The Distinction and Relationship between Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello

by Keiichiro Okimoto

Overview

This book explores the distinction and relationship between two principal branches of international law regulating the use of force: jus ad bellum (international law regulating the resort to force) and jus in bello (international humanitarian law). Two principles traditionally govern the relationship between the two: 1) separation of jus ad bellum and jus in bello and 2) equal application of jus in bello to the conflicting parties. These principles emerged in response to the claim that a conflicting party using force illegally under jus ad bellum should not benefit from the protection for victims of armed conflict under jus in bello, which would completely defeat the humanitarian purpose of jus in bello to protect all victims of armed conflict impartially. There is, however, a third principle: concurrent application of jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Unlike in the past, jus ad bellum now regulates the use of force during a conflict alongside jus in bello and hence, the two are now considered as one set of rules applying during a conflict. The book explores in detail the interaction between jus ad bellum and jus in bello in the light of these three principles.

The relationship between the two has been principally discussed in the context of the use of force in self-defence and international armed conflict. However, this book examines the relationship in other contexts of a very different nature, namely the use of force under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, non-international armed conflict, and armed conflict of a mixed character. The book concludes that the three principles governing the relationship are equally valid, with certain variations, in these different contexts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849460552
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/01/2011
Series:	Studies in International Law , #33
Pages:	390
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Keiichiro Okimoto was a delegate and legal adviser to the Delegations of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Territories, the Philippines, and Rwanda.

Editorial Reviews

The body of the book is a careful excavation (not untypical of a good PhD thesis which is where this book began) of the interaction and relationship of jus in bello and jus ad bellum. The complexity of the task should not be under-estimated, nor its political significance...For international lawyers concerned with the application of international humanitarian law this book will be indispensable...” —Law and Politics Book Review, Vol. 23 No. 10,

“... it is clear that, in the future, it would not be possible to discuss the relationship between jus ad bellum and jus in bello without this book. The author and others like us should pursue further discussions, taking the book as the starting point. (translated from the original Japanese)” —Jourbanal of International Law and Diplomacy

“...a unique contribution to the literature of contemporary international law.
A work of this nature and this level of detail was needed in the field of IHL; reviewing recent developments in the law, convention and custom in the second decade of the century is a very difficult task. Perhaps the biggest criticism is that Spanish-speaking scholars do not have a version in their own language to share Okimoto's learning with their own students.
Translated from the original Spanish” —Anuario Mexicano de Derecho Internacional, Volume XIII

“Une variété de liens entre les deux branches du droit ressort de cette étude, menée à partir d'un matériau très vaste relatif à la pratique des États et des organisations internationales, à la jurisprudence internationale et à de nombreux travaux doctrinaux.

À travers une analyse claire et rigoureuse qui le conduit – à juste titre – à soulever plus de questions qu'il n'apporte de réponses, l'auteur démontre ainsi que les principes réglementant les rapports entre jus ad bellum et jus in bello permettent le plus souvent d'éviter les conflits entre ces branches du droit et de limiter les lacunes dans la réglementation internationale de l'emploi de la force. loin de se limiter à un travail théorique, cette étude fouillée est destinée aussi bien aux universitaires qu'aux praticiens…” —Annuaire Français de Droit International

From the Publisher