Being studied during combat training, UCP (the main provisions of international humanitarian law) is important information for people involved in military conflicts. It is equally important to orient oneself in this field of knowledge to persons dealing with legal issues at the international level. Knowledge of IHL is important for people in managerial positions. What is it and why is it relevant? Let's consider further.
general information
For centuries, people pondered the problems of treating diseases, guessing the weather, and creating production facilities. Among other global problems that have attracted the attention of specialists from all over the world are armed conflicts and methods for preventing them in the future. The importance of adopting the basic provisions of humanitarian law cannot be overestimated if we turn to statistics. It is known that in the last century about 150 million people died due to armed violence. A third of this number is Russians. For the first time, work on legal norms that would rule out such excesses began in 1868. The main task of the lawyers of that period was to formulate such rights and norms that would limit the warring parties in the aspects of choosing weapons and methods of battle. Measures were taken to protect ordinary people who were captured. Particular attention was paid to those who are subject to special legal norms, and to those who have no protection at all. From the first years of active work, the Russian Empire was an important participant in the process. A significant contribution was made by Martens, a lawyer at the interstate level. His name is known today to any lawyer with a good level of knowledge.
Experienced lawyers believe that at present humanitarian human rights are formulated, fixed, and protected quite well. Social development has progressed to the point where advances in the control of armed disagreements have become truly meaningful, so victims of the war can count on comparative security and support from others. Particularly important in these aspects are the conventions signed at The Hague in 1899 and eight years later. They established laws, rules, and norms of military operations. No less important is the document signed in 1925 by representatives of different countries in Geneva. They are forbidden to use bacteriological weapons, toxic chemicals and some other methods of warfare. In 1949, another convention was signed, and a few years later, in 1977, they adopted the supplement. All these documents are regulated by IHL, as well as penalties resulting from neglect.
IHL: priority and importance
The main provisions of international humanitarian law are contained in the documentation adopted by different powers and signed at the interstate level in Geneva, The Hague. The rules of law applicable at the inter-state level to regulate relations during the hostilities were developed by specially trained people who took into account all the features of such a difficult period. At the same time, lawyers believe that IHL should develop further. Some are convinced that current standards are insufficient, weak, and do not justify themselves adequately. Others firmly believe that more norms are needed that would determine military operations and the behavior of individuals. Current IHL rules oblige all those who agree with the rules already created to revise their internal laws to meet external requirements. If internal rules and IHL diverge, documents adopted between states are considered to be more priority.
The significance of the theory of humanitarian law cannot be overestimated. Any armed conflict brings suffering to innocent people. The first victims are minors, the elderly, women. The task of IHL is to provide them with protection. By the norms of this right, parties to a military conflict must take care of the interests of victims, humanely interact with them, providing care and medical assistance to those in need. It is unacceptable to make distinctions between victims, starting from nationality, race, beliefs and other features, beliefs. The laws stipulate the importance of protecting victims in a war, conflict, not accompanied by the recognition of war, but in fact with armed confrontations.
Humanism and War
It is difficult today to find a civilized educated person who does not understand the significance of the goals of international humanitarian law. War is the satellite of society at all times of the existence of the human community. Any war is an abundance of victims, suffering. In war, state principles are violated, people cease to believe in justice. The first to suffer is humanism. For this reason, jurists and rulers of the countries decided to form universally recognized norms that would reduce the negative results of armed confrontations. The key goal pursued by them was to limit participants in methods and means. The second goal is to protect the victims as much as possible, to give at least some protection to those directly involved in the hostilities.
Today, humanitarian law protects primarily those who become victims. To reduce their number, it was decided to ban certain types of weapons. If we turn to the history of the issue, we can find out that the problems of limiting the methods used during the war occupied human minds much earlier than the nineteenth century. For a long time, philosophers, thinkers, scientists have been trying to come up with methods that would make the war less terrible. For a long time, they tried to develop protection standards for those who do not have the strength to stand up for themselves, those who have been injured or captured. They tried to figure out how to reduce the negative consequences of hostilities.
