Non-International Armed Conflicts
Since World War II, wars were mainly waged between independent
NOTES
sovereign states at the inception of modern IHL in the 19th century
has changed significantly. Most of today’s wars are non-
international in character and often take place within the territory
of a state. NIACS often also referred to interchangeably as civil
wars or internal conflicts by non-lawyers. It’s non-international in
character because they occur between on the one hand the
government forces of a sovereign state and on the other hand what
are known as organized armed groups. In certain cases, a NIACs
can also exist between two or more organized armed groups
without the involvement of the state.
Why the distinction between NIACs and IACs are
very important?
Because the treaty laws applicable to NIACs are much more limited
than those applicable to IACs. The behavior of the parties in a
NIACs is limited mainly by the rules laid down in Common Article 3
of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocol
II. Compared to the extensive regulations of IACs, Common Article
3 and AP II are rather rudimentary. This limited treaty framework
is supplemented by certain rules of Customary International Law,
which is of great importance.
The jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia has confirmed that through the development of
Customary International Law, the rules applicable to NIACs are
almost identical to those applicable in IACs. The commentary of
the ICRC, which was first published in 2005 has come to a similar
conclusion.
Common Article 3 Geneva Conventions
Common Article 3 is the central norm for NIACs. Considering that
until 1949, there was no specific treaty law dealing with internal
armed conflicts. The inclusion of this provision in the Geneva
Conventions after World War II was a major achievement.
Since World War II, wars were mainly waged between independent
NOTES
sovereign states at the inception of modern IHL in the 19th century
has changed significantly. Most of today’s wars are non-
international in character and often take place within the territory
of a state. NIACS often also referred to interchangeably as civil
wars or internal conflicts by non-lawyers. It’s non-international in
character because they occur between on the one hand the
government forces of a sovereign state and on the other hand what
are known as organized armed groups. In certain cases, a NIACs
can also exist between two or more organized armed groups
without the involvement of the state.
Why the distinction between NIACs and IACs are
very important?
Because the treaty laws applicable to NIACs are much more limited
than those applicable to IACs. The behavior of the parties in a
NIACs is limited mainly by the rules laid down in Common Article 3
of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocol
II. Compared to the extensive regulations of IACs, Common Article
3 and AP II are rather rudimentary. This limited treaty framework
is supplemented by certain rules of Customary International Law,
which is of great importance.
The jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia has confirmed that through the development of
Customary International Law, the rules applicable to NIACs are
almost identical to those applicable in IACs. The commentary of
the ICRC, which was first published in 2005 has come to a similar
conclusion.
Common Article 3 Geneva Conventions
Common Article 3 is the central norm for NIACs. Considering that
until 1949, there was no specific treaty law dealing with internal
armed conflicts. The inclusion of this provision in the Geneva
Conventions after World War II was a major achievement.
