International Humanitarian Law
Course code
AKJ6207.YK
old course code
AKJ6207
Course title in Estonian
Rahvusvaheline sõjaõigus
Course title in English
International Humanitarian Law
ECTS credits
4.0
Assessment form
Examination
lecturer of 2023/2024 Spring semester
Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.
lecturer of 2024/2025 Autumn semester
Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.
Course aims
- To learn about international humanitarian law and the laws of armed conflict and the sources of the relevant norms;
- To provide a thorough overview of the substance of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and its 1977 (I and II) and 2005 (III) additional protocols;
- To create opportunities to use the knowledge by applying it to actual and hypothetical cases;
- To broaden the students’ perspective and enable them to better understand the need for states to employ or refrain from using force in certain circumstances;
- To give students an understanding of the basic terminology used in the field of humanitarian law (the law of armed conflict);
- To foster the students’ interest in the use of force by states and non-state actors and the possibilities for the legal regulation and limitation of the use of force in the era of globalization.
- To provide a thorough overview of the substance of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and its 1977 (I and II) and 2005 (III) additional protocols;
- To create opportunities to use the knowledge by applying it to actual and hypothetical cases;
- To broaden the students’ perspective and enable them to better understand the need for states to employ or refrain from using force in certain circumstances;
- To give students an understanding of the basic terminology used in the field of humanitarian law (the law of armed conflict);
- To foster the students’ interest in the use of force by states and non-state actors and the possibilities for the legal regulation and limitation of the use of force in the era of globalization.
Brief description of the course
Historical overview of international humanitarian law (IHL). Limitations on the waging of war; the concept and goals of IHL; the essential difference between combatants and civilians; use of the Red Cross symbol; the rights of combatants and civilians; the common articles of the Geneva conventions; 1949 Geneva Convention I (wounded and sick armed forces on the battlefield); 1949 Geneva Convention II (wounded, sick and shipwrecked armed forces at sea); 1949 Geneva Convention III (protection of prisoners of war); 1949 Geneva Convention IV (protections of civilians); additional protocols I, II and III to the Geneva conventions of 1949; non-international armed conflict; IHL and human rights; analysis of cases.
Learning outcomes in the course
Upon completing the course the student:
- has knowledge regarding what legal norms are in force even when martial law is n force or during times of war or armed conflict;
- has knowledge about what substantive protection is provided by the Geneva conventions to the soldier in the battlefield;
- has knowledge about what substantive protection is provided by the Geneva conventions to prisoners of war;
- has knowledge about what substantive protection is provided to civilians in territory that is occupied by a foreign power;
- has knowledge about when a state is legally entitled to use force, including armed force, consistent with the principles of international law;
- has the capability of understanding and giving evaluations regarding the conduct of states and their combatants when they use force against other states;
- has the capability of analyzing the legality of actions of combatants and civilians during wartime;
- has the capability of interpreting the general requirements and specific provisions of the Geneva conventions and applying them to practical situations.
- has knowledge regarding what legal norms are in force even when martial law is n force or during times of war or armed conflict;
- has knowledge about what substantive protection is provided by the Geneva conventions to the soldier in the battlefield;
- has knowledge about what substantive protection is provided by the Geneva conventions to prisoners of war;
- has knowledge about what substantive protection is provided to civilians in territory that is occupied by a foreign power;
- has knowledge about when a state is legally entitled to use force, including armed force, consistent with the principles of international law;
- has the capability of understanding and giving evaluations regarding the conduct of states and their combatants when they use force against other states;
- has the capability of analyzing the legality of actions of combatants and civilians during wartime;
- has the capability of interpreting the general requirements and specific provisions of the Geneva conventions and applying them to practical situations.
Teacher
K. Jaak Roosaare, Juris Doctor
Study programmes containing that course