History and Names
In history, among famous personalities, for the first time on humanitarian law, the law of war, Pennafort expressed himself in his writings. This thinker was born in 1180, died in 1275. Reflecting on the indicated issue, he concluded that an acceptable basis for war is the need to regain what is legally owned. The second legitimate reason is the need to defend your country. There can be no other reasons for a military conflict. Pennafort also identified 4 criteria that can be used to analyze war. So, it is possible to call war only that which is conducted by secular authorities, which has as its main goal peace, that is declared the ruler. The fourth criterion is devoted to limitation: war, as Pennafort put it, cannot be unleashed for prosecution or for the purpose of revenge, but it is only an attempt to resolve a legal dispute.
An interesting work, in many ways also becoming a historical source of humanitarian law, is a book published in 1488 by the authors of Pisa. The material is dedicated to the exploits of knights and warriors. In it, the author noted what is the permissible basis for unleashing a military conflict. She pointed to the possibility of starting a war due to a violation of rights, if necessary, to resist certain actions that infringe the inhabitants of the state and the state itself. The reason may be the need to regain land that the enemy illegally seized.
Opinions differ
For a long time philosophers and legal scholars who have been thinking about the concept of humanitarian law, as the analysis of the materials that have survived to this day show, adhere to categorically diverging opinions. For example, Spinoza considered war the realization of the natural law that every strong man has against the background of the weak. Kant said that war is the most terrible misfortune, because of which the law of humanism suffers. Mill believed that an attempt to prove the fact that conquest is immoral offends the interlocutor. On this score, he spoke out in the sense that honest people will always have the same opinion on this issue. Rousseau said that war is a relationship between powers, and individuals begin to quarrel by chance. The purpose of the war, he considered the destruction of the enemy (power). If one of the opponents surrenders, according to Rousseau, he ceases to be an enemy and turns into a simple person. It is impermissible to interrupt the life of such a person.
Grotius, speaking of the war, noted that the word is derived from the older term “duel”, whose root is “two”. That is, we can say that war is a power contest, a clash of powers using weapons. Clausewitz described the war as martial arts of countries, an instrument of politicians, a method of achieving the goals set for himself by the power. Martens explained international humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict, diversifying them. Objectively, he proposed to evaluate the war by legal standards, a set of traditions, laws that determine the policy and specific actions of the state and its power during the fighting. Subjectively, by a military law, a Russian scientist called the ability of the conflicting to enter the war, using the rights reserved for them, if the participants conduct actions correctly.
IHL and the new centuries
They began to speak about the protection of international humanitarian law only in the 20-21 centuries. It was during this period that IHL became a commonly used term. The concept was first formulated around the middle of the last century. Its author is Doorman Pictet, an experienced lawyer. In the years 1974-1977. this term can be seen in the names of conferences organized at that time in Geneva and devoted to the problems of international humanitarian law and the application of the rules of such law to conflicts with weapons. Subsequently, the term applies to other documentation of an international level, which indicates its widespread recognition. Turning to the convention on children's rights, in the first paragraph of article 38 you can see the obligation of all signatory countries to respect IHL standards, relevant if the confrontation with weapons starts. The rules apply to children, and the task of a country in compliance is to guarantee rights.
Turning to the legal literature, one can notice: international humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict - terms that have caused a lot of controversy, because the reading by different lawyers is somewhat different. There is a wider, there is a narrow version of the interpretation. Pictet, for example, proposes to consider IHL as a complex of classical norms introduced by conventions, thanks to which a person’s personality is respected, and can develop under normal conditions.
Gasser formulates an understanding of IHL as interstate rules, stipulated by customs, agreements. Such rules are aimed at resolving humanitarian problems caused by armed confrontation. Gesser argued: having a humane character, they limit the parties in determining the means and methods of organizing the confrontation, and they protect people and their property - that is, potential victims of the conflict.
