ULUSLARARASI KAMU HUKUKU II - Deneme Sınavı - 9

Geneva Law includes the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their three Additional Protocols. Namely, the Geneva Convention (I) on Wounded and Sick on Land; the Geneva Convention (II) on Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked at Sea; the Geneva Convention (III) on Prisoners of War, the Geneva Convention (IV) on Protection of Civilians, including administration of an occupied territory, the 1977 Additional Protocol (I) on international armed conflicts, the 1977 Additional Protocol (II) on non-international armed conflicts, and the 2005 Additional Protocol (III) on additional distinctive emblem.

The Martens clause aims to offer protection to victims of armed conflicts even when there is no applicable rule of IHL. It is an important principle of IHL which was formulated by the Russian international law professor Friedrich von Martens and first adopted at the First Hague Peace Conference of 1899.

In the Americas, a domestic legal attempt was the so-called Lieber Code, adopted by the government of the United States in 1863 following the atrocities of the American Civil War.

International armed conflicts are armed conflicts between two or more States. The lawfulness of the beginning of the conflict (legitimacy aspect of resorting to the use of force) does not affect the application of IHL. It would still apply to all parties involved in the conflict. The mere fact that there is an armed conflict is enough for IHL to be applied. No declaration of war is required.

Occupation is the full and effective control of a foreign national territory by enemy armed forces.

There is no treaty prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons. In its well-known advisory opinion, the ICJ stated that there is no customary rule prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons (ICJ, 1996: 247). The Court noted that IHL applies to the use of nuclear weapons, however, the Court did not “conclude definitely whether the threat of use of nuclear weapons would be lawful or unlawful in an extreme circumstance of self-defense”

The law of war reflects the military perspective and is the old-fashioned one since the term armed conflict has now replaced war. Doğru cevap " A " dır.

IHL treaties are generally divided into two: Hague Law, rules on how hostilities to be conducted, and Geneva Law, rules governing the treatment of victims of war. Contemporary Hague Law includes currently applicable 1907 Hague Conventions such as the Hague Convention IV on War on Land and its Regulations, the Hague Convention V on Neutrality and so on. Doğru cevap " B " dir.

Although their identification is difficult and they are generally subordinate to custom and treaties in the application, general principles of law may play a decisive role, especially in the decisions of international courts. In this vein, several decisions of international courts refer to general principles of law such as
elementary considerations of humanity with regard to IHL obligations (e.g. ICJ, 1949: 22; ICJ, 1986: 218; ICTY, 2000: 524). The importance of general principles of law is emphasized by the Martens Clause. Doğru cevap " C " dir.

The codification attempts in Europe began with the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field of 1864 (revised in 1906), with the initiations of a Genoese businessman, Henry Dunant (Melzer, 2016: 35). This was the starting point of a body of a humanitarian law governing the treatment and protection of those hors de combat, civilians and
other non-combatants. 1864 Geneva Convention adopted the emblem of the Red Cross as a neutral protective sign for hospitals and those assisting the wounded and sick on the battlefield. Doğru cevap " D " dir.

Scope of IHL refers to the strategic situations in which rules of IHL may become applicable. In terms of IHL, strategic situations can be divided into five categories as peace, armed conflict, neutrality, occupation, and collective security (peace support) operations. Doğru cevap " E " dir.

Insurgency can be defined as the military operations of non-State armed groups. However, in all cases of non-international armed conflicts, individuals who participate in are subject to national criminal jurisdiction. The status of the parties to the conflict is not affected by the application of IHL rules (Common Art. 3). The legitimacy of the use of force by the parties is of no concern to IHL.
Doğru cevap " A "dır.

Article 35(1) of Additional Protocol I stipulates that “[i] n any armed conflict, the right of the Parties to the conflict to choose methods or means of warfare is not unlimited.” Humanity, on the other hand, limits the means and methods of warfare and requires that those who have fallen into enemy hands be treated humanely at all times.Doğru cevap " B " dir.

As the Fourth Geneva Convention lays down, parties to the conflict must treat civilians humanely. They must respect the person, honor, family rights, religious convictions and practices, and manners and customs of civilians. Civilians must be protected against any attack including rape, enforced prostitution or any other indecent assault. Parties to the conflict must not discriminate against civilians based on their race, religion or political opinion. Doğru cevap " C " dir.

1977 Additional Protocol II ensures further protections during a non international armed conflict within the territory of a State Party. According to the Article 1 of the Protocol II, not only States Parties but the opposing armed forces have the obligation to comply with these rules. The Protocol II, although more detailed than Common Article 3, is also a summarized version of the Four Geneva Conventions. As the Protocol II lays down, parties to the conflict must treat non-combatants humanely. Doğru cevap " D " dir.

Sweden and Switzerland acted as a Protected Power in World War II; Brazil and Switzerland performed such a role in the Falklands conflict (between UK and Argentina) (Shaw, 2008: 1199). Doğru cevap " E " dir.

International humanitarian law is
currently the fashionable term used by the
United Nations (UN), the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
in order to stress both the humanitarian
purpose of this law and the convergence
/ synthesis between laws of war and
international human rights law.

International humanitarian law is
currently the fashionable term used by the
United Nations (UN), the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
in order to stress both the humanitarian
purpose of this law and the convergence
/ synthesis between laws of war and
international human rights law

The law of war reflects the military
perspective and is the old-fashioned one
since the term armed conflict has now
replaced war.

The law of armed conflict, however, is a
better term since this term covers both
the restriction of warfare (military aspect)
and the protection of those who are not
involved in actual hostilities and those are
involved, e.g. combatants (humanitarian
aspect). Along with the entry into force
of the United Nations Charter and the
prohibition on the use of force, war and
other concepts related to it was replaced
with different expressions such as dispute,
situation, use of force, and aggression
(Çaycı, 1995: 37).

IHL aims at prohibiting:
• Summary executions of civilians and
military personnel,
• Ethnic cleansing and forcible displacement,
• Mistreatment of detained prisoners of war,
• Indiscriminate use of force against civilians
and civilian objects,
• Attacks on medical, religious and
humanitarian relief services and personnel

Looting and other destruction of civilian
property with no military purpose,
• Terrorizing and starving the civilian
population,
• Use of human shields against a pending
attack,
• The use of particular prohibited methods of
warfare (Slomanson, 2007: 497).

As a part of international law, the sources
of IHL are also commonly accepted sources as
stated in the Art. 38(1) of the Statute of the ICJ;
primarily treaties, custom and general principles of
law; secondarily, judicial decisions and doctrine.