Armed Groups and International Law - Legal Roundup January

About the author(s):

Andrea Farrés Jiménez

Andrea Farrés Jiménez is a qualified Spanish lawyer specialized in international humanitarian law, international security and arms control. She graduated from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in 2019 with a master’s in International Law. Her master’s thesis focused on the impact that new technologies and artificial intelligence have on IHL targeting principles. She worked as a legal expert for the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Spanish Permanent Mission in Switzerland and in The Netherlands, and the World Organization Against Torture, among other organizations. She has published on issues related to arms controls, gender, new technologies and the IHL targeting principles.

We are very pleased to present the legal roundup for January – August 2020, that contains publications on issues related armed groups and international law, non-international armed conflict and the relationship between IHL and IHRL. It was prepared by Andrea Farrés, and it was finalised with input from Ezequiel Heffes and Katharine Fortin.

If you have a 2020 publication which you think should be included in this roundup, please do not hesitate to contact the editors of the blog, Katharine Fortin and Ezequiel Heffes.

Please note that due to paywalls and your institution’s permissions, the given link may not always take you to the text of the article. The Armed Groups and International law blog has published legal roundups since 2012. For previous versions of the legal roundup, see here.

Armed Non-State Actors and IHL/IHRL

Aksamitowska, Karolina, Traditional Approaches to the Law of Armed Conflict: Disseminating IHL through the Receptor Approach, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages 5-35.

Cotter, Cédric, Policinski, Ellen, A History of Violence: The Development of International Humanitarian Law Reflected in the International Review of the Red Cross, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages 36-67.

Modirzadeh, Naz K. Cut These Words: Passion and International Law of War Scholarship, Volume 61, Issue 1, Winter 2020

Robson, Verity, The Common Approach to Article 1: The Scope of Each State’s Obligation to Ensure Respect for the Geneva Conventions, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Volume 25, Issue 1, Spring 2020, Pages 101–115.

Smith, Tara, A Framework Convention for the Protection of the Environment in Times of Armed Conflict: A New Direction for the International Law Commission’s Draft Principles?, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages 148-162.

Sosnowski, Marika, ‘Not dead but sleeping’: Expanding international law to better regulate the diverse effects of ceasefire agreements, Leiden Journal of International Law, Volume 33, Issue 3, September 2020, Pages 731-743.

Stevoli, Margherita, Famine as a Collateral Damage of War, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages 163-186.

Sutton, Rebecca, Enacting the ‘civilian plus’: International humanitarian actors and the conceptualization of distinction, Leiden Journal of International Law, Volume 33, Issue 2, June 2020, Pages 429-449.

Talbot Jensen, Eric, The (Erroneous) Requirement for Human Judgment (and Error) in the Law of Armed Conflict, International Law Studies, Volume 96, Pages 26-57.

Vanhullebusch, Matthias, The War on Terror on the Silk Road: Changing Discourses, The Asian Yearbook of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Volume 4, Pages: 285–309.

Non-International Armed Conflicts (General)

Bongard, Pascal, Heffes, Ezequiel, Engaging armed non-State actors on the prohibition of recruiting and using children in hostilities: Some reflections from Geneva Call’s experience, International Review of the Red Cross (2019), 101(911), pages 603-621.

Grace, Rob, Humanitarian Negotiation with Parties to Armed Conflict The Role of Laws and Principles in the Discourse, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Volume 11, Issue 1, pages 68-96.

International Review of the Red Cross (2020). Testimonies of former child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, International Review of the Red Cross, 101(911), pages 445-457.

Íñigo Álvarez, Laura, Towards a regime of responsibility of armed groups in international law, doctoral thesis, 2019, University of Sevilla, Sevilla.

Jackson, Ashley, Weigand, Florian, Rebel rule of law. Taliban courts in the west and north-west of Afghanistan, ODI and HPG, Briefing note, May 2020.

Jo, Hyeran, International Humanitarian Law on the Periphery Case of Non-state Armed Actors, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Volume 11, Issue 1, pages 97-115.

Maganza, Bianca, From Peacekeepers to Parties to the Conflict: An IHL’s Appraisal of the Role of UN Peace Operations in NIACs, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Volume 25, Issue 2, July 2020, Pages 209–236.

Manekin, Devorah, Wood, Reed M., Framing the Narrative: Female Fighters, External Audience Attitudes, and Transnational Support for Armed Rebellions, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 64, Issue 9, October 2020, Pages 1638–1665.

