Inter Arma Caritas: Evolution and Nature of International Humanitarian Law

In: Journal of peace research, Band 24, S. 237-249

Abstract

A discussion of international humanitarian law, defined as the principles & rules that regulate hostilities in order to attenuate their hardships. The law combines two ideas of a different nature, one legal & the other moral, which may explain the apparent paradoxes it raises. The evolution of humanitarian thought is traced through the ages, as are the attitudes of states; history & politics have determined the uneasy but progressive codification of humanitarian norms. So-called "military necessity" is considered, which may be at the origin of limitations, if not gaps, in the development & implementation of humanitarian law. However, because it is also indebted to superior principles derived from established custom, principles of humanity, & the dictates of public conscience, humanitarian law has acquired specificities that make it universal & obligatory. If humanitarian law is concluded by states, its real aim is the protection of the individual. 20 References. Modified HA