Definition of Internationalized Armed Conflicts and their Legal Nature

Abstract

The rules of international humanitarian law have regulated two types of armed conflicts, namely, non-international and international armed conflicts. In addition, there are other armed conflicts that are difficult to be adapted and categorized in any of the two known conflicts, namely internationalized armed conflicts. In fact, internationalized armed conflicts have emerged due to the divergence of the political interests of states and their frequent interferences in the affairs of each other. This new type of armed conflicts has been termed differently, including mixed, internationalized or contemporary armed conflicts, but the most frequently used term is internationalized armed conflicts, in line with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has used this term on numerous occasions.

These armed conflicts still pose many problems, both in terms of providing an established legal definition and determining their legal nature, and thus the difficulty of characterizing them under any type of armed conflicts known at present. The importance of this study lies in the multiplicity of internationalized armed conflicts and their unprecedented spread. Despite the critical effects of such conflicts, the rules of international humanitarian law did not regulate them and were confined to international and non-international armed conflicts, with no compromises between them. In addition, internationalized armed conflicts pose a major challenge to the international community due to their obscure nature.

The problem lies in the absence of a legal and accurate description of internationalized armed conflicts, both in terms of their definition or their legal adaptation, and thus the lack of knowledge of the law applicable to them. It is noteworthy that adaptation is a difficult and complex issue, due to certain circumstances and the conflict of interests of the intervening countries. This raises many questions, including:

1. What is meant by internationalized armed conflicts?
2. Are they a third category of armed conflicts?
3. What are the legal rules applicable to internationalized armed conflicts?
4. Are there any criteria adopted by international jurisprudence to determine the responsibility of the parties involved in internationalized armed conflicts, and have they been effective?

This study relied on the inductive analytical approach of the texts of the international conventions related to the subject of the study, including the four Geneva Conventions and the relevant protocols, with the aim of knowing the position of internationalized armed conflicts in the law of international and non-international armed conflicts.