1. Categories of Armed Conflict

Two Branches

• Law of The Hague - the body of rules establishing the rights and obligations of belligerents in the conduct of hostilities, and which limits means and methods of warfare.
• Law of Geneva - the body of rules that protects victims of armed conflict, such as military personnel who are hors de combat and civilians who are not or are no longer directly participating in hostilities (ICRC)

Two Branches

• Law of The Hague - the body of rules establishing the rights and obligations of belligerents in the conduct of hostilities, and which limits means and methods of warfare.
• Law of Geneva - the body of rules that protects victims of armed conflict, such as military personnel who are hors de combat and civilians who are not or are no longer directly participating in hostilities (ICRC)

Types of Armed Conflict

IHL distinguishes two types of armed conflicts, namely:

• International armed conflicts (“IAC”), opposing two or more States
• Under Article 1(4) of Additional Protocol I, armed conflicts in which peoples fight against colonial domination, alien occupation, or racist regimes in the exercise of self-determination are treated as international armed conflicts. [How is the Term “Armed Conflict” Defined in International Humanitarian Law?, ICRC, Opinion Paper, March 2008, p. 2 (“ICRC Opinion Paper”)]
• Non-international armed conflicts (“NIAC”), between governmental forces and non-governmental armed groups, or between such groups only. (ICRC Opinion Paper, p. 1)

Armed conflicts subject to foreign intervention are a special form of armed conflict sometimes also less accurately referred to as “internationalized” armed conflicts. In essence, this concept refers to a State, or coalition of States, intervening in a pre-existing non-international armed conflict, thereby becoming a (co-belligerent) party to that conflict. (Intro to IHL, p. 73).

Types of Armed Conflict

IHL distinguishes two types of armed conflicts, namely:

• International armed conflicts (“IAC”), opposing two or more States
• Under Article 1(4) of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, armed conflicts in which peoples fight against colonial domination, alien occupation, or racist regimes in the exercise of self-determination are treated as international armed conflicts. [How is the Term “Armed Conflict” Defined in International Humanitarian Law?, ICRC, Opinion Paper, March 2008, p. 2 (“ICRC Opinion Paper”)]
• Non-international armed conflicts (“NIAC”), between governmental forces and non-governmental armed groups, or between such groups only. (ICRC Opinion Paper, p. 1)

Armed conflicts subject to foreign intervention are a special form of armed conflict sometimes also less accurately referred to as “internationalized” armed conflicts. In essence, this concept refers to a State, or coalition of States, intervening in a pre-existing non-international armed conflict, thereby becoming a (co-belligerent) party to that conflict. (Intro to IHL, p. 73).