Chapter

Fighting terror within the law ? : terrorism, counterterrorism and military occupations

Marco Pertile

War crimes and the conduct of hostilities : challenges to adjudication and investigation

Cheltenham ; Northampton : E. Elgar, 2013

p. 276-292

English

This article examines the relationship between the political dimensions of terrorism and the application of international humanitarian law (IHL) in situations of belligerent occupation through two case studies: Iraq after the 2003 Anglo-American invasion and the occupation of the Palestinian Territories (OPT). With respect to the OPT, the author focuses on the use of the classification of ‘unlawful combatants’ to strip individuals of certain protections that a combatant would receive, such as prisoner of war status. Additionally, the author explores the role of ‘settlers’ in the OPT and how the HCJ uses acts of terror as evidence of armed conflict to justify the applicability of IHL. The author argues that the occupation of Iraq presents more complex case study as the situation involves diverse groups terrorizing the population, with an aim to preventing cooperation in establishment of a new government. The author also elaborates how the occupying powers breached the Hague Convention rules regulating public order in occupied territories and engages with the rights violations of alleged terrorists in Iraq who have been detained. Overall, the author concludes that political discourse impacts IHL and the interaction between legal and non-legal aspects of terrorism results in a complex relationship with IHL during asymmetrical warfare. [Summary by students at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (IHRP)]

• War crimes and the conduct of hostilities : challenges to adjudication and investigation / ed. by Fausto Pocar, Marco Pedrazzi, Micaela Frulli