International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law, and Fragmentation of International Law

Abstract

International tribunals and legal scholars have been considering the relationship between International Humanitarian Law (‘IHL’) and International Human Rights Law (‘IHRL’) for a number of years.1The International Court of Justice famously or infamously (depending on your perspective) considered their relationship in itsNuclear Weapons Advisory Opinionin 1996.2The Court concluded that while IHRL did apply in times of armed conflict, when it came to the prohibition of arbitrarily taking human life in Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966, the content of that prohibition had to be found in thelex specialisof IHL.