IHL

Question 1

What is Article 41 AP1

Answer 1

Article 41 AP1 is concerned with the protection of civilian victims of international armed conflicts, including those fighting against colonial domination, alien occupation, or racist regimes.

Question 2

If it isn’t lethal…..

Answer 2

It isn’t legal

Question 3

Is using forced human shields legal

Answer 3

No. It is a war crime. Voluntary is ok, but then can become DPH.

Question 4

What is the ultimate aim of IHL

Answer 4

Balance the necessity of humanitarian needs with the need to conduct military operations

Question 5

What are the basic rules of IHL?

Answer 5

It is assumed war will happen. IHL attempts to minimize the negative effects of war on the civilian population and treat opponents as humanely as possible while still achieving military objectives.

Question 6

Don’t use what term?

Answer 6

Unlawful combatant

Question 7

Criminal law deals with what?

Answer 7

individual level crimes

Question 8

What is ICRC 2009 report?

Answer 8

Defines what DPH is under IHL

Question 9

Must know: What are 3 parts of DPH in ICRC 2009?

Answer 9

1. Crosses threshold of harm
2. Direct causation (adversely affects military)
3. Clear intention

Question 10

What is GC Art 4A?

Answer 10

defines protected persons like medical, chaplains, wounded/sick, dead

Question 11

How many prerequisites do mercenaries have?

Answer 11

6. Need to fill all. Most important one is you cannot share the nationality of a party to the conflict.

Question 12

What is considered a spy?

Answer 12

soldier acting clandestinely and not in uniform and is in enemy territory. Lose POW status if caught.

Question 13

Is espionage legal?

Answer 13

Under international law yes. Criminal under domestic law.

Question 14

What determines fighter status? 2

Answer 14

• Continuous Combat Function (CCF) - narrow approach, civilians from start, function of the organized armed group or non state actor is fighting, IHL says engaged in hostilities
  -Membership approach - analogous to state, takes a broader look and treats members equally (cook for ex.)

Question 15

Are civilian targets legal?

Answer 15

No. But civilians have the responsibility to stay away from hostilities.

Question 16

What is the core concept of IHL

Answer 16

Art 3 Hague Regulation 1907

Question 17

What are the two ways a civilian can move from DPH to fighter?

Answer 17

1. continuous combat function
2. Membership criteria

Question 18

What is the difference between a combatant and a fighter

Answer 18

POW status and combatant immunity

Question 19

What is passive precaution

Answer 19

discrimination between military and civilian targets

Question 21

Evaluate attack in 3 steps

Answer 21

1. Effective contribution: nature, location, purpose (future), use (now).
2. Military advantage (at current time)
   If you have 1 and 2 it’s a lawful military objective
3. Still can be banned by:
   Excessive collateral damage (only if you attack)
   Prohibited weapons / means
   Prohibited method / indiscriminate attack
   Article 56 - dangerous forces (dams, dykes, nuclear facilities)

Question 22

What is the ultimate goal of IHL

Answer 22

War will happen, IHL attempts to balance humanitarian considerations and military necessity. sometimes one outweighs the other.

Question 23

What are the 2 Cardinal Principles?

Answer 23

1. aimed at protection of civilian population and civilian objects. established distinction btwn combatant and noncombatant. prohibited from causing superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering
2. principle of discrimination

Question 24

What is Art 2 of GC?

Answer 24

Outlines scope and application of GC. Applies to all cases of armed conflict involving states who signed treaty including partial or total occupation of territory without armed resistance

Question 25

What are the different levels of force?

Answer 25

-Use of force - not all are armed attacks, increases in intensity (state)
-Armed attack - not all are acts of aggression, state
-Act of aggression - not all are crime of aggression, state
-Crime of aggression - individual blame
EU says grey space between use of force and armed attack. US says not.

Question 26

What are the 2 pillars of IHL

Answer 26

-Treaties - Hague Reg 1907, GC 1949 and additional protocols 1,2 1977 & 3 2006 or conventional law
-Customary law - unwritten law, icrc

Question 27

What 4 ways can states avoid becoming a party to the conflict?

Answer 27

1. Classical approach - don’t aid or you become a party to the conflict
2. Countermeasures - argument to justify a derogation from existing legal norms (you break the law to make another adhere to the law)
3. Qualified and benevolent neutrality - distinguishes between aggressor and victim
4. Non-belligerency - new status instead of neutrality (what is it??)

Question 28

What are the two types of international conflict?

Answer 28

International Armed Conflict
-Defined in GC Art 2
-Declaration of war (doesn’t happen, admits fault)
-Occupation - when territory is placed under authority of hostile army (Iraq 2003, Crimea before annex)
-Any other conflict between two states. Violence or the possibility of violence, military in nature, needs a certain level of intensity.

Non International Armed Conflict
-Defined by GC Art 3 and AP2
-Involves non state actor (designed for domestic affairs)
-Armed with certain level of intensity, level of violence is higher than IAC
-As a minimum Art 3 applies - No hostages, no executions without trials, treat people humanely
-Art 1 AP2 Sec2?? - Says what it is not. doesn’t include riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence and other acts of similar nature
-Art 1 AP2 Sec1?? - Says what it is. Betwn armed forces and dissident armed forces or other organized armed groups under responsible command (if no command IHL doesn’t apply)

Question 29

What is the Conventional Weapons Convention?

Answer 29

Banned weapons deemed to cause excessive injury or have indiscriminate effects

Question 30

What are the 4 categories of conflict roles?

Answer 30

Combatant, fighter, DPH, civilian

Question 31

What is different in threshold btwn armed conflict and internal conflict (Art 3 AP2)

Answer 31

Internal conflict has higher threshold so states can not apply IHL to sovereign issues.

Question 32

When can you use force in self defense?

Answer 32

Art 51 against armed attacks or UNSC Charter 41/42 votes armed aggression