Litigating International Humanitarian Law before the European Court of Human Rights

Geneva Academy Talks

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It seems almost redundant to state, once again, that international humanitarian law (IHL) lacks mechanisms to strengthen its own compliance. If it undoubtedly remains an appropriate legal framework for regulating armed conflicts, such structural flaw of its system has prompted a general recourse to the more developed human rights machinery. At the regional level, the European Court of Human Rights constitutes one of the jurisdictions that regularly adjudicates cases stemming from situations of armed conflict, and its related practice (and findings) have significantly evolved since the early 2000s.

This online IHL talk aims at shining light on the various angles and actors involved in litigating a case dealing with IHL before the European Court of Human Rights. In addition to tackling strategic choices from individual victims’ and (defendant or claimant) States’ perspectives, the discussion will also touch upon the substantial issues such as jurisdiction and derogations.

Moderator

• Emilie Max, Researcher, Geneva Academy

Panelists

• Andrew Clapham, Professor of International Law, Graduate Institute
• Michael O’Boyle, former Deputy Registrar, European Court of Human Rights
• Tamar Tomashvili, Assistant Professor, Free University of Tbilisi

Asking Questions to Panelists

Please use the Zoom chat function to ask your questions, the moderator will make a selection of questions at the end of the presentations. There will be no possibility to interact by webcam and microphone in order to avoid connection issues.

About IHL Talks

The IHL Talks are a series of events, hosted by the Geneva Academy, on international humanitarian law and current humanitarian topics. Every two months, academic experts, practitioners, policymakers and journalists discuss burning humanitarian issues and their regulation under international law.

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