with no less than 230
wounded men, which made it impossible for them, in the
circumstances, to fight their way back without aid; though the
distance was so short that the return march was accomplished, on
the 26th, between 3 o'clock and 9 of the same morning. In his
report made the following day Admiral Seymour says: "The
number of enemy engaged against us in the march from Yungtsin
to the Armoury near Hsiku cannot be even estimated; the
country alongside the river banks is quite flat, and consisted
of a succession of villages of mud huts, those on the
out-skirts having enclosures made of dried reeds; outside,
high reeds were generally growing in patches near the village,
and although trees are very scarce away from the River,
alongside it they are very numerous; these with the graves,
embankments for irrigation and against flood, afforded cover
to the enemy from which they seldom exposed themselves,
withdrawing on our near approach. Had their fire not been
generally high it would have been much more destructive than
it was. The number of the enemy certainly increased gradually
until the Armoury near Hsiku was reached, when General Nieh's
troops and the Boxers both joined in the attack. In the early
part of the expedition the Boxers were mostly armed with
swords and spears, and not with many firearms; at the
engagement at Langfang on 18th, and afterwards, they were
armed with rifles of late pattern; this together with banners
captured and uniform worn, shows that they had either the
active or covert support of the Chinese Government, or some of
its high officials."
{113}
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (June 11-29).

Chinese Imperial Edicts.
"On June 11 Mr. Sugiyama, the Chancellor of the Japanese

Legation, was brutally murdered [in Peking] by the soldiers of
General Tung-fuh-siang. Two days later the following Imperial
edict was published in the 'Peking Gazette': 'On June 11 the
Japanese Chancellor was murdered by brigands outside the
Yung-ting Mên. On hearing this intelligence we were
exceedingly grieved. Officials of neighbouring nations
stationed in Peking ought to be protected in every possible
way, and now, especially, extra diligence ought to be
displayed to prevent such occurrences when banditti are as
numerous as bees. We have repeatedly commanded the local
officials to ensure the most efficient protection in their
districts, yet, in spite of our frequent orders, we have this
case of the murder of the Japanese Chancellor occurring in the
very capital of the Empire. The civil and military officials
have assuredly been remiss in not clearing their districts of
bad characters, or immediately arresting such persons, and we
hereby order every Yamên concerned to set a limit of time for
the arrest of the criminals, that they may suffer the extreme
penalty. Should the time expire without any arrest being
effected, the severest punishment will assuredly be inflicted
upon the responsible persons.' It is needless to add that the
'criminals' were never arrested and the 'responsible persons'
were never punished. In the same 'Gazette' another decree
condemns the 'Boxer brigands' who have recently been causing
trouble in the neighbourhood of the capital, who have been
committing arson and murder and revenging themselves upon the
native converts. Soldiers and 'Boxers,' it says, have leagued
together to commit acts of murder and arson, and have vied
with one another in disgraceful acts of looting and robbery.
The 'Boxers' are to disband, desperadoes are to be arrested,
ringleaders are to be seized, but the followers may be allowed
to disband.
"Similar decrees on the 14th and 15th show alarm at the result
of the 'Boxer' agitation and lawlessness within the city.
Nothing so strong against the 'Boxers' had previously been
published. Fires were approaching too Closely to the Imperial
Palace. No steps had been taken by the Court to prevent the
massacre and burning of Christians and their property in the
country, but on the 16th the great Chien Mên gate fronting the
Palace had been burned and the smoke had swept over the
Imperial Courts. Yet even in these decrees leniency is shown
to the 'Boxers,' for they are not to be fired upon, but are,
if guilty, to be arrested and executed. On June 17th the edict
expresses the belief of the Throne that:—'All foreign
Ministers ought to be really protected. If the Ministers and
their families wish to go for a time to Tien-tsin, they must
be protected on the way. But the railroad is not now in
working order. If they go by the cart road it will be
difficult, and there is fear that perfect protection cannot be
offered. They would do better, therefore, to abide here in
peace as heretofore and wait till the railroad is repaired,
and then act as circumstances render expedient.'
"Two days later an ultimatum was sent to the Ministers

ordering them to leave Peking within 24 hours. On the 20th
Baron von Ketteler was murdered and on June 21 China
published, having entered upon war against the whole world,
her Apologia:—
'Ever since the foundation of the Dynasty, foreigners coming

