scholarly journals STATUS AND PERSPECTIVES OF WAR CRIMES PROCESSING IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-69
Author(s):  
Dževad Mahmutović ◽  
◽  
Mirna Alibegović ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Strategy Implementation ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Data Call ◽  
Research Show

Serious, systematic and massive violations of international humanitarian law were committed during the 1992-1995 armed conflict in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The criminal prosecution and prosecution of perpetrators of these violations of international humanitarian law falls within the jurisdiction of several courts of various levels, namely the ICTY, the courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the courts of other countries, in accordance with the principle of universal jurisdiction. However, the fact that is justifiably worrying is that, even after 24 years since the end of the war, the work on prosecuting those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law in Bosnia and Herzegovina is nowhere near completion. This is a consequence of non-compliance with the guidelines of the National War Crimes Processing Strategy, implementation of various laws at the state and entity levels, as well as limited regional cooperation and dialogue. The results of the research show that the concerns and perceptions expressed by citizens, as well as by some domestic and international institutions regarding the effectiveness of prosecutors' offices in prosecuting war crimes cases are very justified. Such data call for action by all relevant individuals and institutions to undertake activities in their own domain in order to advance this process and bring it to the level it deserves, given the importance for the overall BiH society.

scholarly journals Features of detection and obtaining evidence of war crimes committed in the context of international armed conflict

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (69) ◽  
pp. 74-90
Author(s):  
Ihor Tataryn ◽  
Yuliia Komissarchuk ◽  
Yurii Dmytryk ◽  
Mariia Maistrenko ◽  
Olha Rymarchuk
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Scientific Article ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Military Conflict ◽  
Support Organization ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
The Military

The scientific article is devoted to a comprehensive understanding of international legal, procedural, and organizational problems of investigation of war crimes committed during the military conflict in the south and east of Ukraine. It develops the author's concept of investigation of war crimes committed during the armed conflict, scientifically substantiated theoretical provisions and specific patterns that are manifested in the field of legal support, organization of investigation, collection of evidence, methods of investigation of crimes of this type. It is concluded that there is a need to specify the components of war crimes in national legislation. Recommendations for further improvement of criminal and criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine in order to fulfill the state's international obligations in the field of international humanitarian law are given.

Amnesties and international humanitarian law: Purpose and scope

2018 ◽  
Vol 101 (910) ◽  
pp. 357-363
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Universal Jurisdiction ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Geneva Conventions

States party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I of 1977 have an obligation to take measures necessary to suppress all acts contrary to their provisions. Moreover, States must investigate war crimes allegedly committed by their nationals or on their territory, and other war crimes over which they have jurisdiction, such as on the basis of universal jurisdiction, and, if appropriate, prosecute the suspects. In accordance with these obligations and the limits they impose, States may adopt certain measures during and in the aftermath of armed conflicts to promote reconciliation and peace, one of which is amnesties. International humanitarian law (IHL) contains rules pertaining to the granting and scope of amnesties. Specifically, Article 6(5) of Protocol II additional to the Geneva Conventions relating to non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) provides that, at the end of hostilities, the authorities in power shall endeavour to grant the broadest possible amnesty to persons who have participated in the armed conflict, or those deprived of their liberty for reasons related to the armed conflict. Importantly, under customary IHL (as identified in Rule 159 of the ICRC customary IHL study), this excludes persons suspected of, accused of, or sentenced for war crimes in NIACs.

Ch.Five War Crimes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werle Gerhard ◽  
Jeßberger Florian
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Criminal Sanctions ◽  
Humanitarian Operations ◽  
Definition Of

This chapter turns to war crimes. Here, the chapter narrows the definition of ‘war crimes’ to a violation of a rule of international humanitarian law that creates direct criminal responsibility under international law. It then proceeds to examine the historical development of war crimes as part of international humanitarian law as well as criminal sanctions, war crimes in non-international armed conflict, protected interests, and categories of war crimes. Afterward, the chapter describes the overall requirements for an offence to be deemed a war crime. Next, the chapter explores war crimes against persons, against property and other rights, and against humanitarian operations. It also discusses prohibited methods of warfare and the use of prohibited means of warfare. The chapter ends with a coverage of the multiplicity of offences.

Part IV The ICC and its Applicable Law, 30 The Characterization of Armed Conflict in the Jurisprudence of the ICC

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cullen Anthony
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Control Test ◽  
Applicable Law ◽  
Internal Armed Conflict

The existence of armed conflict is the most fundamental prerequisite for the exercise of jurisdiction over war crimes. This chapter probes the characterization of armed conflict in the case-law of the ICC. It shows that the ICC has relied heavily on the jurisprudence of the ICTY concerning the conceptualization of non-international armed conflict (e.g. Tadić) and internationalization of prima facie internal armed conflict based on the overall control test. It argues that maintaining the integrity of armed conflict as a concept of international humanitarian law is one of the greatest longer-term challenges facing the Court.

