International Humanitarian Law
Course content
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) defines methods and means of warfare in armed conflicts and establishes various forms of protection for civilians, other non-combatants as well as combatants. The rules seek to balance military necessity against fundamental principles of humanity. The principle of proportionality, the principle of distinction between military objectives and civilian objects, as well as the prohibition against means of combat that lead to unnecessary suffering and superfluous injury form the basis for this body of law.
The legal bases for IHL are rules of international customary law as well as treaty law, in particular the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 with their additional protocols of 1977, and the Hague Regulations of 1907. In addition there are several specific treaties pertaining to e.g. use of certain weapons and other means of warfare.
The subject International Humanitarian Law is a part of public international law, but does not go in detail into the rules on the legality of warfare (jus ad bellum). The main focus is on which rules apply when there is an armed conflict going on (jus in bello), irrespective of the status of the conflict. International Humanitarian Law has certain contact points with two other subjects under public international law; international criminal law and international human rights law.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge
Students are expected to gain good knowledge (JUS5730) or general knowledge (JUR1730) of the followings issues:
- The principle on proportionality and military necessity, the principle of distinction between military objectives and civilian objects, as well as the prohibition against means of warfare that may lead to unnecessary suffering and superfluous injury
- The scope of application of International Humanitarian Law in different levels of conflict
- The relationship between International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law, particularly regarding derogation from human rights in armed conflict
- The relationship between International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law, including jurisdiction regarding genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity
- The limitations on means and methods of armed conflicts
- Combatant status and its implications
- Protection of prisoners of war (POW)
- Protection of civilians and non-combatants
- The rules of International Humanitarian Law in relation to acts of terror, and the “war on terror”
- Protection of cultural property
- International peace operations
- The method and sources of international public law in general, and the sources of IHL in particular
- The rules on the legality on the use of force between states (jus ad bellum)
- The historic development of International Humanitarian Law
- National implementation of International Humanitarian Law
Skills
- Students learn how to read and analyse international case law and to analyse the Geneva Conventions and Protocols, as well as Hague Regulations, in relation to fact patterns
- The teaching and the examination focus on independent reflection and on application of the academic theories to factual realities and practical problems
General competence
- Students acquire skills which are relevant for future careers in ministries, NGOs, international organisations and other similar institutions
- Students develop an understanding of the role law plays in extreme emergency situations
- Students develop an understanding of the causes and consequences of armed conflicts
- Students learn how to balance law and ethics in difficult factual circumstances
Literature
BACHELOR'S LEVEL (JUR1730):
Compulsory reading:
Nils Melzer, International Humanitarian Law: A Comprehensive Introduction (ICRC, 2016) (331 pages). The text is also available for free download at the ICRC website. ( yet out of print )
Alternative reading; to the above mention book autumn 2019: Nicholas Tsagourias and Alasdair Morrison, International Humanitarian Law: Cases, Materials and Commentary (Cambridge University Press, 2018) https://www.cambridge.org/no/academic/subjects/law/humanitarian-law/international-humanitarian-law-cases-materials-and-commentary (35 GBP).
ICRC Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities under International Humanitarian Law (May 2009), Part 2.B “The concept of direct participation in hostilities”, pp. 41-68 (28 pages).
Tristan Ferraro, The Applicability and Application of International Humanitarian Law to Multinational Forces, International Review of the Red Cross 95 (2013), pp. 561-612 (52 pages).
Daniel Bethlehem, The Relationship between International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law in Situations of Armed Conflict, Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law (2)2 (2013), pp. 180-195 (16 pages).
Gentian Zyberi, 'Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law', in Gerd Oberleitner (ed.) Human Rights Institutions, Tribunals and Courts: Legacy and Promise (Springer, 2018), pp. 377-400 (23 pages).
Antonio Cassese, ‘Current Challenges to International Humanitarian Law’ (Chapter 1), in Andrew Clapham and Paola Gaeta (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Law in Armed Conflict (Oxford University Press, 2014), pp. 3-19 (17 pages).
Alternative textbooks and recommended reading:
Emily Crawford and Alison Pert, International Humanitarian Law (Cambridge University Press, 2019) (324 pages).
