Rules and conventions

Rules and conventions

Rules and conventions

At various times in history, rules have been laid down to govern the conduct of war - more specifically to say what behaviour is forbidden. The list below is only a selection.

1439

In 1439, Charles VII of Orleans laid down a law that said that officers would be held responsible for 'the abuses, ills and offences' committed by the men they commanded. If an officer didn't take action promptly, or allowed an offender to escape punishment, then the officer would be punished as if they were the original offender.

1815

The Congress of Vienna ruled in the case of Napoleon that it was a crime to go to war in breach of a treaty.

1863

The Lieber Code was an early American code of conduct for armies, implemented by President Lincoln during the Civil War.

1864

The first Geneva Convention protects the sick and wounded by giving protection to medical facilities and their staff and any civilians helping the wounded. The convention also recognised the Red Cross as a neutral medical group. 10 countries signed the Convention at first, (the UK signed in 1865, and the USA in 1882).

1865

Captain Henry Wirz, commander of a Confederate prison camp was tried and executed for 'conspiracy to destroy prisoners' lives in violation of the laws and customs of war' and 'murder in violation of the laws and customs of war'.

This trial confirmed the principles of the Lieber Code and established the consequences of giving illegal orders.

1874

The Brussels Protocol laid down that war should not 'inflict unnecessary suffering' upon an enemy.

1880

The 'Manual on the Laws of War on Land' is drafted in England.

1899 - 1907

The Hague Conferences create 'The Convention on Laws and Customs of War' - based on the manual referred to above.

1906

Second Geneva Convention gives protection to wounded combatants at sea, and to victims of shipwreck.

1919

The 'Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on the Enforcement of Penalties' lays down a clear doctrine of criminal responsiblity for war crimes.

1925

Geneva Gas Protocol bans the use of poison gas and biological warfare.

1929

Third Geneva Convention lays down rules to protect prisoners of war.

1946

The Nuremberg tribunal tries Nazi war criminals on the basis that the Hague Convention of 1907 is customary international law.

1948

The United Nations General Assembly adopts the 'Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide'.

1949

Fourth Geneva Convention brings together the elements of the first three Geneva Conventions and adds rules to protect civilians during war.

1993

Establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, with jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and violations of the laws or customs of war committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991.

1997

Two protocols to the Geneva Convention give protection to guerrillas in civil wars or wars of national liberation.

1998

An international conference adopts the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, opening the way to the establishment of an International Criminal Court.