Intervention in XIXth Century International Law and the Distinction between Rebellions, Insurrections and Civil Wars

Abstract

This article looks at how customary international law rules on intervention developed in the XIXth century. In particular, different forms of internal unrest are examined in order to establish whether they entailed different regimes of external intervention. The article starts with rebellions and insurrections and then moves to discuss civil wars by distinguishing three situations: that where the civil war has led to the de facto secession of part of a State, that where the insurgents have been recognized as belligerents by the government of the State in civil strife and/or by third States, and that of a civil war where no recognition of belligerency has occurred. Finally, the article briefly looks at the alleged existence of a customary rule providing for the recognition of insurgency and at its effects on third State intervention.

Keywords: intervention, civil war, insurrection, rebellion, international law, history of international law

JEL Classification: K33