Evaluating Thailand’s Domestic Implementation of Prevention of Grave Breaches under the Geneva Conventions

Abstract

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is the law that aims to reduce human suffering in situations of armed conflict. The contemporary roots of treaty-based IHL could arguably be traced back to the four Geneva Conventions, in which Thailand is also a party. States may choose from a wide variety of methods to domestically implement IHL. One such method is through national legislation. The Geneva Conventions, in particular, obliged its state parties to criminalize grave breaches. This article aims to assess this one aspect of the domestic implementation of IHL within Thailand. To accomplish this, Swiss and Malaysian laws are used as examples for the analysis of Thai law to reflect upon. It is argued that the current rules scattered through the Thai legal system are doctrinally insufficient to ensure the complete applicability of the grave breaches regime. The article will then suggest how the current Thai legal regime may be improved to ensure better compliance with the obligations to prevent grave breaches within the Geneva Conventions.