International Humanitarian Law Essay Research Paper

INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW
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International Humanitarian Law
International humanitarian law (IHL) has undergone significant developments since the start of its codification in 1864. IHL seeks to regulate how parties to a conflict conduct hostilities (Griffin & Çali, 2010). The body of law provides a detailed set of rules that regulates the methods and means of warfare, with the aim of protecting civilians and soldiers that are not participating in the wars (Griffin & Çali, 2010). Despite the significant progress made in the development of IHL, there still exists mass violations by states. In this regard, the key factors that explain why some states violate or comply with IHL are the logic of reciprocity, the nature of the conflict, the stability of state structures, and knowledge and awareness of relevant laws and regulations.
The logic of reciprocity determines to a great extent the violation or compliance with IHL by states. As pointed out by Griffin and Çali (2010), regardless of how appealing humanitarian considerations may be from either moral or legal perspective, an erosion of trust between parties observing IHL may prompt one of the actors to violate IHL. According to this view of rationalists, actors do not comply with IHL due to humanitarian reasons. They follow the rules because it is more advantageous than not following them (Griffin & Çali, 2010). In the event that the comparative advantage diminishes, the actors will violate IHL. According to Schindler (2003), reciprocity is no longer effective in securing respect for IHL. Therefore, without reciprocity, some states are driven to violate the provisions of IHL. The reciprocity logic is thus a key factor that determines the compliance or violation of IHL by states.
The nature of the conflict is also a key determinant of compliance. The nature of conflict in this case refers to whether the conflict is internal or international. As noted by Schindler (2003), one of the major causes of violations of ...