Mironova, Vera, Alhamad, Karam, Whitt, Sam, Rebel Group Attrition and Reversion to Violence: Micro-Level Evidence from Syria, International Studies Quarterly, Volume 64, Issue 2, June 2020, Pages 285–294.

Müller, Amrei, Can Armed Non-state Actors Exercise Jurisdiction and Thus Become Human Rights Duty-bearers?, Human Rights Law Review, Volume 20, Issue 2, June 2020, Pages 269–305.

Spadaro, Alessandra, Punish and Be Punished? The Paradox of Command Responsibility in Armed Groups, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Volume 18, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 1–30.

Szekely, Ora, Fighting about Women: Ideologies of Gender in the Syrian Civil War, Journal of Global Security Studies, Volume 5, Issue 3, July 2020, Pages 408–426.

Ulrich Nagel, Rober, Doctor, Austin C., Conflict-related Sexual Violence and Rebel Group Fragmentation, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 64, Number 7-8, August-September 2020, Pages 1226-1253.

Vanhullebusch, Matthias, Do Non-State Armed Groups Have a Legal Right to Consent to Offers of International Humanitarian Relief?, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Volume 25, Issue 2, July 2020, Pages 317–341.

Wimmer, Andreas, Miner, Chris, The Strategic Logic of Ethnoterritorial Competition: Violence against Civilians in Africa’s Civil Wars, Journal of Global Security Studies, Volume 5, Issue 3, July 2020, Pages 389–407.

Rebel governance

Breslawski, Jori, The Social Terrain of Rebel Held Territory, Journal of Conflict Resolution, August 2020, pages 1-27.

Cunningham, Kathleen Gallagher, Loyle, Cyanne E., Introduction to the Special Feature on Dynamic Processes of Rebel Governance, Journal of Conflict Resolution, August 2020, pages 1-12.

Elko McKibben, Heather, Skoll, Amy, Please Help Us (or Don’t): External Interventions and Negotiated Settlements in Civil Conflicts, Journal of Conflict Resolution, August 2020, pages 1-26.

Hampton, Kathryn, Born in the twilight zone: Birth registration in insurgent areas, International Review of the Red Cross, 101(911), pages 507-536.

Loyle, Cyanne E., Rebel Justice during Armed Conflict, Journal of Conflict Resolution, August 2020, pages 1-27.

Mampilly, Zachariah, Stewart, Megan A., A Typology of Rebel Political Institutional Arrangements, Journal of Conflict Resolution, August 2020, pages 1-31.

Rubin, Michael A., Rebel Territorial Control and Civilian Collective Action in Civil War: Evidence from the Communist Insurgency in the Philippines, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 64, Issue 2-3, 2020, pages 459-489.

Jus ad Bellum

Badalic, Vasja, The war against vague threats: The redefinitions of imminent threat and anticipatory use of force, Security Dialogue, 2020.

Shah, Niaz A., The ‘Unwilling’ and ‘Unable’ Test in International Law: The Use of Force against Non-State Actors in Pakistan and Afghanistan, The Asian Yearbook of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Volume 4, Pages: 109–138.

Van Dine, Alexandra (2020) When is Cyber Defense a Crime? Evaluating Active Cyber Defense Measures Under the Budapest Convention, Chicago Journal of International Law, Volume 20, Number 2, pages 530-564.

International Criminal Law

Alkhawaja, Osama, In Defense of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the Case for International Corporate Accountability, Chicago Journal of International Law, Volume 20, No. 2, pages 450-485.

Braga da Silva, Rafael, Sherlock at the ICC? Regulating Third-Party Investigations of International Crimes in the Rome Statute Legal Framework, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Volume 18, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 59–86.

Chlevickait?, Gabriel?, Holá, Barbora, Bijleveld, Catrien, Judicial Witness Assessments at the ICTY, ICTR and ICC: Is There ‘Standard Practice’ in International Criminal Justice?, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Volume 18, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 185–210.

Huang, Deming, Shan, Qintong, Article Navigation The Immunity of Judge Akay of the MICT, Chinese Journal of International Law, Volume 19, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 137–155.

Jöbstl, Hannes, Bridging the Accountability Gap: Armed Non-State Actors and the Investigation and Prosecution of War Crimes, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Volume 18, Issue 3, July 2020, Pages 567–597.

Kamber, Krešimir, Substantive and Procedural Criminal Law Protection of Human Rights in the Law of the European Convention on Human Rights, Human Rights Law Review, Volume 20, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 75–100.

