Each of these concepts may entail different implications with respect to discerning when the relevant conflict has ceased and when (a portion of) IHL no longer applies in relation to it.

Today, three types of armed conflicts between two or more states may be relevant: a state of war in the legal sense, an international armed conflict, or a belligerent occupation. Painting the boundaries, if only in broad-brush strokes, of that concept is important here because it is not possible to determine when an IAC ends, under current IHL, without establishing the scope of the relevant conflict. The history of the contemporary international-legal concept of international armed conflicts spans many centuries. Finally, a table summarizes relevant IHL-of-IAC treaty provisions and a few salient formulations drawn from international bodies.Ĭoncept of International Armed Conflict And we briefly highlight the most-cited general formulation by a judicial body on what marks the end of IAC. The bulk of the section identifies, in outline form, IHL treaty provisions concerning the end of IACs and the cessation of application of IHL in relation to those conflicts. We discuss some salient issues concerning agreements between the parties, such as cease-fires and peace treaties. (Section 5 addresses non-international armed conflicts.) To lay the groundwork, we first sketch the international-legal concept of IACs. This section outlines IHL provisions concerning the end of international armed conflicts (IACs) and the cessation of (a portion of) IHL in relation to those conflicts.

Current state of armed conflict