International humanitarian law

International humanitarian law (IHL) is an independent branch of public law, consisting of a set of principles and norms of the MP defining the rights and freedoms common to the whole world; Obligations of the state with regard to securing, securing and protecting these rights and freedoms, and providing individuals with a legal opportunity to implement and protect the rights and freedoms recognized for them.

The main and main task of IHL is the development of treaties, the norms of which clearly establish the totality of rights and obligations of the parties to a military conflict, as well as the limitation of methods and means of conducting military operations.

Some lawyers divide international humanitarian law into two branches: the "right of The Hague", which regulates the methods and methods of military operations, and the "Geneva law", which contains standards for the protection of victims of hostilities. The term "victims of armed conflicts" includes wounded and sick people in active armies; Wounded, sick and persons who have been shipwrecked and are part of the armed forces at sea; prisoners of war; civilians.

1864 went down in history as the year when the Swiss government held a conference to draft an act on assistance to victims of hostilities. The result of the meeting resulted in the signing of the first Convention for the Protection of the Wounded and Sick in War. It became the first source of IHL.

Sources of international humanitarian law to date are represented in a large number, and all of them are aimed at regulating the relations of states during armed actions. There are three types of these. The first - the norms, the action of which applies only in peacetime. The second is the norms that operate exclusively during the period of military operations. The third type is mixed norms, operating both during peace and during armed conflicts.

The norms of international humanitarian law in different historical periods contained different prescriptions. The laws of Manu established a restriction of violence, which included the prohibition of the killing of unarmed, prisoners, the use of poisoned weapons. In Ancient Greece, the rule prescribed that the outbreak of hostilities should occur with the announcement of them. In the case of the seizure of cities, it was impossible to kill those who took refuge in the temples, prisoners of war had to be exchanged and bathed.

During the Hague Peace Conference in 1899, Martens F.F. It was proposed to apply a provision that would protect the civilian population and belligerents in situations where the actions of states are not regulated by the rules of IHL. This provision establishes that the norms of the MP are applied to civilians and military personnel because they are the result of the customs established by the educated peoples, the laws of humanity, as well as the requests of the public consciousness. This norm went down in history as Martens' reservation.

International humanitarian law, like other branches of law, establishes its principles, the main of which is the humanization of military conflicts. Among others are the following: the protection of cultural values; Protection and observance of the interests of states adhering to neutrality; Limitation of the parties involved in hostilities, in the means and methods for their conduct.

The designation of a state of military conflict between states entails legal consequences, such as the termination of consular and diplomatic relations; Application of a special regime against citizens of an enemy state; The termination of agreements that were observed in peacetime. It is during this period that international humanitarian law begins to operate.