ICRC Privilege in Canada

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 144-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
CRAIG BRANNAGAN ◽  
CHRISTOPHER WATERS
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Common Law ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
The Common ◽  
Court Proceedings ◽  
Testimonial Privilege

AbstractThis article explores whether the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) enjoys testimonial privilege before Canadian courts. The authors argue that there is strong evidence to suggest that customary international law requires that the ICRC be granted a privilege not to testify or disclose confidential information in domestic court proceedings. Such a privilege, they argue, is entailed by the ICRC’s mandate to engage in international humanitarian law protection activities using confidential means. Given that customary international law forms part of the common law in Canada, the authors argue that this privilege should be recognized by Canadian courts despite its potentially uneasy fit with traditional Canadian evidence law.

An Exercise in the Development of International Law: The New ICRC Study on Customary International Humanitarian Law

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 1217-1242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm MacLaren ◽  
Felix Schwendimann
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Conference ◽  
High Level

On 17 March 2005, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger, presented a study (hereinafter “the Study”) of customary international humanitarian law (IHL). A decade earlier, the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent had mandated the ICRC to “prepare […] a report on customary rules of IHL applicable in international [IAC] and non-international armed conflicts [NIAC], and to circulate the report to States and competent international bodies.” The Study's objective was to capture a “photograph” of the existing, hitherto unwritten rules that make up customary IHL. Comprehensive, high-level research into customary IHL followed; the end result of which is undeniably a remarkable feat and a significant contribution to scholarship and debate in this area of international law.

Ten questions to Philip Spoerri, ICRC Director for International Law and Cooperation

2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (887) ◽  
pp. 1125-1134 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
The One

With the globalisation of market economies, business has become an increasingly prominent actor in international relations. It is also increasingly present in situations of armed conflict. On the one hand, companies operating in volatile environments are exposed to violence and the consequences of armed conflicts. On the other hand, some of their conduct in armed conflict may lead to violations of the law.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) engages with the private sector on humanitarian issues, with the aim of ensuring compliance or clarifying the obligations that business actors have under international humanitarian law (IHL) and encouraging them to comply with the commitments they have undertaken under various international initiatives to respect IHL and human rights law.In times of conflict, IHL spells out certain responsibilities and rights for all parties involved. Knowledge of the relevant rules of IHL is therefore critical for local and international businesses operating in volatile contexts. In this Q&A section, Philip Spoerri, ICRC Director for International Law and Cooperation, gives an overview of the rules applicable to business actors in situations of conflict, and discusses some of the ICRC's engagement with business actors.Philip Spoerri began his career with the ICRC in 1994. Following a first assignment in Israel and the occupied and autonomous territories, he went on to be based in Kuwait, Yemen, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Geneva, he headed the legal advisers to the Department of Operations. He returned to Afghanistan as head of the ICRC delegation there from 2004 to 2006, when he took up his current position. Before joining the ICRC, he worked as a lawyer in a private firm in Munich. He holds a PhD in law from Bielefeld University and has also studied at the universities of Göttingen, Geneva, and Munich.

scholarly journals The concept and mechanisms of implementation of international humanitarian law (comparative study): مفهوم وآليات تنفيذ القانون الدولي الإنساني ( دراسة مقارنة )

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abker Ali Abdul Majid Ahmed - Ahmed Hammad Abd Allah Abdel R
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
International Law ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Islamic History

