International Humanitarian Law

Warfare is as old as humanity itself, but as long as there has been war, there have been customary practices intended to limit the effects of violence for humanitarian reasons. In the last 150 years, States have agreed to codify these practices as international law. The body of rules now known as international humanitarian law (IHL) applies only in time of armed conflict or occupation. IHL aims to define the rights and obligations of the warring parties and to protect people who are not taking part in hostilities.

This module is intended to familiarize students with the rules and principles of IHL as well as with the complex regime by which they are enforced. The module is divided across eleven teaching weeks, with two hours of lectures per week. The module begins with an introduction to IHL and to the law’s historical development. There follows an exploration of the sources of IHL and the scope of its application. The module then examines the protection that the law provides to the victims of both international and non-international armed conflicts. The focus here is on modern conflicts such as those taking place in Ukraine and Syria. The module will also address the limits established by the law on the means and methods of war which may be selected by belligerents in time of armed conflict. Students will have an opportunity to explore and discuss the implementation and enforcement of IHL by State and non-State actors, domestically and on the international stage. The module concludes with an analysis of the diverse challenges posed to IHL today.

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

• Describe and assess the concept and purpose of IHL and the place of IHL in the corpus of general international law
• Identify and evaluate the source and scope of IHL
• Explain and apply the rules protecting victims of armed conflict
• Locate, apply and critically evaluate the rules governing the conduct of hostilities on land, at sea and in the air
• Compare and contrast the rules applicable in law of non-international armed conflicts with those applicable in international armed conflicts
• Describe and assess how IHL is implemented; and Identify and understand the contemporary challenges facing IHL.

Assessment:

• The International Humanitarian Law module is assessed by way of an essay which makes up 100% of the student’s final mark for the module.
  The essay must be a critical engagement with some area of international humanitarian law. Students are free to choose their own essay topic, subject to approval by the module lecturer. It is the topic and not the title which must be approved; provided the essay remains within the boundaries of the approved topic, students are permitted to choose the title at a later stage. Several pre-approved topics will be provided. Students are not limited to material covered in lectures and are welcome to speak to the lecturer after lectures to discuss topics.

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