The Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project (RULAC Project) is an initiative of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights to support the application and implementation of the international law of armed conflict

Laws of war

The law of war is a body of law concerning acceptable justifications to engage in war and the limits to acceptable wartime conduct...

.

Overview

Through a global database and analysis, the RULAC Project has as its aim an assessment of the implementation by states

Sovereign state

A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...

 of the law applicable in armed conflicts:

• international humanitarian law
  International humanitarian law
  International humanitarian law , often referred to as the laws of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict, is the legal corpus that comprises "the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law." It...
  
  
• international human rights law
  International human rights law
  International human rights law refers to the body of international law designed to promote and protect human rights at the international, regional and domestic levels...
  
  
• international criminal law
  International criminal law
  International criminal law is a body of international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetration. Principally, it deals with genocide, war crimes, crimes against...
  
  
• refugee law
  Refugee law
  Refugee law is the branch of international law which deals with the rights and protection of refugees. It is related to, but distinct from, international human rights law and international humanitarian law, which deal respectively with human rights in general, and the conduct of war in...
  
  

The project will ultimately cover all member states of the United Nations and parties to the Geneva Conventions

Geneva Conventions

The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...

 as well as contested territories, whether they are in situation of armed conflict or not. Indeed, certain international rules must be implemented during peacetime or are relevant in post-conflict situations, in particular those relating to the repression of international crimes. In addition, the rules regarding the fight against terrorism

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

, also to be covered by the website, are applicable to states that are not necessarily in a situation of armed conflict.

The website is divided into three parts. The homepage offers a small description of the applicable law and addresses the main legal issues in that area, for example the legal qualification of conflicts or the applicability of international law to non-state armed groups. The website then offers for each country the relevant texts and documents dealing with the national and international legal framework (national legislation

Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

 and case law

Case law

In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...

, resolutions

Resolution (law)

A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...

 of intergovernmental organizations, treaty

Treaty

A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...

, etc.). Finally, the website offers a legal analysis that, on one hand, qualifies the conflict under international humanitarian law and on the other hand, determines the applicable law. This part of the website, certainly the most delicate in juridical and political terms, is particular to the RULAC Project.

The RULAC Project should prove to be a precious source of information for government officials, journalists and more widely for any person interested by the respect of the law in war.

Geneva Conventions

The Geneva Conventions

Geneva Conventions

The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...

 are:

• First Geneva Convention
  First Geneva Convention
  The First Geneva Convention, for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, is one of four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It defines "the basis on which rest the rules of international law for the protection of the victims of armed conflicts." It was first adopted...
  
   "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field" (first adopted in 1864, last revision in 1949)
• Second Geneva Convention
  Second Geneva Convention
  The Second Geneva Convention, for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1906, after the Russo-Japanese war, but was significantly updated in 1929 and again in...
  
   "for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea" (first adopted in 1949, successor of the 1907 Hague Convention X)
• Third Geneva Convention
  Third Geneva Convention
  The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1929, but was significantly updated in 1949...
  
   "relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" (first adopted in 1929
  Geneva Convention (1929)
  The Geneva Convention was signed at Geneva, July 27, 1929. Its official name is the Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Geneva July 27, 1929. It entered into force 19 June 1931. It is this version of the Geneva Conventions which covered the treatment of prisoners of war...
  
  , last revision in 1949)
• Fourth Geneva Convention
  Fourth Geneva Convention
  The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1949, and defines humanitarian protections for civilians...
  
   "relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War" (first adopted in 1949, based on parts of the 1907 Hague Convention IV)

In addition, there are three additional amendment protocols to the Geneva Convention:

• Protocol I
  Protocol I
  Protocol I is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts. It reaffirms the international laws of the original Geneva Conventions of 1949, but adds clarifications and new provisions to accommodate developments in modern...
  
   (1977): Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts. As of 12 January 2007 it had been ratified by 167 countries.
• Protocol II
  Protocol II
  Protocol II is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. It defines certain international laws that strive to provide better protection for victims of internal armed conflicts that take place within the borders...
  
   (1977): Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts. As of 12 January 2007 it had been ratified by 163 countries.
• Protocol III
  Protocol III
  Protocol III is a 2005 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem. This protective sign may be displayed by medical and religious personnel at times of war, instead of the traditional Red Cross or Red Crescent symbols...
  
   (2005): Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem. As of June 2007 it had been ratified by 17 countries and signed but not yet ratified by an additional 68 countries.

ICRC, What is International Humanitarian Law?, Fact Sheet, 2004.

ICRC, Basic Rules of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and 1977 Additional Protocols, 1988

ICRC, study of customary international humanitarian law.

