Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Multifaceted Nature of International Law
- 2 International Institutions
- 3 Who Shall Enforce the Peace?
- 4 The Law of Armed Conflict
- 5 Arms Control, Disarmament, Nonproliferation, and Safeguards
- 6 Human Rights
- 7 International Environmental Issues
- 8 Causes of the Present Malaise, Concluding Observations, and a Prognosis
- Index
- References
4 - The Law of Armed Conflict
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Multifaceted Nature of International Law
- 2 International Institutions
- 3 Who Shall Enforce the Peace?
- 4 The Law of Armed Conflict
- 5 Arms Control, Disarmament, Nonproliferation, and Safeguards
- 6 Human Rights
- 7 International Environmental Issues
- 8 Causes of the Present Malaise, Concluding Observations, and a Prognosis
- Index
- References
Summary
The law of armed conflict, which regulates the way armed force is employed, is also often referred to as “the law of war” or “international humanitarian law.” Yoram Dinstein, an eminent authority on the subject, rejects these alternative formulations:
Despite its popular usage today, and the stamp of approval of the International Court of Justice, “International Humanitarian Law” as an umbrella designation has a marked disadvantage. This is due to the fact that the coinage IHL is liable to create the false impression that all the rules governing hostilities are – and have to be – truly humanitarian in nature, whereas in fact not a few of them reflect the countervailing constraints of military necessity. … An alternative appellation, popular in the past – “the Laws of Warfare” (or jus in bello) – is equally unsatisfactory, because it is irreconcilable with the reality that the norms in question are also in effect in international armed conflicts falling short of full-fledged wars. …
It is also worth noting that ambiguities raised by the terms “war” and “aggression” caused problems for the League of Nations in its efforts to maintain international peace and security, and use of the term “war” sometimes had major implications in the domestic law and practice of member states.
Traditionally, a sharp distinction has been drawn between the law of armed conflict and the jus ad bellum, the law governing resort to the use of armed force.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Evolving Dimensions of International LawHard Choices for the World Community, pp. 161 - 180Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010