Armed conflict
Standards of International Humanitarian Law apply to situations of armed...
Find definitions and short explanations related to core concepts of international humanitarian law and international criminal law.
Civilian objects
A core principle of International Humanitarian Law is the principle of...
Common article 3
This article can be found in each of the four Geneva Conventions. The provisions...
Collateral damage
Damage, loss or injury that is caused to civilians and civilian objects in the...
Complementarity
The jurisidiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is rooted in the...
Deportation
Deportation refers to the forced transfer of civilians (or other persons...
Ethnic cleansing
The practice of “ethnic cleansing,” aims to artificially create...
Evacuation
Evacuation is the act of transferring populations or individuals. In situations...
Extermination
Extermination is the intentional and massive homicide of an entire group of...
Grave breaches
The most serious violations of the four Geneva Conventions and its additional...
Hors de combat
A french term that literally means "out of combat". Under...
Human shields
It is prohibited to seize or to use the presence of persons protected by the...
Immunity
A privilege that entails that particular persons may exercise their function...
Impunity
Impunity refers to situations in which there are no effective measures to...
Indiscriminate attacks and weapons
As a principle of international humanitarian law, armed focres are obliged to...
International Criminal Law
A body of international laws, norms and rules that codify (or describe) the most...
International Humanitarian Law
A body of international law based on both treaties and customary law. They...
Jus ad bellum - Jus in bello
Jus ad bellum Literally: "law before war". The applicable law before...
Mercenaries & private military compagnies
Mercenaries The legal statute of mercenaries differs in international law and in...
(Non-) Combatant
A core principle of International Humanitarian Law is the principle of...
(Non-) international armed conflict
International Humanitarian Law applies to either international armed conflicts,...
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the General...
Universal jurisdiction
A legal concept aimed to avoid impunity for core international crimes: war...