International Humanitarian Law and Non-State Actors Debates, Law and Practice

This book challenges the traditional approach to international law by concentrating on international hThis book challenges the traditional approach to international law by concentrating on international humanitarian law and placing the focus beyond States: it reflects on current legal, policy and practical issues that concern non-State actors in and around situations of armed conflict.

With the emergence of the nation-State, international law was almost entirely focused on inter-State relations, thus excluding - for the most part - non-State entities. In the modern era, such a focus needs to be adjusted, in order to encompass the various types of functions and interactions that those entities perform throughout numerous international decision-making processes.

The contributions that comprise this volume are oriented towards a broad readership audience in the academic and professional fields related to international humanitarian law, international criminal law, international human rights law and general public international law.

Ezequiel Heffes, LLM, is a Thematic Legal Adviser in the Policy and Legal Unit at Geneva Call in Geneva, Switzerland, Marcos D. Kotlik, LLM, is Academic Coordinator at the Observatory of International Humanitarian Law of the University of Buenos Aires, School of Law and was a Judicial Fellow at the International Court of Justice between 2018-2019, and Manuel J. Ventura, LLM (Hons), is an Associate Legal Officer in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, an Adjunct Fellow at the School of Law at Western Sydney University, and a Director of The Peace and Justice Initiative.

Chapter 1. Introduction: The Functions and Interactions of Non-State Actors in the Realm of International Humanitarian Law.- Part I. The Proliferation of NSAs Involved in Armed Conflicts.- Chapter 2. What Are ‘Armed Non-State Actors’? A Legal and Semantic Approach.- Chapter 3. Beyond Banning Mercenaries: The Use of Private Military and Security Companies under IHL.- Chapter 4. The Legal Protection of Personnel of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in Times of NIAC.- Part II. The Regulation of NSAs Involved in Armed Conflict beyond IHL.- Chapter 5. Chemical Weapons and Non-State Actors.- Chapter 6. Automatic Criminal Liability for Unlawful Confinement (Imprisonment) as a War Crime? A Potential Consequence of Denying Non-State Armed Groups the Power to Detain in NIACs.- Chapter 7. Detention by Non-State Armed Groups in NIACs: IHL, International Human Rights Law and the Question of Right Authority.- Chapter 8. Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Armed Groups: An Assessment Based on Recent Practice.- Chapter 9. Post-Conflict Justice: Extending International Criminal Responsibility to Non-State Entities.- Part III. The Development of IHL by NSAs.- Chapter 10.  Uses of IHL by the International Court of Justice: A Critical Approach towards Its Role in the International Legal Arena.- Chapter 11. The Development of IHL by Human Rights Bodies.- Chapter 12. Targeting Members of Non-State Armed Groups in NIACs: An Attempt to Reconcile International Human Rights Law with IHL’s (De Facto) Status-based Targeting.- Part IV. The Emergence of Horizontal Interactions between NSAs.- Chapter 13. Generating Respect for the Law by Non-State Armed Groups: The ICRC’s Role and Activities.- Chapter 14. Compliance with Humanitarian Rules on the Protection of Children by Non-State Armed Groups: the UN’s Managerial Approach.- Chapter 15. Non-State Actors Engaging Non-State Actors: Geneva Call’s Experience in NIACs.