Marco Sassòli, International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies, and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare (Edward Elgar, 2019).
Nicholas Tsagourias and Alasdair Morrison, International Humanitarian Law: Cases, Materials and Commentary (Cambridge University Press, 2018).
Robert Kolb and Richard Hyde, An Introduction to the International Law of Armed Conflicts (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2008).
Dieter Fleck (ed.), The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law, third edition (Oxford University Press, 2014) paperback – with the exception of chapters 10 and 11.
Total amount of pages (required literature) at Bachelor's level: 467 pages.
MASTER'S LEVEL (JUS5730):
Compulsory reading:
Dieter Fleck (ed.), The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law, third edition (Oxford University Press, 2014) paperback – with the exception of chapters 10 and 11 (584 pages).
ICRC Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities under International Humanitarian Law (May 2009), Part 2.B “The concept of direct participation in hostilities”, pp. 41-68 (28 pages).
Daniel Bethlehem, The Relationship between International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law in Situations of Armed Conflict, Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law (2)2 (2013), pp. 180-195 (16 pages).
Gentian Zyberi, ‘The Jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Courts and Tribunals’, in Erika de Wet and Jann Kleffner (eds.), Convergence and Conflicts of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in Military Operations (Pretoria University Law Press, 2014), pp. 395-416 (22 pages).
Gentian Zyberi, 'Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law', in Gerd Oberleitner (ed.) Human Rights Institutions, Tribunals and Courts: Legacy and Promise (Springer, 2018), pp. 377-400 (23 pages).
Total amount of pages (required literature) at Master’s level: 673 pages.
Alternative textbooks and recommended reading:
Emily Crawford and Alison Pert, International Humanitarian Law (Cambridge University Press, 2019).
Marco Sassòli, International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies, and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare (Edward Elgar, 2019).
Nicholas Tsagourias and Alasdair Morrison, International Humanitarian Law: Cases, Materials and Commentary (Cambridge University Press, 2018).
Supplementary literature for both levels:
Treaty Collections:
Ole Kristian Fauchald and Bård Sverre Tuseth (eds.), Global and Regional Treaties (Oslo,2012).
Adam Roberts and Richard Guelff (eds), Documents on the Laws of War, Third Edition, (Oxford University Press, 2000).
Dietrich Schindler and Jiří Toman (eds.), The laws of armed conflicts: a collection of conventions, resolutions, and other documents, (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2004).
Books/reports:
Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law
Jean Pictet: The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, Commentary, Vol. I (Geneva, 1952), Vol. II (Geneva, 1960), Vol. III (Geneva, 1960), Vol. IV (Geneva, 1958).
Yves Sandoz, Christophe Swinarski and Bruno Zimmermann (eds): Commentary on the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 Geneva: ICRC, 1987).
Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, Customary International Humanitarian Law, Volume I: Rules (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
ICRC Report, International Humanitarian Law and the challenges of contemporary armed conflicts, October 2011, (53 pages); see also the December 2015 Report.
UK Ministry of Defence, The Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict (Oxford University Press, 2005).
US Department of Defence Law of War Manual, June 2015 (updated December 2016).
Terry Gill and Dieter Fleck (eds.), The Handbook of the International Law of Military Operations, second edition (Oxford University Press, 2015).
Andrew Clapham and Paola Gaeta (eds), The Oxford Handbook of International Law in Armed Conflict (Oxford University Press, 2014).
Andrew Clapham, Paola Gaeta, and Marco Sassòli (eds.), The 1949 Geneva Conventions: A Commentary (Oxford University Press, 2015).
Electronic resources:
ICRC databases on international humanitarian law (treaties, customary international humanitarian law, domestic implementation)
Geneva Convention I, Commentary of 2016
Geneva Convention II, Commentary of 2017
ICRC: Sassoli, Bouvier, and Quintin, How does law protect in war?
Electronic Resource Guide of the American Society of International Law
International expert meeting report: The principle of proportionality (ICRC, 2018)
ICRC, Current Debates on IHL
International Review of the Red Cross
Total amount of pages (required literature) at Master’s level: 673 pages.