Università Roma Tre

SYLLABUS
1. FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERS AND PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW (IHL)
APPLICABLE IN INTERNATIONAL AND NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICTS.
2. COMBATANTS AND THE CONDUCT OF HOSTILITIES – MILITARY OBJECTIVES – MEANS AND
METHODS OF WARFARE.
3. THE PROTECTION OF THE VICTIMS OF ARMED CONFLICTS – WOUNDED, PRISONERS, CIVILIANS.
4. IMPLEMENTATION OF IHL – PREVENTIVE MEASURES – MEANS OF CONTROL – STATE RESPONSIBILITY
– THE PROSECUTION OF INDIVIDUALS RESPONSIBLE FOR WAR CRIMES IN DOMESTIC
AND INTERNATIONAL COURTS.
LEARNING AND TEACHING
THE COURSE IS MADE UP OF INTRODUCTORY LECTURES ON THE MAIN SUBJECTS OF IHL, FOLLOWED
BY SEMINARS ON SPECIFIC TOPICS, CASES AND DOCUMENTS CONCERNING CONTEMPORARY
PRACTICE.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE
THE AIM OF THE COURSE IS TO PROVIDE AN ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE OF THE IHL SYSTEM; TO
DEVELOP THE TOOLS WHEREBY STUDENTS MAY IDENTIFY RELEVANT ISSUES OF IHL ANALYSING
AND RESEARCHING THEM; TO DEVELOP CRITICAL SKILLS OF ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION IN RELATION
TO CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE.
CONTENTS
CONCEPT AND PURPOSE OF IHL – IHL AS A BRANCH OF INTERNATIONAL LAW – DISTINCTION
BETWEEN IUS AD BELLUM AND IUS IN BELLO – HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF IHL – SOURCES OF
CONTEMPORARY IHL: HAGUE CONVENTIONS, GENEVA CONVENTIONS AND ADDITIONAL PROTOCOLS
– CUSTOMARY LAW – FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN CIVILIAN AND COMBATANTS – RELATIVITY OF THE DISTINCTION IN
MODERN CONFLICTS – COMBATANTS AND PRISONERS OF WAR – DEFINITION OF COMBATANT –
DEFINITION OF POW – TREATMENT OF POW.
PROTECTION OF THE WOUNDED, SICK AND SHIPWRECKED – PROTECTION OF MEDICAL AND RELIGIOUS
PERSONNEL, MEDICAL GOODS AND OBJECTS – THE EMBLEM OF THE RED CROSS/RED CRESCENT.
THE PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS – WHO IS A CIVILIAN? - THE PROTECTION OF THE CIVILIAN POPULATION
AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF HOSTILITIES – PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS AGAINST ARBITRARY TREATMENT
– CATEGORIES OF CIVILIANS UNDER SPECIAL PROTECTION – REGIME OF OCCUPIED TERRITORIES.
CONDUCT OF HOSTILITIES – BASIC RULE (ARTICLE 48 OF PROTOCOL I) – DEFINITION OF MILITARY
OBJECTIVES – MILITARY NECESSITY AND PROPORTIONALITY – PROHIBITED ATTACKS – PRECAUTIONARY
MEASURES IN ATTACK – PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF ATTACKS –
ZONES CREATED TO PROTECT WAR VICTIMS AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF HOSTILITIES - CIVIL DEFENCE– MEANS AND METHODS OF WARFARE – THE PROHIBITION TO CAUSE UNNECESSARY SUFFERING
– THE PROHIBITION OF INDISCRIMINATE USE OF WEAPONS – THE PRESERVATION OF THE NATURAL
ENVIRONMENT – PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED USE OF CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS – CHEMICAL
WEAPONS – BACTERIOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS – NUCLEAR WEAPONS – NEW WEAPONS
– PROHIBITED METHODS OF WARFARE.
SPECIFICITIES CONCERNING THE LAW OF NAVAL AND AIR WARFARE.
THE LAW OF NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICTS – FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES
WITH INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICTS – COMMON ARTICLE 3 – ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL II
– DIFFERENT TYPES OF NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICTS – CUSTOMARY LAW OF NON-INTERNATIONAL
ARMED CONFLICTS – LEGAL STATUS OF THE PARTIES.
IHL AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW – DIFFERENCE AND COMPLEMENTARY – APPLICATION
OF IHL BY HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS.
IMPLEMENTATION OF IHL – THE OBLIGATION TO ENSURE RESPECT – MEASURES TO BE TAKEN IN
PEACE TIME – THE COMMAND SUPERVISION – SCRUTINY BY PROTECTING POWERS AND ICRC
– FACT FINDING COMMISSIONS - THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS – THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
OF STATES FOR VIOLATIONS – COMPENSATION – PROHIBITION OF REPRISALS – THE
RESPONSIBILITY FOR WAR CRIMES – CONCEPT, CONTENTS, PROSECUTION OF WAR CRIME –STATE
JURISDICTION – THE INTERNATIONAL AD HOC CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS (ICTY AND ICTR) – THE INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL COURT.
THE COURSE IS GIVEN IN ENGLISH. ATTENDANCE IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO SUSTAIN TH

DOCUMENTATION
STUDENTS MAY FIND ALL RELEVANT TREATY-DOCUMENTATION ON THE WEB-SITE OF THE INTERNATIONAL
COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: WWW.ICRC.ORG
REVIEWS
INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF THE RED CROSS (FREE ACCESS WEB-SITE: WWW.ICRC.ORG)
YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW.
INTERNET SITES
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: WWW.ICRC.ORG
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HUMANITARIAN LAW: WWW.IIHL.ORG
PROGRAM ON HUMANITARIAN POLICY AND CONFLICT RESEARCH – HARVARD UNIVERSITY:
WWW.HPCR.ORG