Suchergebnisse

This is the text of a lecture, presented by Professor Yoram Dinstein at Tilburg University, outlining some key aspects of international humanitarian law as regards the principle of distinction; the principle of proportionality; direct participation in hostilities; drones; human shields; and private military contractors.

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.

Abstract
Contemporary trends of warfare have witnessed a so-called 'civilian footprint' in support of military operations while battlefields have increasingly shifted towards urban areas. International humanitarian law established a framework through which civilians are protected from direct attack 'unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities'. Three key areas have traditionally been associated with the analysis of direct participation in hostilities ('dph'): civilian legal status, what behaviour amounts to dph, and what modalities govern this loss of protection. This article will focus on the latter and attempt to create a feasible and practical framework capable of harnessing the temporal scope of dph and limit the so-called 'revolving door phenomenon'. The framework developed in this article will account for criteria that could and should aid decision-making on the battlefield, most notably causal associations between individuals and dph acts and the physical or non-physical nature of dph acts' deployments.

AbstractThe ICRC's published 'Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation' by civilians in hostilities contributes usefully to the debate but is flawed. It creates an imbalance between members of the armed forces on the one hand, who are targetable at all times, and members of organised armed groups who do not have a continuous combat function, and civilians who persistently participate in hostilities on the other, who are said to be protected during intervals between specific acts of hostility. This imbalance is exacerbated by assertions that there is a presumption at law that civilians are not directly participating, that to be DPH there must be a single causal step linking the civilian's activity with the hostilities, that voluntary human shields may not be direct participants and that periods of preparation for, deployment towards and return from acts of direct participation, during which a civilian is liable to lawful attack, must be interpreted restrictively. This article takes aspects of the interpretive guidance in turn, analysing them to determine their legal and practical acceptability. It concludes that states must consider the guidance with some caution before determining their own position on this vexed issue.

In today's asymmetric armed conflicts, military agents carry out targeted killings against civilians that »take a direct part in the hostilities«. This book defines such participation for the purposes of international humanitarian, criminal and human rights law. Additionally, the general framework of the law of war is revisited, in particular under the currently frequent scenario of non-international armed conflicts. Treaty requirements for the recognition of non-state actors (degree of collectivity) are addressed and the legal ethics of a strict status-based approach in international law (combatants/civilians) is opined on. The study at hand analyzes the repertory of applicable legal texts and their authentic versions in the different official languages. It discloses existing incoherencies and gives an overview of their implementation into the national legislation of several countries. The research closes with a fictional case study. Graphs and figures are used for illustration purposes throughout the document. In today's asymmetric armed conflicts, military agents carry out targeted killings against civilians that »take a direct part in the hostilities«. This book defines such participation for the purposes of international humanitarian, criminal and human rights law. Additionally, the general framework of the law of war is revisited, in particular under the currently frequent scenario of non-international armed conflicts. Treaty requirements for the recognition of non-state actors (degree of collectivity) are addressed and the legal ethics of a strict status-based approach in international law (combatants/civilians) is opined on. The study at hand analyzes the repertory of applicable legal texts and their authentic versions in the different official languages. It discloses existing incoherencies and gives an overview of their implementation into the national legislation of several countries. The research closes with a fictional case study. Graphs and figures are used for illustration purposes throughout the document. In asymmetric armed conflicts military agents carry out targeted killings against civilians taking »a direct part in the hostilities«. This book defines such participation and revisits the applicable legal framework. Treaty requirements for the recognition of non-state actors are addressed and the legal ethics of a strict status-based approach (combatants/civilians) is opined on. The research uses numerous graphs for illustration purposes and closes with a fictional case study. Josef Alkatout, deutsch-palästinensischen Ursprungs, wuchs in den USA sowie in Süddeutschland auf. Nach dem Studium der Rechtswissenschaft und der internationalen Beziehungen in der Schweiz und in Finnland, promovierte er an der Universität Göttingen im internationalen Strafrecht zum Dr. jur. Er war über mehrere Jahre als Jurist in der Regulierungsbranche in London und Genf sowie als Dozent für den Weltverband der Gesellschaften für die Vereinten Nationen beschäftigt. Momentan vertritt er die tamilische Exilregierung in New York in Belangen des internationalen Strafrechts und ist darüber hinaus für eine Genfer Rechtsanwaltskanzlei tätig. Seine Abhandlung zur Zulässigkeit der Tötung Osama bin Ladens wurde in sechs Sprachen veröffentlicht. Josef Alkatout ist auch Autor von zwei belletristischen Romanen. Josef Alkatout is of Palestinian and German origin and grew up in the US and in Europe. He earned his degrees in law and international relations in Switzerland and Finland, and a PhD in international criminal law in Germany. During several years, Alkatout worked as a regulation lawyer in London and Geneva and lectured for the World Federation of United Nations Associations. Currently, he is the legal representative for the Tamil government in exile in New York and works in the field of criminal law in a firm in Geneva. His treatise on the legality of the Osama bin Laden killing was issued in six languages. Josef Alkatout has also published two novels.

In today's asymmetric armed conflicts, military agents carry out targeted killings against civilians that »take a direct part in the hostilities«. This book defines such participation for the purposes of international humanitarian, criminal and human rights law. Additionally, the general framework of the law of war is revisited, in particular under the currently frequent scenario of non-international armed conflicts. Treaty requirements for the recognition of non-state actors (degree of collectivity) are addressed and the legal ethics of a strict status-based approach in international law (combatants/civilians) is opined on. The study at hand analyzes the repertory of applicable legal texts and their authentic versions in the different official languages. It discloses existing incoherencies and gives an overview of their implementation into the national legislation of several countries. The research closes with a fictional case study. Graphs and figures are used for illustration purposes throughout the document