See also

• Combatant
  Combatant
  A combatant is someone who takes a direct part in the hostilities of an armed conflict. If a combatant follows the law of war, then they are considered a privileged combatant, and upon capture they qualify as a prisoner of war under the Third Geneva Convention...
  
  
• Crime against humanity
  Crime against humanity
  Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings...
  
  
• Customary international law
  Customary international law
  Customary international law are those aspects of international law that derive from custom. Along with general principles of law and treaties, custom is considered by the International Court of Justice, jurists, the United Nations, and its member states to be among the primary sources of...
  
  
• Disarmed Enemy Forces
  Disarmed Enemy Forces
  Disarmed Enemy Forces , and—less commonly—Surrendered Enemy Forces, was a U.S. designation, both for soldiers who surrendered to an adversary after hostilities ended, and for those previously surrendered POWs who were held in camps in occupied German territory at that time. It is mainly referenced...
  
  
• Genocide
  Genocide
  Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
  
  
• Human rights
  Human rights
  Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
  
  
• International human rights instruments
  International human rights instruments
  International human rights instruments are treaties and other international documents relevant to international human rights law and the protection of human rights in general...
  
  
• Just War
  Just War
  Just war theory is a doctrine of military ethics of Roman philosophical and Catholic origin, studied by moral theologians, ethicists and international policy makers, which holds that a conflict ought to meet philosophical, religious or political criteria.-Origins:The concept of justification for...
  
  
• Prisoner-of-war camp
  Prisoner-of-war camp
  A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
  
  
• Prisoner of war
  Prisoner of war
  A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
  
  
• Protective sign
  Protective sign
  Protective signs are symbols to be used during an armed conflict to mark persons and objects under the protection of various treaties of International Humanitarian Law . While their essential meaning can be summarized as "Don't shoot!" or "Don't attack!", the exact conditions implied vary depending...
  
  
• Roerich’s Pact
• Rule of law
  Rule of law
  The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
  
  
• Rule According to Higher Law
  Rule according to higher law
  The rule according to a higher law means that no written law may be enforced by the government unless it conforms with certain unwritten, universal principles of fairness, morality, and justice...
  
  
• Total war
  Total war
  Total war is a war in which a belligerent engages in the complete mobilization of fully available resources and population.In the mid-19th century, "total war" was identified by scholars as a separate class of warfare...
  
  
• War crime
  War crime
  War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
  
  

Further reading

• Barenboim P.,Sidiqi N., "Bruges, the Bridge between Civilizations: 75 Anniversary of Roerich Pact", Grid Belgium, 2010, ISBN 978-5-98856-114-9
• Bassiouni, M.C., Introduction to International Criminal Law, Transnational Publishers, 2003
• Cassese A., Gaeta P. and Jones J.R.W.D. (eds), The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A Commentary, Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Cassese, A., International Law, Oxford University Press, UK, 2005.
• Cassese, A., International Criminal Law, Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, 2008.
• Clapham, A., Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, UK, 2007
• Cryer, R., Friman, H., Robinson, D., and Wilmshurst, E. , An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
• De Greiff, P. (ed.), The Handbook on Reparations, Oxford University Press, 2006.
• Deng, F.M., “The Global Challenge of Internal Displacement”, Journal of Law and Policy, Vol. 5, 2001.
• Feller, E., Türk, V. and Nicholson, F. (eds.), Refugee Protection in International Law, UNHCR‘s Global Consultations on International Protection, Cambridge, University Press, 2003.
• Goodwin-Gill, G.S. and McAdam, J., The Refugee in International Law, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 2007.
• Hathaway J.C., The Rights of Refugees under International Law, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005.
• Kälin, W., Müller, L. and Wyttenbach, J., The Face of Human Rights, Lars Müller Publishing, Germany, 2004.
• Romano, C., Nollkaemper, A., Kleffner, J., (eds), Internationalized Criminal Courts and Tribunals: Sierra Leone, East Timor, Kosovo and Cambodia, Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Schabas, W.A., The UN International Criminal Tribunals. The former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, Cambridge University Press, 2006.
• Smith, R.K.M. and van den Anker, C.(eds.), The Essentials of Human Rights, Oxford University Press, UK, 2006.
• Steiner, H.J., Alston, P., and Goodman, R., International Human Rights in Context: Laws, Politics and Morals, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, UK, 2008.
• Teitel, R.G., Transitional Justice, Oxford University Press, 2000.
• Tomuschat, C., Human Rights: Between Idealism and Realism, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, UK, 2008.
• UNHCR, Handbook on Criteria and Procedures Determining the Status of Refugees, Geneva, 1979.
• Zahar, A. & Sluiter, G., International Criminal Law, Oxford University Press, 2008.

External links

• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
• Official United Nations website
• Official UN website on Human Rights
• Official UN website on International Law
• Official website of the International Court of Justice
• UNHCHR
• Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons (Walter Kälin).