The international humanitarian law is mere a fruits for a set of ethics and moral values that call for peaceful solutions and rejecting wars between estates. This international law, aimed at restricting power using in armed conflicts for two reasons: The first one is reducing the violence effects that exceed the allowed limits on combatants, while the second is avoiding harming those who have no hand in conflicts. The topic has been discussed in three chapters, the first tackled the understanding of the international humanitarian law, acknowledging it, explaining its nature and its contents as basic settled principals in the Islamic sharia though not mentioned namely. We have produced from Arabic and Islamic history models telling the extent to which the international humanitarian law relied on Islamic sharia. In the second chapter, we explained the duties and the principals of the Red Cross international committee, since it's responsible for guarding, developing and disseminating the principals of the international humanitarian law. We have concluded that the conceptions of international humanitarian law are well settled in the Islamic sharia as general principals though not adopting the same terminologies. We also found that the ends and principals of the Islamic sharia have sowed the seeds of what is known in the contemporary era, as Humanitarian International law. We can see that in words of the prophet may Allah peace and blessings be upon him, and in the implications of the companions, may Allah bless them, and the views of jurists regarding to the matter of war, the management of Jihad and directing soldiers.   

The Role of the ICRC in the Development of International Humanitarian Law

1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
War Victims ◽  
Unique Status

AbstractAs a result of its unique status, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been closely involved in the negotiations of humanitarian law treaties. Two of the most recent negotiations – the ban on anti-personnel landmines and the establishment of an International Criminal Court – are presented as case studies. They provide a good indication of the varied and dynamic functions played by the ICRC in the development of international law. This role is complementary to the ICRC's field activities in the world's ``hot spots'', which provide valuable insights into the real problems that war victims face in their daily lives.

Comments on the ICRC Study on Customary International Humanitarian Law

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 437-449
Author(s):  
Claude C. Emanuelli
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court

SummaryThis comment takes a critical look at the method used by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in its study of customary humanitarian law. It argues that the ICRC study reduces the concept of international custom to its definition under Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. It also argues that the study overlooks some of the problems raised by the application of Article 38. It contends that the positions taken by the ICRC to identify customary rules of humanitarian law are somewhat ambiguous and even slanted. Finally, this comment suggests that, beyond questioning the ICRC study, it is the role of custom as a source of international law that is in question.

scholarly journals Foreword: Global and Regional Perspectives on International Humanitarian Law

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Alberto Costi
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Committee ◽  
International Community ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Significant Events ◽  
History Of

This article serves as a foreword to this special issue of the Victoria University of Wellington Law Review which brings together a number of global and regional perspectives on international law ('IHL') in commemoration of some of the most significant events marking the emergence and development of what is still a relatively recent yet dynamic branch of international law. The author provides a brief history of the international community and the contributions of Henry Dunant of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The article then provides a brief overview of the papers presented in this issue, noting that the papers reflect on various aspects of a body of law in constant evolution, as well as acknowledging the challenges associated with the implementation of IHL.  

The updated ICRC Commentary on the Second Geneva Convention: Demystifying the law of armed conflict at sea

2016 ◽  
Vol 98 (902) ◽  
pp. 401-417
Author(s):  
Bruno Demeyere ◽  
Jean-Marie Henckaerts ◽  
Heleen Hiemstra ◽  
Ellen Nohle
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Geneva Convention ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
Hospital Ships

AbstractSince their publication in the 1950s and 1980s respectively, the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 have become a major reference for the application and interpretation of those treaties. The International Committee of the Red Cross, together with a team of renowned experts, is currently updating these Commentaries in order to document developments and provide up-to-date interpretations of the treaty texts. Following a brief overview of the methodology and process of the update as well as a historical background to the Second Geneva Convention, this article addresses the scope of applicability of the Convention, the type of vessels it protects (in particular hospital ships and coastal rescue craft), and its relationship with other sources of international humanitarian law and international law conferring protection to persons in distress at sea. It also outlines differences and commonalities between the First and the Second Conventions, including how these have been reflected in the updated Commentary on the Second Convention. Finally, the article highlights certain substantive obligations under the Convention and how the updated Commentary addresses some of the interpretive questions they raise.

The ICRC Library goes digital

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Keyword(s):  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Reference Library ◽  
Parallel Development ◽  
Humanitarian Action ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past

The ICRC Library is home to unique collections retracing the parallel development of humanitarian action and law during the past 150+ years. With the core of these collections now digitized, this reference library on international humanitarian law (IHL) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a resource available to all, anytime, anywhere.

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