Kotecha, Birju, The International Criminal Court’s Selectivity and Procedural Justice, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Volume 18, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 107–139.

Palmer, Nicola, International criminal law and border control: The expressive role of the deportation and extradition of genocide suspects to Rwanda, Leiden Journal of International Law, Volume 33, Issue 3, September 2020, Pages 789-807.

Rubin, Maxine, Politicized Justice: Africa and the International Criminal Court, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 2, July 2020, Pages 401–411.

SáCouto, Susana, Nadya Sadat, Leila, Viseur Sellers, Patricia, Collective criminality and sexual violence: Fixing a failed approach, Leiden Journal of International Law, Volume 33, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 207-241.

Sudduth, Jun Koga, Who Punishes the Leader? Leader Culpability and Coups during Civil War, Journal of Conflict Resolution, August 2020, pages 1-26.

Thuy Seelinger, Kim, Close to Home: A Short History, and Rough Typology, of National Courts Prosecuting Wartime Sexual Violence, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Volume 18, Issue 2, May 2020, Pages 219–242.

Trahan, Jennifer, Existing Legal Limits to Security Council Veto Power in the Face of Atrocity Crimes, Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Targeting and Detention

Cederman, Lars-Erik, Hug, Simon, Schubiger, Livia I., Villamil, Francisco, Civilian Victimization and Ethnic Civil War, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 64, Number 7-8, August-September 2020, Pages 1199-1225.

Corn, Geoffrey S., Beyond Human Shielding: Civilian Risk Exploitation and Indirect Civilian Targeting, International Law Studies, Volume 96, Pages 118-158.

Galvis Martínez, Manuel, Betrayal in War: Rules and Trends on Seeking Collaboration under IHL, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Volume 25, Issue 1, Spring 2020, Pages 81–99.

Gavrilova, Maria, Administrative Detention by Non-State Armed Groups: Legal Basis and Procedural Safeguards, Israel Law Review, Volume 53, Number 1, 2020, Pages 35-70.

Joseph Niyo, Joshua, Non-State Armed Groups and the Power to Detain in Non-International Armed Conflict, Israel Law Review, Volume 53, Number 1, 2020, Pages 3-33.

Lubell, Noan, Cohen, Amichai, Strategic Proportionality: Limitations on the Use of Force in Modern Armed Conflicts, International Law Studies, Volume 96, Pages 160-195.

Marchant, Emma J., Insufficient Knowledge in Kunduz: The Precautionary Principle and International Humanitarian Law, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Volume 25, Issue 1, Spring 2020, Pages 53–79.

Shany, Yuval, Schmitt, Michael N, An International Attribution Mechanism for Hostile Cyber Operations, International Law Studies, Volume 96, Pages 196-222.

Tanaka, Yoshifumi, Release of a Detained Warship and Its Crew through Provisional Measures: A Comparative Analysis of the ARA Libertad and Ukraine v. Russia Cases, International Law Studies, Volume 96, Pages 223-256.

Winter, Elliot, Pillars not Principles: The Status of Humanity and Military Necessity in the Law of Armed Conflict, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Volume 25, Issue 1, Spring 2020, Pages 1–31.

Weapons

Kalpouzos, Ioannis, Double elevation: Autonomous weapons and the search for an irreducible law of war, Leiden Journal of International Law, Volume 33, Issue 2, June 2020, Pages 289-312.

Mauri, Diego, The Holy See’s Position on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems An Appraisal through the Lens of the Martens Clause, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages 116-147.

Nasu, Hitoshi, Letts, David, The Legal Characterization of Lethal Autonomous Maritime Systems: Warship, Torpedo, or Naval Mine?, International Law Studies, Volume 96, Pages 79-97.

Oswald, Christian, Weber, Sigrid, Williams, Rob, Under the Roof of Rebels: Civilian Targeting After Territorial Takeover in Sierra Leone, International Studies Quarterly, Volume 64, Issue 2, June 2020, Pages 295–305.

Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding

Adomi Leshem, Oded, Halperin, Eran, Hoping for Peace during Protracted Conflict: Citizens’ Hope Is Based on Inaccurate Appraisals of Their Adversary’s Hope for Peace, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 64, Number 7-8, August-September 2020, Pages 1390-1417.

Aksenova, Marina, N. Rieff, Amber, Setting the scene: The use of art to promote reconciliation in international criminal justice, Leiden Journal of International Law, Volume 33, Issue 2, June 2020, Pages 495-516.

