Book chapter
English

The International Court of Justice, international humanitarian law and human rights law

Published inKolb, Robert ; Gaggioli Gasteyger, Gloria ; Kilibarda, Pavle (Ed.), Research Handbook on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law : Further Reflections and Perspectives, p. 168-187
PublisherCheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishing
Collection
  • Research Handbooks in Human Rights; 456
Publication date2022-05-03
Abstract

The ICJ is usually perceived as the world’s preeminent authority in matters of international law. As such, its judgments and advisory opinions have a crucial role towards identifying the content of the law. Over the years, the Court has had a number of opportunities to make statements on humanitarian law, human rights or both. This chapter identifies and analyses two relevant strains in the Court’s jurisprudence on these questions: first, its case-law on the ‘elementary considerations of humanity’, binding norms whose provenance the ICJ never clearly establishes; and second, its deliberations on the interplay between IHL and HRL in situations of armed conflict, where the Court employs an unusual understanding of lex specialis to describe the relationship between the two bodies of law. In spite of the Court’s often ambiguous approach, there exists sufficient clarity in its dicta to draw straightforward conclusions regarding issues of practical relevance.

Citation (ISO format)
KILIBARDA, Pavle, KOLB, Robert. The International Court of Justice, international humanitarian law and human rights law. In: Research Handbook on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law : Further Reflections and Perspectives. Kolb, Robert ; Gaggioli Gasteyger, Gloria ; Kilibarda, Pavle (Ed.). Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022. p. 168–187. (Research Handbooks in Human Rights) doi: 10.4337/9781789900972.00019
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Book chapter (Published version)
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Identifiers
ISBN9781789900972
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Creation03/06/2022 07:16:00
First validation03/06/2022 07:16:00
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