International humanitarian law

This book provides a discussion of the application and content of International Humanitarian Law-defined as that branch of the laws of armed conflict which is concerned with the protection of the victims of armed conflict. ie those rendered hors de combat by injury, sickness or capture, and also civilians. International humanitarian law is found primarily in the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols of 1977. In addition to looking at how humanitarian law has developed the book pays particular attention to the role of law in the context of the changing patterns of armed conflict since the 1940s, including guerilla and terrorist activities, and the whole question of nuclear weapons and other weapons with the potential for mass destruction. In discussing these issues the author provides examples from a number of countries including Vietnam, the Falklands War, Angola, Afghanistan and Korea.