The protection of civilians in armed conflict under international criminal law

Abstract

Due to the continuous fluctuations of relations between various states, armed conflict may result. The dissertation focuses on discussing the inadequate level of protection provided to civilians in armed conflict under International Humanitarian Law. In addition, this term paper analyses the insufficiency and inadequacy of laws and customs of war under International Criminal Law and IHL. This is carried out through the thorough analysis of case law, law journals and legislation. The fundamental concepts include the definitions regarding the notions of the civilian and armed conflict under ICL and IHL. Through their establishment, the Courts are able to identify when a citizen may be qualified as part of the armed conflict or not, or when a conflict evolves into an armed conflict. In order to ensure the protection of civilians, they must firstly be identifiable as so, and have no active part within the armed conflict. Although this has been made possible through legislation and case law, it is apparent that nonetheless, civilians are the main victims in armed conflict. It is highly evident that the notion of political will plays a crucial role when it comes to the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The creation of Additional Protocols I and II have provided little support to the Geneva Convention in its principal aim of bringing perpetrators to justice. The dissertation makes it evident that regardless of the amount of judgements and legislation present, civilians still suffer the most harm through armed conflict. Therefore, the dissertation indicates that it is imperative for measures to be taken, apart from creating new legislation, to ensure the prosecution of the guilty parties and providing the justice which the innocent civilians deserve.