definition of armed conflict in international law

This means that the occurrence of international armed conflict is clear, that is, it would be a conflict between the legal armed forces of two different states. According to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, common article 2 states that “all cases of declared war or of any armed conflict that may arise between two or more high contracting parties, even if the state of war is not recognized, the convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total occupation of the territory of a high contracting party even if the said occupation meets with no armed resistance'' (Geneva Convention, 1949, common art.2). International humanitarian law does make it clear what an international armed conflict is. The Charter prohibits such use of force with two exceptions: cases of self-defence against an armed attack, and when the use of armed force is authorized by the United Nations Security Council. IHL does not stipulate whether the commencement of an armed conflict was legitimate or not, but rather seeks to regulate the behaviour of parties once it has started.There are three types of conflicts that are recognized by international humanitarian law: international armed conflict, internationalized armed conflict, and non-international armed conflict. IHL is also known as 'the law of war' or 'the law of armed conflict'. IHL is part of public international law, which is made up primarily of treaties, customary international law and general principles of law (see Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice). A distinction must be made between IHL, which regulates the conduct of parties engaged in an armed conflict (jus in bello), and public international law, as set out in the Charter of the United Nations, which regulates whether a state may lawfully resort to armed force against another state (jus ad bellum).

It protects persons who are not, or are no longer, directly or actively participating in hostilities, and imposes limits on the means and methods of warfare. International humanitarian law (IHL) is a set of rules that seeks, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict.

Definition of armed conflict in international law