The Gentle Humanizer of Humanitarian Law: Antonio Cassese and the Creation of the Customary Law of Non-International Armed Conflicts

Abstract:     
This chapter focuses on the role of Antonio Cassese in the development of the customary law of non-international armed conflicts. Analyzing the situation before the decision of the Appeals Chamber of the ICTY in Tadić, the author submits that there was no general acceptance of a body of customary norms applicable to internal conflicts but the existence of such rules received widespread recognition after the ruling. The central thesis of this paper is that this judgment was opportunistically used by Cassese as a vehicle to ‘humanize’ humanitarian law, i.e. to extend the regulatory framework of international armed conflict to non-international armed conflicts. Following an examination of the process of successful completion of this project, this chapter concludes with the examination of the potential merits and pitfalls of such an endeavour.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 22

Keywords: customary law, humanitarian law, customary international humanitarian law, non-international armed conflict, Cassese

JEL Classification: K33

Accepted Paper Series