Meaning
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is the body of international law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict.
It seeks to:
- protect persons who are not, or are no longer, participating in hostilities;
- restrict the means and methods of warfare;
- reduce unnecessary human suffering during armed conflict.
IHL is also known as the law of armed conflict or law of war.
It applies once an armed conflict exists, irrespective of whether the resort to force itself was lawful.
IHL and Use of Force
IHL must be distinguished from jus ad bellum, the body of law governing when states may lawfully use force.
The distinction is:
- Jus ad bellum: whether resort to armed force is lawful, primarily governed by the UN Charter.
- Jus in bello / IHL: how parties must conduct themselves once an armed conflict exists.
Thus, even a state acting in self-defence remains bound by IHL.
Main Sources
The principal treaty framework consists of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, dealing respectively with:
- wounded and sick members of armed forces on land;
- wounded, sick and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea;
- prisoners of war;
- civilians in time of war.
They are supplemented by the Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005.
Other important sources include:
- Hague law governing means and methods of warfare;
- weapons treaties;
- customary international humanitarian law.
Many fundamental IHL rules bind parties even when they arise from customary law rather than a particular treaty.
Types of Armed Conflict
IHL distinguishes primarily between:
International Armed Conflict
Armed conflict between two or more states.
Non-International Armed Conflict
Protracted armed violence between state forces and organised armed groups, or between such organised armed groups, when the required thresholds of organisation and intensity are met.
The legal rules applicable to the two categories are not identical, although many core protections apply to both.
Core Principles
Distinction
Parties must distinguish at all times between:
- civilians and combatants;
- civilian objects and military objectives.
Attacks may be directed only against lawful military objectives.
Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited.
Proportionality
An attack against a legitimate military objective is prohibited if the expected incidental civilian harm would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.
Proportionality does not mean equal casualties between opposing sides.
Precautions
Parties must take all feasible precautions to minimise civilian harm, including:
- verifying targets;
- selecting appropriate weapons and timing;
- providing effective warnings where circumstances permit;
- cancelling or suspending attacks when they would violate IHL.
Humanity and Military Necessity
Military necessity permits measures genuinely required to achieve legitimate military objectives, but it does not override specific humanitarian prohibitions.
IHL prohibits unnecessary suffering even where military advantage is sought.
Persons and Objects Receiving Protection
IHL provides protection to:
- civilians;
- wounded and sick combatants;
- shipwrecked personnel;
- prisoners of war;
- medical personnel;
- humanitarian workers;
- persons detained in connection with conflict.
Special protection also extends to certain objects, including:
- hospitals and medical units;
- cultural property;
- objects indispensable to civilian survival;
- certain installations containing dangerous forces.
Persons who are hors de combat, such as those who surrender or are incapacitated, cannot lawfully be attacked.
Prohibited Conduct
IHL prohibits or restricts conduct such as:
- deliberate attacks on civilians;
- torture and cruel treatment;
- hostage-taking;
- collective punishment;
- starvation of civilians as a method of warfare;
- indiscriminate attacks;
- certain forms of pillage;
- attacks on protected medical facilities, subject to applicable conditions;
- weapons and methods causing superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering.
Certain weapons are separately prohibited or restricted under specific international treaties.
IHL and War Crimes
Serious violations of IHL may constitute war crimes and can result in individual criminal responsibility.
Potential liability may extend to:
- persons directly committing offences;
- commanders in circumstances where command responsibility applies;
- persons ordering or facilitating certain crimes.
War crimes may be prosecuted through:
- national courts;
- international or hybrid tribunals;
- the International Criminal Court where jurisdiction exists.
Not every violation of IHL automatically constitutes a war crime; criminal responsibility depends on the applicable legal definition and required elements.
Role of the ICRC
The International Committee of the Red Cross occupies a distinctive role under the Geneva Convention framework.
Its functions include:
- promoting compliance with IHL;
- visiting detainees where access is permitted;
- facilitating family contact;
- providing humanitarian assistance;
- engaging confidentially with parties to armed conflicts;
- promoting development and dissemination of humanitarian law.
The ICRC is neutral, impartial and independent and is not an enforcement court.
Contemporary Challenges
Modern warfare has created difficult questions concerning application of established IHL rules to:
- urban warfare;
- autonomous weapon systems;
- cyber operations;
- artificial intelligence in targeting;
- drones;
- private military actors;
- warfare in outer space;
- misinformation affecting humanitarian operations.
The central legal principles remain applicable even when new technologies are used. For example, cyber operations conducted as part of an armed conflict remain subject to relevant rules of distinction, proportionality and precautions.
India and IHL
India is a party to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.
The Geneva Conventions Act, 1960 provides domestic legal recognition to specified obligations arising from the Conventions.
India has historically emphasised:
- protection of civilians;
- humanitarian treatment of prisoners;
- respect for sovereignty;
- compliance with international humanitarian obligations.
IHL is particularly relevant to India in relation to armed forces training, peacekeeping, border conflicts and emerging technologies in warfare.
Conclusion
International Humanitarian Law does not determine whether a war is politically or legally justified; it regulates how war may be fought. Its central purpose is to preserve a minimum of humanity during armed conflict through protection of civilians and persons hors de combat and through strict limits on the means and methods of warfare.
