International Humanitarian Law

Dozent/in	Prof. Dr. iur. Martina Caroni, LL.M.
Veranstaltungsart	Vorlesung
Code	FS081066
Semester	Frühjahrssemester 2008
Durchführender Fachbereich	Überblick Recht bis HS 2013
Studienstufe	Master
Termin/e	wöchentlich (Di), ab 19.02.2008, 10:00 - 12:00 Uhr, Pfistergasse HS 4
Umfang	2 Semesterwochenstunden
Inhalt	Despite the fact that the UN Charter prohibits the use of force, armed conflicts remain a reality in today's world. The special legal regime for situations of armed conflicts is provided by International Humanitarian Law (IHL). IHL neither addresses the reasons of nor the possible legal justifications of armed conflicts; instead it focuses on the protection of the victims of warfare. IHL aims at mitigating the effects of armed conflicts by constraining the means and methods of warfare and by obliging all parties of a conflict to protect persons not engaged in hostilities, mainly civilians and soldiers out of combat. Humanitarian law therefore aims at limiting harm caused by wars, thereby accepting the existence of armed conflict in today’s world. The course offers an introduction to IHL, its development, legal bases and challenges. It focuses on the two branches of international humanitarian law, the law of Geneva (protection of victims) and the law of The Hague (means of warfare), the rules governing international and non-international armed conflicts as well as the implementation of those legal norms. These issues will be discussed and analyzed in the light of current developments, recent events and challenges to IHL. In addition, guest lecturers will deliver insights on practical issues of humanitarian law.
Lernziele	Students are able to identify, analyze and assess issues relating to IHL when faced with situations of armed conflict.
Voraussetzungen	Basic knowledge of Public International Law and Human Rights Law is recommended.
Sprache	Englisch
Hörer-/innen	Ja
Kontakt	martina.caroni@unilu.ch tobias.meyer@unilu.ch (Assistenz) lisa.ott@unilu.ch (Assistenz)
Material	See below
Literatur	1. Essential course materials · The Course Reader „International Humanitarian Law“; · Copies of the four Geneva Conventions and the three Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions. Links to the text of other relevant international treaties will be posted on the Blackboard-Webboard. 2. Further ReadingFurther reading can be done on the basis of any book on International Humanitarian Law. A list of books will be posted on the Blackboard-Webboard of this course.