Despite the advances made by the international community to outlaw the resort to force by the United Nations Charter, armed conflicts both international and non-international are a fact of every day life. The civilian casualties from such conflicts have assumed catastrophic proportions. Little attention, however, has been paid by scholars to the treatment of noncombatants in armed conflict and the place in international law of the principle fundamental to the law of armed conflict: noncombatant immunity. This work aims to remedy this omission. The author analyses in detail the content of the customary and conventional rules that give effect to this principle, in both international and non-international armed conflict. The importance of such a study is highlighted by the recent Gulf conflict where so many of the States were not bound by the most recent treaty rules protecting noncombatants.

Despite the advances made by the international community to outlaw the resort to force by the United Nations Charter, armed conflicts both international and non-international are a fact of every day life. The civilian casualties from such conflicts have assumed catastrophic proportions. Little attention, however, has been paid by scholars to the treatment of noncombatants in armed conflict and the place in international law of the principle fundamental to the law of armed conflict: noncombatant immunity. This work aims to remedy this omission. The author analyses in detail the content of the customary and conventional rules that give effect to this principle, in both international and non-international armed conflict. The importance of such a study is highlighted by the recent Gulf conflict where so many of the States were not bound by the most recent treaty rules protecting noncombatants.

This monograph examines and analyses the phenomenon of non-binding instruments (also known as 'soft law') in the law of armed conflict, or international humanitarian law. It covers the benefits and drawbacks for States and non-States actors as well as their effectiveness and development in the context of armed conflict.

Customary International Humanitarian Law, Volume I: Rules is a comprehensive analysis of the customary rules of international humanitarian law applicable in international and non-international armed conflicts. In the absence of ratifications of important treaties in this area, this is clearly a publication of major importance, carried out at the express request of the international community. In so doing, this study identifies the common core of international humanitarian law binding on all parties to all armed conflicts. Comment Don:RWI.

This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of factors that transform a prima facie non-international armed conflict (NIAC) into an international armed conflict (IAC) and the consequences that follow from this process of internationalization. It examines in detail the historical development as well as the current state of the relevant rules of international humanitarian law. The discussion is grounded in general international law, complemented with abundant references to case law, and illustrated by examples from twentieth and twenty-first century armed conflicts. In Part I, the book puts forward a thorough catalogue of modalities of conflict internationalization that includes outside intervention, State dissolution, and recognition of belligerency. It then specifically considers the legal qualification of complex situations that feature more than two conflict parties and contrasts the mechanism of internationalization of armed conflicts with the reverse process of de-internationalization. Part II of the book challenges the conventional wisdom that members of non-State armed groups do not normally benefit from combatant status. It argues that the majority of fighters belonging to non-State armed groups in most types of internationalized armed conflicts are in fact eligible for combatant status. Finally, Part III turns to belligerent occupation, traditionally understood as a leading example of a notion that cannot be transposed to armed conflicts occurring in the territory of a single State. By contrast, the book argues in favour of the applicability of the law of belligerent occupation to internationalized armed conflicts.

This title describes how the practice and evolution of warfare have turned international humanitarian law into an enigmatic law that is complex to understand, interpret, and enforce. It identifies the challenges that advocates of international humanitarian law face, which range from genocide, asymmetrical warfare, and terrorism to rape as a weapon. The author demonstrates that this branch of international law is in constant evolution.