Berg, Louis-Alexandre, Civil–Military Relations and Civil War Recurrence: Security Forces in Postwar Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 64, Number 7-8, August-September 2020, Pages 1307-1334.

Carolan, Gene, Transition Without Transformation: The Legacy of Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 2, July 2020, Pages 340–359.

Cil, Deniz, Prorok, Alyssa K, Selling Out or Standing Firm? Explaining the Design of Civil War Peace Agreements, International Studies Quarterly, Volume 64, Issue 2, June 2020, Pages 329–342.

Cohen, Cynthia E., Reimagining Transitional Justice, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 1–13.

Daniels, Lesley-Ann, How and When Amnesty during Conflict Affects Conflict Termination, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 64, Issue 9, October 2020, Pages 1612–1637.

Dirnstorfer, Anne, Bahadur Saud, Nar, A Stage for the Unknown? Reconciling Postwar Communities through Theatre-Facilitated Dialogue, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 122–141.

Elayah, Moosa, van Kempen, Luuk, Schulpen, Lau, Adding to the Controversy? Civil Society’s Evaluation of the National Conference Dialogue in Yemen, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Volume 14, Issue 3, Pages 431-458.

Engel, Ulf, Peace-building Through Space-making: The Spatializing Effects of the African Union’s Peace and Security Policies, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Volume 14, Issue 2, Pages 221-236.

Fairey, Tiffany, Kerr, Rachel, What Works? Creative Approaches to Transitional Justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 142–164.

Greeley, Robin Adèle, Orwicz, Michael R, Falconi, José Luis, Reyes, Ana María, Rosenberg, Fernando J., Repairing Symbolic Reparations: Assessing the Effectiveness of Memorialization in the Inter-American System of Human Rights, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 165–192.

Greiff, Pablo de, The Future of the Past: Reflections on the Present State and Prospects of Transitional Justice, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 2, July 2020, Pages 251–259.

Guerrero, Freddy A, Aristizabal, Liza López, Images and Memory: Religiosity and Sacrifice – The Cases of Tierralta, Trujillo and Arenillo in Colombia, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 35–55.

Hirblinger, Andreas T., Landau, Dana M., Daring to differ? Strategies of inclusion in peacemaking, Security Dialogue, 2020.

Jochem, Torsten, Murtazashvili, Ilia, Murtazashvili, Jennifer, Can the Design of Electoral Institutions Improve Perceptions of Democracy in Fragile States? Evidence from Afghanistan, Journal of Global Security Studies, Volume 5, Issue 3, July 2020, Pages 443–462.

Krakowski, Krzystof, Pulled Together or Torn Asunder? Community Cohesion After Symmetric and Asymmetric Civil War, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 64, issue 7-8, 2020, pages 1470-1498.

Ladisch, Virginie, Yakinthou, Christalla, Cultivated Collaboration in Transitional Justice Practice and Research: Reflections on Tunisia’s Voices of Memory Project, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 80–101.

Lee, SungYong, Local Resilience and the Reconstruction of Social Institutions: Recovery, Maintenance and Transformation of Buddhist Sangha in Post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Volume 14, Issue 3, Pages 349-367.

Lerner Febres, Salomón, Memory of Violence and Drama in Peru: The Experience of the Truth Commission and Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani – Violence and Dehumanization, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 232–241.

Menzel, Anne, The pressures of getting it right: Expertise and victims’ voices in the work of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 2, July 2020, Pages 300–319.

Moser, Carolyn: Accountability in EU Security and Defence—The Law and Practice of Peacebuilding. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2020.

Natalya Clark, Janine, Emotional Legacies, Transitional Justice and Alethic Truth: A Novel Basis for Exploring Reconciliation, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Volume 18, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 141–165.

Perez-Leon-Acevedo, Juan Pablo, The control of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights over amnesty laws and other exemption measures: Legitimacy assessment, Leiden Journal of International Law, Volume 33, Issue 3, September 2020, Pages 667-687.

Ramírez-Barat, Clara, The Path to Social Reconstruction: Between Culture and Transitional Justice, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 242–250.

Renshaw, Catherine, Poetry, Irrevocable Time and Myanmar’s Political Transition, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 14–34.

Rolston, Bill, Ambushed by Memory: Post-Conflict Popular Memorialisation in Northern Ireland, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Volume 14, Issue 2, July 2020, Pages 320–339.

Sebastián Eskauriatza, Javier, The jus post bellum as ‘integrity’ – Transitional criminal justice, the ICC, and the Colombian amnesty law, Leiden Journal of International Law, Volume 33, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 189-205.