international humanitarian law Tag

[Melanie O’Brien is Professor of International Law and Deputy Head of School (Research) at the University of Western Australia Law School; and visiting scholar with the University of Minnesota Law School’s Human Rights Center] In June 2023, I wrote here about the defamation case relating to the media reporting on allegations of war crimes by Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith (‘BRS’). The...

[Oded Hen is a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Bar-Ilan University. His research focuses on moral philosophy, particularly just war theory and the ethics of modern warfare. His work addresses questions of civilian immunity, legitimate targeting, moral responsibility, and the application of normative principles in contemporary asymmetric conflicts] This post examines the legal and moral responsibilities of the international community...

[Dr. Joshua Joseph Niyo is Head of Unit and Senior Legal Expert – Africa at the Diakonia International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. He has served as Regional Legal Adviser for the Centre in East and Central Africa, adjunct lecturer at UCLA, UC Irvine, and Pepperdine University, and was a Swiss National Science Foundation Visiting Researcher. His work...

[Meng Wang is a PhD Candidate in the International Law Department at Maastricht University, researching the protection of water in armed conflict across different branches of Public International Law. Andrés Cáceres Solari is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of International Law, Faculty of Law of Maastricht University, researching the compatibility of international humanitarian law with modern warfare] On 6 June...

[Yaser Salarain is a lawyer and international law expert at the School of International Relations, Tehran] The protracted conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) has consistently tested the limits of international humanitarian law (IHL) and, more specifically, the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (GCIV). Despite repeated UNGA resolutions and diplomatic initiatives,...

[Benazir Jatoi is a human rights lawyer from Pakistan currently living in Bath, UK. She has worked as a consultant with UNFPA and UNWomen, Pakistan.] A buried mobile phone, along with its owner, Refat Radwan, in a shallow sand grave has settled, at least one thing we have been debating for a while. That Israel’s Defence Force operates with immunity until...

[Quinten DeGroote is an LL.M. Candidate in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights at the Geneva Academy. He also holds a Bachelors and Masters degrees in law from the KU Leuven.] Introduction  The Ukraine-Russia war has highlighted the growing role of modern technology in contemporary warfare. A notable example is civilian intelligence apps, such as e-Enemy, a feature within Ukraine’s Diia e-governance...

[Laura van der Hoeven holds academic degrees in Public International Law and Business Administration. Her work focuses on the intersection of foreign relations and international law, with particular interest in security alliances, soft power diplomacy, and the application of international law to territorial disputes.] The ongoing conflict in the Gaza region has resulted in severe humanitarian and environmental losses. While international...

[Dr Erica Harper is Head of Research and Policy Studies at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights] International humanitarian law (IHL) stands at a crossroads. Once a universal touchstone for safeguarding basic human dignity during conflict, its foundational norms are eroding at an alarming pace. The IHL in Focus: Annual Report (June 2023-July 2024) (‘the Report’) paints...

[Steven van de Put is a legal advisor at the Royal Netherlands Air Force] This post is written in the author's personal capacity. Historically, accountability for violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), has mainly been a matter of individual criminal processes. Such a notion was already visible in the statements made during the Nuremberg trials, where it was held that crimes against international...

[Amanda Alexander is a senior lecturer at the Australian Catholic University] The ICC’s delayed judgement in the Al Hassan case had been long-anticipated in the hope that it might contribute to some emerging areas of international criminal law - in particular gender-based crimes and the treatment of non-state actors’ governance. When, however, the long and complex judgement was published, it created...

[Jérôme de Hemptinne is an Assistant Professor at Utrecht University] Several posts have been devoted to the delicate question of whether Western States could be implicated in an international armed conflict (IAC) against Russia because of the military, financial, and intelligence support they provide to Ukrainian authorities (see here, here, here, and here). The same question could also be raised regarding...