Chapter

Pictet's commentaries

W. Hays Parks

Etudes et essais sur le droit international humanitaire et sur les principes de la Croix-Rouge : en l'honneur de Jean Pictet = Studies and essays on international humanitarian law and Red Cross principles : in honour of Jean Pictet

Genève : CICR ; La Haye : Nijhoff, 1984

p. 495-497

English

The author argues that Jean Pictet has offered much to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and to its pursuit for protection and relief for the victims of war and other disasters. Part of Pictet’s contribution is a lasting authority, the “Commentaries”, on the Geneva Conventions. Pictet accurately reports the development of the law. As a result, he has prepared an invaluable reference tool and historical record which offers maximum practical protection for the war victims. Pictet’s commentaries do not seek the ideal. They are practical and in the long term resulted in more protection for more victims under broader circumstances. Pictet describes preceding provisions, tracing some back to the original 1864 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, in order for the reader to understand the history of the provision. Where there is no preexisting article, Pictet is able to rely upon his experience at the 1947 Convention of Experts to relate the problems from preceding conflicts, and particularly World War II, which gave rise to the new law. Finally, Pictet openly and candidly discusses the issues raised during the 1949 negotiations, explaining the military, political, and humanitarian considerations behind each article. [Summary by students at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (IHRP)].

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• Etudes et essais sur le droit international humanitaire et sur les principes de la Croix-Rouge : en l'honneur de Jean Pictet = Studies and essays on international humanitarian law and Red Cross principles : in honour of Jean Pictet / Christophe Swina