Armed Conflicts and the Law

This book offers a comprehensive yet concise take on the legal regulation of the various phases in the complex cycle of armed conflicts, from prevention to reconstruction, and covering everything in between, in particular the vast body of rules laid down in current international humanitarian law. The manual combines a general theoretical approach with modern practice in order to offer a complete picture of the law before, during and after warfareThrough a series of fourteen thematic chapters that logically follow from one to another, scholars and practitioners tackle core issues relating to the international regulation of armed conflicts, while situating them in a broader societal context. Particular attention is given to the emergence of the European Union as an increasingly important regional and global player in international peace and security. In combination with the broad scope and accessible nature of the collection, the experience and ambition on display in this volume makes it a unique reference tool for students, scholars, practitioners, civil servants, diplomats and humanitarian and human rights workers around the globe. It is complemented by, and a helpful companion to, J. Wouters and P. De Man, Humanitarian and Security Law: A Compendium of International and European Instruments.

Jan Wouters is Full Professor of International Law and International Organizations, Jean Monnet Chair ad personam EU and Global Governance and founding Director of the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies and of the Institute for International Law at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven). In Leuven, he teaches public international law, law of international organizations, the law of the World Trade Organization, space law and humanitarian and security law. At the College of Europe, Sciences Po and Luiss University he teaches EU external relations law. He studied law and philosophy in Antwerp and Yale University (LLM, 1990), was a Visiting Researcher at Harvard Law School and obtained his PhD at KU Leuven (1996). He taught at the Universities of Antwerp and Maastricht. He was a Visiting Professor at different universities and référendaire at the European Court of Justice (1991-1994). He is Member of the Flemish Royal Academy of Belgium for Arts and Sciences, is President of the United Nations Association Flanders Belgium, and practises law as Of Counsel at Linklaters. He is Editor of the “International Encyclopedia of Intergovernmental Organizations”, Deputy Director of the “Revue belge de droit international” and an editorial board member in ten international journals. He has published widely on international, EU, corporate and financial law.

Philip De Man studied Law at the University of Antwerp from 2001 through 2006. He performed an internship with the Permanent Representation of Belgium with the United Nations, New York, as Advisor on Development issues in the Second Committee of the General Assembly. He has interned with the Association of Defence Counsel practising before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, for the Defence in Popovic et al. He assigned as Legal Assistant and Case Manager to the Defence in the same case from July 2007 through March 2008. He was later employed as Legal Researcher with the Srebrenica Historical Project (2008). In 2008 he started as Junior Legal Researcher attached to the Institute for International Law and the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies at Leuven University.

Nele Verlinden joined the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies as a PhD fellow in 2014. The working title of her PhD is ‘Are we at war?’ State support to armed conflict: gradation, international consequences and national parliamentary accountability. Her research is supported by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). She previously worked as a legal adviser in the arms unit of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), where her work mainly focused on the Arms Trade Treaty. She also worked as a consultant for the customary law database of the ICRC and as a legal attaché in the ICRC’s legal division. Nele obtained a Master of Laws (summa cum laude) from the KU Leuven in 2011, including one year of exchange studies at the Université Capitole 1 in Toulouse, France. With the support of the Swiss government and the OaK Foundation, she moved to Geneva and obtained an LL.M in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law (summa cum laude) from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

With contributions by: Luc Reydams, Tom Ruys, Sten Verhoeven,Frederik Naert, Jean-Marie Henckaerts, Bruno Demeyere, William Boothby, Hilde Sagon and Hanne Cuyckens.