to China have been kindly treated. In the reigns Tao Kuang,
and Hsien Feng, they were allowed to trade and they also asked
leave to propagate their religion, a request that the Throne
reluctantly granted. At first they were amenable to Chinese
control, but for the past 30 years they have taken advantage
of China's forbearance to encroach on China's territory and
trample on Chinese people and to demand China's wealth. Every
concession made by China increased their reliance on violence.
They oppressed peaceful citizens and insulted the gods and
holy men, exciting the most burning indignation among the
people. Hence the burning of chapels and slaughter of converts
by the patriotic braves. The Throne was anxious to avoid war, and
issued edicts enjoining the protection of Legations and pity
to the converts. The decrees declaring 'Boxers' and converts
to be equally the children of the State were issued in the
hope of removing the old feud between people and converts.
Extreme kindness was shown to the strangers from afar. But
these people knew no gratitude and increased their pressure. A
despatch was yesterday sent by Du Chaylard, calling us to
deliver up the Ta-ku Forts into their keeping, otherwise they
would be taken by force. These threats showed their aggressive
intention. In all matters relating to international
intercourse, we have never been wanting in courtesies to them,
but they, while styling themselves civilized States, have acted
without regard for right, relying solely on their military
force. We have now reigned nearly 30 years, and have treated
the people as our children, the people honouring us as their
deity, and in the midst of our reign we have been the
recipients of the gracious favour of the Empress-Dowager.
Furthermore, our ancestors have come to our aid, and the gods
have answered our call, and never has there been so universal
a manifestation of loyalty and patriotism. With tears have we
announced war in the ancestral shrines. Better to enter on the
struggle and do our utmost than seek some measures of
self-preservation involving eternal disgrace. All our
officials, high and low, are of one mind, and there have
assembled without official summons several hundred thousand
patriotic soldiers (I Ping "Boxers"). Even children carrying
spears in the service of the State. Those others relying on
crafty schemes, our trust is in Heaven's justice. They depend
on violence, we on humanity. Not to speak of the righteousness
of our cause, our provinces number more than 20, our people over
400,000,000, and it will not be difficult to vindicate the
dignity of our country.' The decree concludes by promising
heavy rewards to those who distinguish themselves in battle or
subscribe funds, and threatening punishment to those who show
cowardice or act treacherously.
"In the same 'Gazette' Yü Lu reports acts of war on the part
of the foreigners, when, after some days' fighting, he was
victorious. 'Perusal of his memorial has given us great
comfort,' says the Throne. Warm praise is given to the
'Boxers,' 'who have done great service without any assistance
either of men or money from the State. Marked favour will be
shown them later on, and they must continue to show their
devotion.' On the 24th presents of rice are sent to the
'Boxers.' Leaders of the 'Boxers' are appointed by the
Throne—namely, Prince Chuang, and the Assistant Grand
Secretary Kang-Yi to be in chief command, and Ying Nien and
Duke Lan (the brother of Prince Tuan, the father of the Crown
Prince) to act in cooperation with them, while another high
post is given to Wen Jui."
London Times, October 16, 1900

(Peking Correspondence).
{114}
Very different in tone to the imperial decree of June 21,

quoted above, was one issued a week later (June 29), and sent
to the diplomatic representatives of the Chinese government in
Europe and America. As published by Minister Wu Ting-fang, at
Washington, on the 11th of July, it was in the following
words:
"The circumstances which led to the commencement of fighting

between Chinese and foreigners were of such a complex,
confusing and unfortunate character as to be entirely
unexpected. Our diplomatic representatives abroad, owing to
their distance from the scene of action, have had no means of
knowing the true state of things, and accordingly cannot lay
the views of the government before the ministers for foreign
affairs of the respective Powers to which they are accredited.
Now we take this opportunity of going fully into the matter

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International Humanitarian Law Rules

Solutions to Problems Arising in

International Law in Disaster Scenarios: Applicable

Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, Volume 20,

Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, Volume 22

The Role of National Courts in Applying International

On Combinatorial Optimization and Mechanism Design

War Law and Humanity The Campaign to Control Warfare

The Umbilical Cord Blood Controversies in Medical Law

LABOUR LAW Rules! Marié Mcgregor

Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.

A catalogue record for this book

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018967382

This book is available electronically in the

ISBN 978 1 78643 854 6 (cased)

Typeset by Sparks – www.sparkspublishing.com

Marco Sassòli - 9781786438553

Extended contents vii

3 A general overview of IHL based upon its major delimitations 15

4 The sources of IHL 33

5 Respect of the law 68

6 Scope of application: when does IHL apply? 168

7 International and non‑international armed conflicts 204

8 The protective regimes 231

9 IHL and other branches of international law 422

10 Selected cross-cutting issues 486

List of abbreviations xix

3. A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF IHL BASED UPON ITS

4. THE SOURCES OF IHL 4.01

c. Military manuals 4.38

5. RESPECT OF THE LAW 5.01

c. Setting up special mechanisms 5.74

6. SCOPE OF APPLICATION: WHEN DOES IHL APPLY? 6.01

a. Inter-State armed conflicts 6.04

7. INTERNATIONAL AND NON‑INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICTS 7.01

a. Analogy in international legal reasoning and for IHL in particular 7.52

8. THE PROTECTIVE REGIMES 8.01

ii. Accommodation in neutral countries 8.106

a. Private property 8.253

ii. Blinding weapons 8.382

9. IHL AND OTHER BRANCHES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 9.01

c. Geographical scope of application 9.21

9.6 IHL AND ALL OTHER BRANCHES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 9.149

10. SELECTED CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES 10.01

10.6.6 Perfidy in cyber operations 10.128

10.13 WHO MAY BE TARGETED IN A NIAC? 10.259

11. CONCLUSION 11.01

ACHR American Convention on Human Rights (22 November 1969)

Additional Protocols Protocol I and Protocol II to the 1949 Geneva Conventions

AJIL American Journal of International Law

ATT Arms Trade Treaty (2 April 2013) (2013) 52 ILM 988

BYBIL British Yearbook of International Law

CCW Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain

CCW Protocol III on Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary

CCW Protocol V on Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War (Protocol V) (28 Novem-

Convention I Geneva Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of

Convention II Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition

Convention III Geneva Convention (III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of

Convention IV Geneva Convention (IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian

CUP Cambridge University Press

ECHR European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and

ECtHR European Court of Human Rights

EHRR European Human Rights Reports