The Criminalisation of Intra-party Offences in Light of Some Recent icc Decisions on Children in Armed Conflict

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 600-634
Author(s):  
Marco Longobardo
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Domestic Law

Traditionally, international humanitarian law is considered to be applicable only to the relationship between different parties of an armed conflict, while domestic law and international human rights law address situations of intra-party conduct, i.e., conduct involving members of the same party only. In the recent case law of the International Criminal Court, however, intra-party offences against children used as child soldiers have been treated as war crimes. Various Chambers have offered different arguments on this inclusion, which touches upon fundamental issues related to the scope of application of international humanitarian law. This article explores whether the criminalisation of intra-party offences as war crimes is in line with contemporary international humanitarian law, arguing that a positive answer must be based on the correct interpretation of international humanitarian law rules.

scholarly journals Peace, Terrorism, Armed Conflict and War Crimes

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2-4) ◽  
pp. 207-223
Author(s):  
Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Law

Terrorism has often been associated with armed conflict. The so-called Islamic State is the most prominent example of a group that rose to power amidst armed conflict. Against this backdrop, it sounds rather strange to associate terrorism with peace. Terrorism, however, has also been called, “the peacetime equivalent of war crimes”. This raises the question how the concepts of terrorism, peace, armed conflict and war crimes relate. This article defines these concepts and applies them in the context of International Humanitarian Law, which is also known as the law of armed conflict. It also discusses today’s fight against is in light of the November 2015 Paris Attacks, thereby questioning the consequences and desirability of a war paradigm.

Part I: Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilman Rodenhäuser
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Basic Principle ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Laws Of War ◽  
Connected Group ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Contemporary Practice

Analysing the development of the concept of non-state parties to an armed conflict from the writings of philosophers in the eighteenth century through international humanitarian law (IHL) treaty law to contemporary practice, three threads can be identified. First, as pointed out by Rousseau almost two and a half centuries ago, one basic principle underlying the laws of war is that war is not a relation between men but between entities. Accordingly, the lawful objective of parties cannot be to harm opponents as individuals but only to overcome the entity for which the individual fights. This necessitates that any party to an armed conflict is a collective, organized entity and not a loosely connected group of individuals. Second, de Vattel already stressed that civil war is fought between two parties who ‘acknowledge no common judge’ and have no ‘common superior’ on earth....

Insufficient Knowledge in Kunduz: The Precautionary Principle and International Humanitarian Law

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-79
Author(s):  
Emma J Marchant
Keyword(s):  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Federal Court ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Operational Application ◽  
Federal Court Of Justice ◽  
Insufficient Knowledge

Abstract The targeting protocols applied by forces during armed conflict are some of the most secretive documents held by any military. However, their role in applying principles of international humanitarian law (IHL) means that they are key to understanding their development. This piece is primarily concerned with practical and operational application of the precautionary principle under IHL; how much knowledge is sufficient to carry out an attack lawfully during modern armed conflict. In order to establish if a standard has developed with the increase in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology, this piece uses the framework of an investigation into an incident in Kunduz, Afghanistan in 2009. I explore the difficulties of obtaining information post-incident, the differential standards expected by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Bundesgerichtshof (German Federal Court of Justice), and the manner in which these can be evaluated through the principles of proportionality, distinction and precautions in attack. The piece looks at the interrelated issues raised by the Rules of Engagement and Tactical Directives, as well as the problems surrounding the clarity of intelligence available. I argue that this case is demonstrative of the failings inherent in the application and practical use of the precautionary principle outlined by IHL. The lack of transparency afforded in, and after, incidents of this nature prevents objective analysis and so the development of IHL can be obfuscated. I conclude that the lack of information following incidents of this kind confuses any intelligence standard that exists under IHL.

Thresholds in Flux—the Standard for Ascertaining the Requirement of Organization for Armed Groups under International Humanitarian Law

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yutaka Arai-Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Geneva Convention ◽  
Prisoners Of War ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Threshold Condition ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals

Abstract The requirement of organization is supposed to be of special importance in international humanitarian law (IHL). In the situation of international armed conflict (IAC), this requirement is implicit as part of the collective conditions to be fulfilled by irregular/independent armed groups to enable their members to claim the prisoners of war status under Article 4 A(2) of the Third Geneva Convention. In a non-international armed conflict (NIAC), the eponymous requirement serves, alongside the requirement of intensity of violence, as the threshold condition for ascertaining the onset of a NIAC. While the requirement of organization has not caused much of disputes in IACs, the international criminal tribunals have shown a willingness to examine scrupulously if armed groups in NIACs are sufficiently organized. Still, this article argues that there is need for a nuanced assessment of the organizational level of an armed group in some specific phases of the ongoing armed conflict whose legal character switches (from an NIAC to an IAC, vice-versa, and from a NIAC to a law-enforcement model). It explores what rationales and argumentative model may be adduced to explain such varying standards for organization in different contexts.

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