Chapter

Detention in armed conflict

Jelena Pejic

The Oxford guide to international humanitarian law

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2020

p. 277-297

English

Deprivation of liberty—detention—is a regular occurrence in armed conflict. Along with the conduct of hostilities it is one of the ways in which a belligerent attempts to weaken—and ultimately defeat—an adversary. Detention is regulated by a large number of provisions of international humanitarian law (IHL), the underlying and overarching purpose of which is to ensure the humane treatment of persons deprived of liberty. Apart from the relevant IHL treaty provisions, some of which will be mentioned in this chapter, rules on various aspects of detention in armed conflict are also found in customary IHL, domestic law, and human rights law. The chapter focuses on IHL rules on detention related to armed conflict without elaborating on the relationship between IHL and other legal frameworks, except where it highlights the specificity of particular IHL norms.

• Full text (restricted access : ICRC)

• The Oxford guide to international humanitarian law / ed. by Ben Saul and Dapo Akande