International humanitarian law against the background of custom and humanity
Abstract
English: International humanitarian law (IHL) strives to improve and protect human dignity during the most tumultuous periods known to mankind. As such, every endeavour to strengthen and enhance the functioning of this branch of law must be pursued and supported. The ICRC Study on Customary International Humanitarian Law (CIHL) was precisely such an endeavour. This Study found that very many IHL rules have been subsumed by CIHL, thus applying irrespective of treaty ratification, and that the rules applicable in international armed conflicts were converging with those applicable in non-international armed conflicts. However, this Study and its attendant literature have refrained from returning to a theoretical reconsideration of the normative foundation of IHL and, by extension, CIHL. The present dissertation aims to fill this theoretical lacuna and, in the process, to re-establish natural law principles and, in particular, considerations of humanity, as the raison d'être of and motivating factor for IHL. Accordingly, the dissertation pursues the natural law principle of humanity through its practical and theoretical development, before investigating its possible application through the Martens clause, norms of ius cogens and obligations erga omnes. Since the objective is to elucidate the essential foundation of IHL to better comprehend its customary source, the interconnectedness between IHL, CIHL and natural law principles, like humanity, is emphasised. In the process, the dissertation also enters the debate regarding the necessary methodological approach for CIHL ascertainment and postulates a normative, transcendental approach in this regard. Subsequently, the ICRC Study on CIHL is evaluated through the natural law paradigm established in the dissertation, which seemingly has not yet occurred in international legal literature. Afrikaans: Internasionale Humanitêre reg strewe daarna om menswaardigheid te verbeter en te beskerm tydens
die onstuimigste tye bekend aan die mens. As sodanig, moet elke onderneming om die werking van
hierdie vertakking van die reg te versterk en te verhef ondersoek en ondersteun word. Die
Internasionale Komitee van die Rooi Kruis (IKRK) se Studie oor Internasionale Humanitêre
Gewoontereg (IHG) was juis só ‘n onderneming. Die Studie het gevind dat baie Internasionale
Humanitêre regreëls opgeneem is deur IHG, en dus toepassing vind ongeag of die
ooreenstemmende verdrae geratifiseer was, asook dat die reels wat toepassing vind in internasionale
308
gewapende konflikte nader beweeg het aan die reels wat toepassing vind in nie-internasionale
gewapende konflikte. Hierdie Studie en die gepaardgaande literatuur het egter nagelaat om na ‘n
teoretiese heroorweging van die normatiewe grondslag van Internasionale Humanitêre reg en, per
implikasie, IHG terug te keer. Die huidige verhandeling beoog om hierdie teoretiese gaping te vul
en sodoende natuurregsbeginsels en, veral, oorwegings van menslikheid (humanity) te hervestig as
die grondliggende beginsel en motiverende factor van Internasionale Humanitêre reg. Die
verhandeling ondersoek die natuurregsbeginsel van menslikheid deur die praktiese en teoretiese
ontwikkeling daarvan, voordat die moontlike toepassing daarvan met behulp van die Martens
klousule, norme van ius cogens en verpligtinge erga omnes ondersoek word. Aangesien die doel is
om die essensiële grondslag van Internasionale Humanitêre reg te ondersoek ten einde die
gewoonteregtelike bron daarvan beter te verstaan, word die interafhanklikheid van Internasionale
Humanitêre reg, IHG en natuurregsbeginsels, soos menslikheid, deurgaans beklemtoon. Sodoende
betree die verhandeling die debat rakende die gepaste metode om IHG vas te stel en opper ‘n
normatiewe, transendentale benadering tot dien effekte. Hierna word die IKRK se Studie
ondersoek in die lig van die natuurreg paradigma wat in die verhandeling voorgehou is, wat
oënskynlik nog nie in internasionale regsliteratuur gebeur het nie.
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