The International Fact-Finding Commission: Article 90 of Protocol I additional to the 1949 Geneva Conventions

Abstract

The United States considers many provisions of Protocol I additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 to be either statements of customary international law or to reflect what that law should be. It is in that vein that the United States views Article 90 on the International Fact-Finding Commission. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) military analysis of the Protocols expressed the views of the U.S. Department of Defense on Article 90 as follows:“One major innovation of the Protocol is the creation of a permanent 15-member International Fact-Finding Commission to investigate alleged grave breaches or serious violations of the Protocols and the Conventions and to facilitate, through its good offices, the restoration of an attitude of respect for the Conventions and [the] Protocol”.