Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe ICRC, following extended discussions with a large group of experts, has adopted and issued a non-legally binding document entitled 'Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities under International Humanitarian Law' consisting of ten recommendations and about fifty pages of related commentary. The discussion process which preceded production of the Interpretive Guidance was contentious and no consensus was reached on the issue of Direct Participation in Hostilities. As the result, the ICRC, as it was entitled to do, issued its own interpretation of the applicable law. The author of this article, who was involved in all of the expert meetings, reviews and comments on the Interpretive Guidance and attempts to make an assessment of its general viability and of its acceptability to the wider IHL community.

The body of law regulating combat activities is, essentially, a body of preventive law which should be applied in military training, planning, and operations to minimize net human suffering and net destruction of civilian objects in armed conflict. Prosecution for violations of such law is uncommon. Such prosecutions have, however, been conducted before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). This Article reviews the relevant jurisprudence of the ICTY and asserts that effective prosecution for combat offences, such as unlawful attacks, can be conducted before non-specialist tribunals and that these prosecutions can both strengthen the law and elaborate upon its substantive provisions.

Résumé
Selon le droit international humanitaire en vigueur, un conflit armé est
soumis à un régime juridique différent selon qu'il a un caractère
international ou, au contraire, non international. Cette dichotomie ne donne
cependant pas toujours de réponses adéquates aux questions auxquelles le
Tribunal pénal international pour l'ex-Yougoslavie (TPIY) se voit confronté
quand il doit qualifier une situation conflictuelle concrète. L'auteur
examine la jurisprudence du Tribunal à ce sujet, en commentant notamment les
différentes décisions dans les affaires Tadic et Celebici. Toutefois, le
TPIY n'a pas encore tranché d'une manière définitive la question de
l'applicabilité du droit international humanitaire à une situation aussi
complexe que celle prévalant en ex-Yougoslavie. Son avis aura sans doute
valeur de précédent.