The Grey Zone: Civilian Protection Between Human Rights and the Laws of War

The high civilian death toll in modern, protracted conflicts such as those in Syria or Iraq indicate the limits of international law in offering protections to civilians at risk. A recent conference of states convened by the International Committee of the Red Cross referred to ‘an institutional vacuum in the area of international humanitarian law implementation’. Yet both international humanitarian law and the law of human rights establish a series of rights intended to protect civilians. But which law or laws apply in a particular situation, and what are the obstacles to their implementation? How can the law offer greater protections to civilians caught up in new methods of warfare, such as drone strikes, or targeted by new forms of military organisation, such as transnational armed groups? Can the implementation gap be filled by the growing use of human rights courts to remedy violations of the laws of armed conflict, or are new instruments or mechanisms of civilian legal protection needed? This volume brings together contributions from leading academic authorities and legal practitioners on the situation of civilians in the grey zone between human rights and the laws of war. The chapters in Part 1 address key contested or boundary issues in defining the rights of civilians or non-combatants in today’s conflicts. Those in Part 2 examine remedies and current mechanisms for redress both at the international and national level, and those in Part 3 assess prospects for the development of new mechanisms for addressing violations. As military intervention to protect civilians remains contested, this volume looks at the potential for developing alternative approaches to the protection of civilians and their rights.

Table of Contents:
Part I: Rights 1. Who Is a Civilian? Membership of Opposition Groups and Direct Participation in Hostilities Emily Crawford 2. The Duty in International Law to Investigate Civilian Deaths in Armed Conflict Mark Lattimer 3. Protection by Process: Implementing the Principle of Proportionality in Contemporary Armed Conflicts Amichai Cohen 4. Regulating Armed Drones and Other Emerging Weapons Technologies Stuart Casey-Maslen 5. The Globalisation of Non-International Armed Conflicts Pavle Kilibarda and Gloria Gaggioli 6. Administrative Detention in Non-International Armed Conflicts Françoise J Hampson 7. The Crime of Rape in Military and Civilian Jurisdictions Lois Moore and Christine Chinkin Part II: Remedies 8. The Right to Reparation for Victims of Armed Conflict Carla Ferstman 9. Arguing International Humanitarian Law Standards in National Courts—A Spectrum of Expectations Sharon Weill 10. The Death of Lex Specialis? Regional Human Rights Mechanisms and the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Bill Bowring 11. Extraterritorial Obligations under Human Rights Law Cedric Ryngaert 12. What Duties Do Peacekeepers Owe Civilians? Lessons from the NuhanovicCase Liesbeth Zegveld 13. Civilian Protection and the Arms Trade Treaty Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh Part III: Developments 14. A Path Towards Greater Respect for International Humanitarian Law Valentin Zellweger and François Voeffray 15. The Responsibility to Protect and Non-State Armed Groups Jennifer M Welsh 16. Protecting Civilians by Criminalising the Most Serious Forms of the Illegal Use of Force: Activating the International Criminal Court’s Jurisdiction over the Crime of Aggression Carrie McDougall 17. Elements and Innovations in a New Global Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity Leila Nadya Sadat