OUVRAGE : M. Lattimer, P. Sands (eds.), The Grey Zone: Civilian Protection between Human Rights and the Laws of War

Mark LATTIMER, Philippe SANDS

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. Emily Crawford, Who Is a Civilian? Membership of Opposition Groups and Direct Participation in Hostilities
2. Mark Lattimer, The Duty in International Law to Investigate Civilian Deaths in Armed Conflict
3. Amichai Cohen, Protection by Process: Implementing the Principle of Proportionality in Contemporary Armed Conflicts
4. Stuart Casey-Maslen, Regulating Armed Drones and Other Emerging Weapons Technologies
5. Pavle Kilibarda, Gloria Gaggioli, The Globalisation of Non-International Armed Conflicts
6. Françoise J. Hampson, Administrative Detention in Non-International Armed Conflicts
7. Lois Moore, Christine Chinkin, The Crime of Rape in Military and Civilian Jurisdictions

PART II. REMEDIES

8. Carla Ferstman, The Right to Reparation for Victims of Armed Conflict
9. Sharon Weill, Arguing International Humanitarian Law Standards in National Courts-A Spectrum of Expectations
10. Bill Bowring, The Death of Lex Specialis? Regional Human Rights Mechanisms and the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict
11. Cedric Ryngaert, Extraterritorial Obligations under Human Rights Law
12. Liesbeth Zegveld, What Duties Do Peacekeepers Owe Civilians? Lessons from the NuhanovicCase
13. Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, Civilian Protection and the Arms Trade Treaty

PART III. DEVELOPMENTS

14. Valentin Zellweger, François Voeffray, A Path Towards Greater Respect for International Humanitarian Law
15. Jennifer M Welsh, The Responsibility to Protect and Non-State Armed Groups
16. Carrie McDougall, 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
17. Leila Nadya Sadat, Elements and Innovations in a New Global Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity

Mark LATTIMER, Philippe SANDS (eds.), The Grey Zone: Civilian Protection between Human Rights and the Laws of War, Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2018 (480 pp.)