Searching for a 'Principle of Humanity' in International Humanitarian Law
Searching for a 'Principle of Humanity' in International Humanitarian Law
Camilla Guldahl Cooper, Norwegian Defence University College
Gro Nystuen, Universitetet i Oslo
The legal norms of International Humanitarian Law are the product of a compromise between humanitarian considerations and the demands of military necessity. In Searching for a 'Principle of Humanity' in International Humanitarian Law, international legal scholars consider whether humanitarian considerations have an independent legal impact on IHL beyond the formation of these norms. They ask whether a 'principle of humanity' can be said to have legal force in its own right. Moreover, the book investigates whether regional or national differences are emerging regarding the import and emphasis placed on humanitarian considerations. For instance, do states which are not directly affected by armed conflict attach a greater weight to humanitarian considerations when interpreting and applying IHL than those states which are more directly involved in armed conflicts? Specifically, this book examines whether a particular 'Nordic perspective' can be identified, owing to those states' involvement in armed conflicts outside their own territories in the post- Second World War era.
- Defines precisely the 'principle of humanity', in order to bring clarity to an often confusing term in international humanitarian law
- Presents Nordic perspectives on international humanitarian law which raises issues that are relevant on an international level, but are little known outside the Nordic countries
- Takes a strict legal approach, which allows the reader to navigate a field where morality and the law often combine to create a confusing picture
Product details
December 2012Hardback
9781107021846
376 pages
235 × 155 × 24 mm
0.68kg
2 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction by the editors: is there a 'principle of humanity' in international humanitarian law? Kjetil Mujezinović Larsen, Camilla Guldahl Cooper and Gro Nystuen
- Part I. Theoretical Perspectives:
- 2. The main epochs of modern international humanitarian law since 1864 and their related dominant legal constructions Robert Kolb
- 3. The principle of proportionality Yoram Dinstein
- 4. The Geneva Conventions and the dichotomy between international and non-international armed conflict - curse or blessing for the 'principle of humanity'? Cecilie Hellestveit
- 5. A 'principle of humanity' or a 'principle of human-rightism'? Kjetil Mujezinović Larsen
- 6. The principle of humanity in the development of 'special protection' for children in armed conflict:
- 60 years beyond the Geneva Conventions and 20 years beyond the Convention on the Rights of the Child Katarina MÃ¥nsson
- Part II. Nordic Experiences:
- 7. Military occupation of Eastern Karelia by Finland in 1941–4: was international law pushed aside? Lauri Hannikainen
- 8. The occupied and the occupant: the case of Norway Sigrid Redse Johansen
- 9. Multinational peace operations forces involved in armed conflict: who are the parties? Ola Engdahl
- 10. Detention in UN peace operations Peter Vedel Kessing
- 11. Humanity and the discourse of legality Rikke Ishøy
- 12. Implementation in practice:
- 60 years of dissemination and other implementation efforts in a Norwegian perspective Arne Willy Dahl and Camilla Guldahl Cooper
- Part III. Conclusions:
- 13. Conclusions: is there a 'principle of humanity' in international humanitarian law? Kjetil Mujezinović Larsen and Camilla Guldahl Cooper.
