Book

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The concept of armed conflict in international humanitarian law

by Krisztina Huszti Orban

[S.l.] : [s.n.], 2014

385 p. ; 30 cm

English

Thesis, International Studies, Graduate Institute of international and development studies, Geneva, 2014. - Bibliographie : p. 355-385

This study embarks on a search for a (more or less) common understanding of the concept of armed conflict in the context of the international / non-international dichotomy, as provided for by the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. In this sense it examines the constitutive elements of armed conflict attempting to answer the question: what distinguishes peacetime from armed conflict ? Understanding the concept of armed conflict first of all necessitates an inquiry into the traditional bifurcation of conflict into those of international and non-international character, as set up under the regime of the Geneva Conventions. In this regard, this research investigates the fundamental facets which separate the two main categories of armed conflict. Moreover, subtypes of each category will be given due attention, with the relevance of such a differentiation also being addressed. For this reason, Part I explores the notion of international armed conflict in the sense of Common Article 2 of the Geneva Conventions, as well as Article 1 (4) of Additional Protocol I. Part II will venture into examining the anatomy of non-international armed conflicts, both under Common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II. Part III aims at tackling some of the challenging aspects of conflict classification, where the presence of international elements may influence or complicate the legal classification. Moreover, the analysis will consider, whenever relevant, the adequacy of the concept of armed conflict as interpreted today (whether international or non-international) to suitably ensure protection in situations where the application of international humanitarian law is demanded.