Theory and its reading
Mbatna, formulating the essence of IHL, proposes to evaluate this phenomenon as the right to conflict with weapons, human rights, as well as interstate rules of law on the limitation of a number of types of weapons, the ban on the use of certain varieties. This also includes the standards that govern disarmament.
Blishchenko reveals the concept of international humanitarian law through a description of the constituent elements. IHL in this reading is a set of legal interstate standards that define human freedoms and rights in a peaceful environment. This includes a set of norms that respect basic freedoms, individual rights in war. The third component is legal norms that restrict, prohibit the use and manufacture of specific types of weapons.
Some lawyers interpret IHL as an element of human rights as defined by the Hague Convention of Rights or as an element of the rules stipulated by documents signed in Geneva. For Robertson, IHL is interpreted as part of human rights, which are inherently the basis of humanitarian law. IHL and human rights are tightly connected, but mainly jurists relate to different branches of interstate law. The interconnection of the elements is determined by the object of application of the norms, that is, by man. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that in different conditions the requirements and expectations are different. In peacetime, you need to protect a person from arbitrary arbitrariness, in wartime - to reduce the harm from conflict. Accordingly, it is reasonable to speak of two versions of law: for peacetime and wartime. These are fixed by various documents adopted at the international level. The time of signing documents, their completion are very different.
About blocks
In separate sections, humanitarian law prohibits aggression, explains the rules and establishes disarmament standards. There are sections devoted to strengthening security at the interstate level, and peace on the planet. IHL considers peacekeeping operations and establishes their rules, stipulates norms for the provision of humanitarian assistance. IHL is an independent and very important block of interstate law. This is a scheme of norms, principles. For IHL, ways of regulating the situation, the subject of research, and the functions of science are defined. All this speaks about the independence of the industry. IHL, relevant during an armed confrontation, is a set of norms designed to establish the relations of opponents, interaction with neutral participants in communication. IHL establishes how to handle prisoners, patients who have been injured. IHL regulates interaction with civilians and is aimed at protecting victims of the conflict.
There are four goals of humanitarian law. The first is the regulation of relations between the warring parties. Level - not only between powers, but also within each. The second goal is to streamline contacts with neutral countries. The third goal of humanitarian law is to limit the choice of methods, means by which actions are implemented during a conflict. The final goal is to consolidate measures to protect those who did not initially participate or for some reason stopped their participation in the confrontation. It includes the protection of ordinary citizens, objects important for the survival of civilians.
Objects and objects
It is these two aspects that IHL is limited to, the framework of knowledge in this area has been established. The IHL object is what this sphere is aimed at. The object sets the boundaries, the possibility of the activity of a certain subject. The subject of IHL is the process of research, identifying the properties and relationships of objects that need to be studied. The object of IHL is considered to be relations in society, due to the conflict situation and the presence of weapons. The subject is a relationship dedicated to the protection of victims, the rules of war.
The formation of IHL standards is implemented through the coordination of the will inherent in all subjects. Tunkin proposed to consider the process of forming IHL norms as harmonization of state wills. The result of this is some agreement. A power acts as a means of expressing the will of a certain class. IHL involves harmonizing the will, recognizing the rules governing relations between powers. Moreover, the rule of law cannot be formed only by those in power, but depend on them.
The IHL function is an external manifestation of the properties of the norms relevant for confrontation with the use of weapons. The IHL relevant to the armed conflict is based on the interest of the powers that are trying to find a compromise in order to reduce the negative consequences of the conflict. One of the conditions for using IHL is a situation in which internal systems of law are ineffective and do not allow smoothing out the undesirable results of the confrontation. IHL becomes a method of organization, has a management function.
Functionality Nuances
Among the provisions of international humanitarian law is the restriction of state sovereignty. It covers countries that have entered into confrontation using weapons. The norm assumes the preventive function of law, limiting potentially warlike powers in advance to the means and methods of conflict implementation.
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One of the options for formulating principles suggests dividing all possible into key, specialized ones. The key ones are humanism, interaction, and a ban on infringement of rights. Humanism is the oldest principle. It is framed on the basis of awareness: universal values are higher than the private interest of any group, state, or class.
