Specter on 7/9/2008 at 14:17
That's an interesting stat. What defines a conflict?
demagogue on 7/9/2008 at 21:26
Exactly. As a lawyer, realizing that the entire law of armed conflict turns on what is a "conflict", and it's debateable ... complicates things to say the least. :sweat:
To answer your question, though,
Quote:
Currently there is no authoritative definition of armed conflict in international law, and the debate focuses almost exclusively on how the term “armed conflict” is used in the Geneva Conventions [declared war, armed conflicts where war has not been declared and in an occupation of another country's territory, and minimal protections during an armed conflict not of an international character]. It has become clear that when a conflict falls outside a core situation of armed conflict, the Geneva Conventions cannot provide a definitive answer as to whether or not it is an armed conflict.
... In those cases you have to look at historical practice, which can give ambiguous answers you have to interpret. All of this is critically important, of course, because the war on terror is right in the middle of one of those ambiguities.
