Human Rights Law Vs Ihl Essay

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INTRODUCTION
It is well known that international humanitarian law (the “IHL”) and International Human Rights Law (the “IHRL”) are two distinct disciplines. In recent years, however, the relationship between IHL and HRL has become very controversial. The interaction between IHL and IHRL raises a number of difficulties; however this was not always the case. Prior to the introduction of the UN Charter, a State had to make a declaration of war before engaging in armed conflict. As a result there was a sharp distinction between war and peace and it was certain when the laws of war were applicable. The introduction of the Charter has blurred this distinction as there is now a prohibition on the use of force and further difficulties have arisen following …show more content…

IHRL requires that the occupying State take all measures necessary to ensure its human rights obligations, whereas IHL requires that the laws already existing on the territory remain in force. The Penal Code of Iran allows for stoning as a punishment for adultery48, which would be incompatible with both the ICCPR and ECHR, at the very least, because it would amount to torture or inhumane treatment. On the one hand, IHL prohibits the UK from changing the law, however IHRL requires the UK to take all measures possible to prevent the stoning of adulterers.
The human rights rule could not easily be read down because the prohibition on torture and non-degrading treatment is a non-derogable provision under Article 4 ICCPR and because it is a norm of jus cogens, a fundamental principle accepted by the international community, from which no derogation is permitted.49 It is very unlikely that IHRL would ever be read down so as to permit stoning for adultery.
The IHL rule could be read down as the Hague Regulation requires the occupying State to ensure the laws in force, unless it is absolutely prevented from doing so. One could argue that human rights norms prevent the State from adhering to …show more content…

Terrorism represents a difficult challenge in relation to this discussion because terrorist actions and actors do not fit easily into the existing legal norms and sanctions of IHL and IHRL and because there is no international definition. Several problems arise in relation to the war on terror including what legal status this ‘war’ should be given in terms of IHL and how far this ‘war’ threatens the life of the nation to allow human rights derogations. In particular these problems relate to arbitrary and indefinite detention of

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