Chapter

The International Court of Justice and international humanitarian law

Christopher Greenwood

Shielding humanity : essays in international law in honour of Judge Abdul G. Koroma

Leiden ; Boston : Brill Nijhoff, 2015

p. 263-288

English

Photocopies

Judge Abdul Koroma served on the bench of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for eighteen years. Writing in his honour, the author examines the ICJ’s jurisprudence on international humanitarian law (IHL) over the years. The author argues that the ICJ made its most important contributions to IHL in the period from 1994—2012. The court faced new issues such as the legality of nuclear weapons. It also had to clarify the obligations of Israel and Uganda, then-occupying powers in Palestine and the Congo, under IHL and international human rights law. The author emphasizes the Court’s contribution during this period to reaffirming the important role of IHL, and to developing the relationship between IHL and other areas of international law. However, it is possible that where the Court has made the greatest contribution is the law of belligerent occupation. The ICJ reaffirmed that the laws set out in the 1907 Hague Convention and the 1949 Geneva Conventions remain applicable today, and clarified the circumstances in which the laws become applicable. Finally, the Court has markedly contributed to the enforcement and implementation of IHL, through the adjudication of claims concerning state responsibility. [Summary by students at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (IHRP)]

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