LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT Teachers: Svetlana Zasova et Sara Amini Academic year 2016/2017: Paris School of International Affairs Spring Semester BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Svetlana Zašova has a PhD in Public International Law (2010, Sorbonne Law School; see Le régime juridique des casques bleus, Publications de la Sorbonne, 2014). She was an assistant professor in Public International Law and International Relations (2002-2005). From 2005 until 2010, she was a Senior Fellow in Public International Law (Sorbonne Law School). She was a legal advisor at the Law of Armed Conflict Section, Legal Department, French Ministry of Defence (2010-2013). She gives lectures and conferences on the law of armed conflict and international human rights law and is a civil law judge. Sara Amini started her practice in the early 2000 s in an American Law Firm (Coudert Brothers) and then specialised in international investments and political risks (at the COFACE and SCOR Groups). PhD in International Law (2012, Sorbonne School of Law), she was Senior Fellow in International Economic Law from 2007 to 2012 (Sorbonne School of Law), after being Assistant Professor in both Public International and Commercial Law (Sorbonne School of Law 2005 to 2007). Her activities as Independent Consultant (since 2010), as academic researcher and more recently as social entrepreneur, brought her to focus on Corporate Social Responsibility issues, notably for MNCs activities in conflict zones. She also gave lectures in International Economic Law at the Sorbonne School of Law and currently in International Law and International Humanitarian Law at the ESCD 3A and at the ILERI. COURSE OUTLINE Session 1: An Introduction to the Law of Armed Conflicts (part 1) Fleck, pp. 1-44 Session 2: An Introduction to the Law of Armed Conflicts (part 2) Required reading: International Law and Armed Non-State Actors, IRRC, nb. 881, 2011
What is your opinion on the distinction between armed conflict and terrorism? Please illustrate Session 3: Different Types of Armed Conflict Fleck, 605-634 D. Elder, The historical background of common Article 3, 11 CaseW. Res.J.Int.L., vol.37, 1979, p. 37 What is your opinion of the difference between the law of international and non-international armed conflict? Session 4: Conduct of hostilities Fleck, 119-237 A Guide to the Legal review of New Weapons, Means and Methods of Warfare, International Review of the Red Cross, vol. 88, nb. 864 (http://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/irrc_864_icrc_geneva.pdf) How has the Law of armed conflict evolved in order to adapt to the changing ways of conducting hostilities? Session 5: The Law of War in Contemporary International Law and in the Contemporary International Society The applicability of IHL to organized armed groups, International Review of the Red Cross, nb. 882, 2011 Recommended reading:
C. Stahn, Jus ad bellum, jus in bello, European Journal of International Law, vol. 17, nb. 5, 2007 The status of ISIS in international law Session 6: The Distinction between Civilians and Combatants Fleck, 79-118 The ICRC interpretative guidance on direct participation in hostilities (http://www.icrc.org), pp. 20-37 What are today's most common forms of direct participation in hostilities? Session 7: Protected Persons Fleck, 237-263; 367-382 United Nations, S/2013/689, Report of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, 22 November 2013 How does the law of armed conflict protect women? Session 8: Problems Related to Implementation Fleck, 675-725 L. Condorelli, L. Boisson de Chazournes, Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions revisited: protecting collective interests, IRRC, nb. 837, 2000
What are the contemporary challenges of implementation of LOAC to non-state actors? Session 9: Implementation of LOAC: the Actors (I): the Role of the ICRC and NGOs Fleck, 675-725 The ICRC s Confidential Approach, IRRC, vol. 94, nb. 887 (http://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/review/2012/irrc-887-confidentiality.pdf) Please compare the UN and NGOs working methods in protecting LOAC. Session 10: Implementation of LOAC: the Actors (II): The Role of Multinational Corporations operating in Conflict Zones Dana Weiss & Ronen Shamir, Corporate Accountability to Human Rights: The Case of the Gaza Strip, 155 Harvard Human Rights Journal 183 / vol.24 (2011) Anita Ramasastry, Corporate Complicity: From Nuremberg to Rangoon An Examination of Forced Labor Cases and Their Impact on the Liability of Multinational Corporations, 20 Berkeley J. Int Law 91 (2002) In your opinion, what precautions should Multinational Corporations take when operating in conflict zones? Session 11: Implementation of LOAC: the Actors (III) UN Peacekeepers Fleck, 635-674
United Nations, Secretary-General Bulletin, ST/SGB/1999/13, 6 August 1999 A critical view on the UN peacekeepers' protection of LOAC Session 12: Applying LOAC in a New Technological Age: Drones, Robots and Cyber Categorization and legality of autonomous and remote weapons systems, IRRC, 2012, nb. 886 M. Schmitt, Unmanned Combat Aircraft System and IHL, Boston University ILJ, vol. 30, 2012, p. 595. Cyber conflict and IHL, IRRC, vol. 886, 2012 In your opinion, will autonomous weapons systems ever replace human combatants? What are the challenges from a LOAC point of view?