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What Counts as an Armed Conflict? IAC vs NIAC Explained
When violence becomes an armed conflict under international humanitarian law—and why the classification changes which legal rules apply.
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Topic: International humanitarian law
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What Is a War Crime? Meaning, Examples and Legal Tests
War crimes are serious violations of international humanitarian law that give rise to individual criminal responsibility. Here is what that means in practice.
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What Are Crimes Against Humanity?
How crimes against humanity differ from war crimes and genocide, and what “widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population” means.
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What Is Genocide Under International Law?
Genocide has a specific legal definition centred on intent to destroy a protected group. This explainer separates that test from the wider political use…
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What Is Military Occupation Under International Law?
Occupation is a factual legal category based on unconsented effective control by hostile foreign forces—not a synonym for invasion, annexation or sovereignty.
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Occupation vs Annexation: What Is the Difference?
Occupation concerns effective control of territory during conflict; annexation is a claim to incorporate territory into a State. The concepts are related but not…
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What Is Collective Punishment in War?
Collective penalties punish people for acts they did not personally commit. International humanitarian law prohibits collective punishment of protected persons.
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Human Shields and the Laws of War
What “human shields” means in international humanitarian law—and why the unlawful use of shields does not remove an attacker’s obligations toward civilians.
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Prisoners of War: Who Qualifies and What Protections Apply?
POW status carries a detailed protection regime under the Third Geneva Convention. Here is who may qualify and what detention rules apply.
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Can Hospitals Be Attacked in War? What the Law Says
Hospitals and medical units receive specific protection under international humanitarian law. That protection is strong, but the legal rules include narrow exceptions.