International Humanitarian Law

by Emily Crawford, Alison Pert

The law that regulates armed conflicts is one of the oldest branches of international law, and yet continues to be one of the most dynamic and relevant areas of law today. Now in its third edition, this textbook provides an accessible, scholarly, and up-to-date examination of international humanitarian law, offering students and teachers a comprehensive and logical discussion and analysis of the law. The textbook contains detailed examples, extracts from relevant cases, and useful discussion questions and a recommended reading list for each chapter, to help students and teachers alike engage with the subject matter, and grasp how the theory and the practice interact. Developing and emerging trends in theory and practice of international humanitarian law are also explored and examined, allowing for readers to build on their knowledge, and grapple with some of the biggest challenges facing the law of armed conflict in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Nonfiction

430 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2015

Reviews

[Adrian Halpert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Crawford and Alison Pert give a superb overview of International Humanitarian Law, bringing readers through the it's history and development, to discussions of the Geneva Conventions, the Additional Protocols and the issues confronting IHL today, to the challenges that we could potentially face in the 21st century.
I for one, particularly enjoyed the detailed analysis of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols and how they inform our understanding of IHL today in 2020. Whenever I'm interested in something, I always like to dig and deepen my knowledge so I also really appreciated the suggested readings at the end of each chapter.
One thing that did bug me a bit with this book however, is that the "international" in IHL has a VERY European perspective, and, as Crawford and Pert discuss, is rooted in international conflicts that took place in Europe. As IHL has developed and been applied, the rest of the world seems to be either forgotten about or acted upon (the Additional Protocols are a bit of an exception to this, being partially the result of the African Wars, which were ongoing at the time). To make the perspective in IHL truly international, I think it would have been worthwhile to take some time to analyze IHL's roots a bit more deeply, including similar or parallel developments in other cultures across the world, discuss how that informs our perspectives today and how we can incorporate other perspectives in the future.
The other thing about this book, is that it is very technical and probably not very accessible to the general reader just looking for an introduction to IHL. For students (like myself) or practitioners, this is an invaluable work and will go far in deepening their knowledge of IHL.
4/5 Stars

[Sol · Rating 3 out of 5]

yeah nah im not gonna do international law now thanks

[Amelie Rust · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book