Equally significant is the principle of equal treatment. It is due to the fact that international humanitarian law prohibits discrimination. You can find out more about this principle by looking at the UN charter documents, where the first article (in the third paragraph) presents data on the purpose of cooperation between states - it defines exactly equal communication. The idea is the development, the progress of respectful treatment of people and the provision of all freedoms without regard to gender, race, nationality and other individual characteristics. In 1966, the pact on rights was adopted. They decided: if an emergency begins, the country has the right to take measures, depart from the pact, but only if there is no discrimination against any group of the population.
Limiting is also important.
Following the principle of limitation, international humanitarian law prohibits unlimited choice of weapons in order to succeed in a conflict. For the first time, restrictive principles were identified in 1868. Then they adopted a declaration, which stipulated that weakening the enemy is the only legitimate goal that a state that has entered the war can strive for. In 1874, in the project documentation, it was proposed to formulate the principle as the impossibility of recognition by the laws of unlimited power of the parties to the conflict in the choice of weapons. The convention, signed in The Hague, enshrined the restrictive principle as the absence of an unlimited right to determine the right weapon to harm the enemy.
Protection and more
One of the main provisions of international humanitarian law is the need to protect persons affected by hostilities, as well as the facilities necessary for the survival of civilians. This provision can be called a key principle of IHL. Some, analyzing this feature, admitted that the warring parties can direct their activity strictly against objects used by the military. Directing a non-combatant is strictly prohibited by numerous laws. The provisions governing this issue and confirming the relevance of the IHL principle can be seen in resolutions establishing the work of the Red Cross.
The parties to the armed conflict cannot collectively punish civilians and intimidate ordinary people. Terror is forbidden. You can’t take people hostage, slaves, or engage in slave trade. It is forbidden to abuse human dignity. People who entered as active participants in a military conflict cannot rob; to judge, punish without a formal court; torture, experiment on people, threaten and take the life of those who are sick or injured. It is forbidden to cripple captive opponents, to set experiments on them. IHL prohibits violence, intimidation of those captured, and obliges to protect such people from the crowd, its offensive tricks and curiosity.
What needs to be protected?
Among the main provisions of international humanitarian law is the need to protect civilian objects. This is established by the first protocol in articles published under the numbers 52-54. Objects that are necessary for the survival of ordinary people cannot be attacked. It is unacceptable to direct reprisals against them. If the attacker believes that it is difficult for her to determine the nature of some object, if opinions on this matter are controversial, it must be regarded as civil. The manifestations of hostility are strictly prohibited in relation to objects in which the national, national heritage is concluded - cultural, spiritual. The 54th article of the protocol pays special attention to the ban on attack, destruction, seizure, export, transformation into unsuitable objects, important for the life of civilians. This includes food, livestock, facilities for providing water, and supplies of liquid for drinking. The protocol indicates the importance of protecting nature. This means that a war cannot be waged so as to cause damage to it. It is forbidden to conduct actions as if the aggressor expects environmental conditions to worsen. Damage to nature is equal to damage to the survival of civilians, their health.
About order
Among the main provisions of international humanitarian law are integrity, legality. These two principles must govern society even during an armed confrontation. If we analyze the texts of documents signed in The Hague, Geneva, we can conclude that the state is in opposition to this situation if its representatives treacherously kill, wound civilians, enemy troops, lay down arms to people and those who do not have the opportunity to defend themselves. This also includes a declaration of no mercy. A violation of the basic provision of international humanitarian law will be the transfer of the locality, settlement for robbery. This also applies to situations when territories are conquered by an attack.
It is forbidden to encroach on a woman’s life, it is impossible to violate the rights of the family. Attempts on female honor, on the beliefs of a person, his property are prohibited. IHL does not allow forcing residents of the occupied lands to enter the war on the side of the occupier. You can not force people to swear allegiance to the invader. It is forbidden to judge or punish if the court has not issued an official decision.