War Crimes (Rules 156–161)

Abstract

Rule 156. Serious violations of international humanitarian law constitute war crimes. Practice Volume II, Chapter 44, Section A. Summary State practice establishes this rule as a norm of customary international law applicable in both international and non-international armed conflicts. International and non-international armed conflicts The Statute of the International Criminal Court defines war crimes as, inter alia , “serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict” and “serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in an armed conflict not of an international character”. The Statutes of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda and of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and UNTAET Regulation No. 2000/15 for East Timor also provide jurisdiction over “serious” violations of international humanitarian law. In the Delalic case in 2001, in interpreting Article 3 of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia listing the violations of the laws or customs of war over which the Tribunal has jurisdiction, the Appeals Chamber stated that the expression “laws and customs of war” included all laws and customs of war in addition to those listed in the Article. The adjective “serious” in conjunction with “violations” is to be found in the military manuals and legislation of several States. There is also practice which does not contain the adjective “serious” with respect to violations and which defines war crimes as any violation of the laws or customs of war.