On 7 July 2011, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) rendered its judgment in the case Al-Jedda v. The United Kingdom. The judgment focuses on two main issues: the application of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) to the acts of military forces acting under a United Nations Chapter VII mandate and the scope of application of Article 5 ECHR in armed conflict situations. It concerns several fundamental issues with respect to Human Rights Law and its relation to International Law such as the question of conflicts between obligations arising under the Convention on the one hand, and obligations arising under the UN Charter as well as under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) on belligerent occupation on the other. Interestingly, Al-Jedda is one of the very rare cases in which the Court explicitly examined the content of IHL provisions which sheds some light on the Court’s case law on human rights in times of armed conflict. This case comment focuses on those aspects which are particularly relevant for IHL after having briefly introduced the reasoning of the Court.
By entering this website, you consent to the use of technologies, such as cookies and analytics, to customise content, advertising and provide social media features. This will be used to analyse traffic to the website, allowing us to understand visitor preferences and improving our services. Learn more