Chapter 3. The Regulation Of Wars Of National Liberation Under International Humanitarian Law – The Jus In Bello

It is the aim of this chapter to analyse the international humanitarian law which is potentially applicable to situations of wars of national liberation and to discuss the protection afforded thereby to both civilians and combatants. Law is ever-evolving and developing and therefore this chapter undertakes the study of the international humanitarian law provisions applicable to wars of national liberation in a chronological order. Section 1 examines the development of international humanitarian law through the adoption of the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims of 19492. Section 2 briefly discusses the Diplomatic Conference for the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts of 1974 - 1977. The third section concentrates on one of the results of this Conference i.e., Protocol I regarding international armed conflicts. The final section focuses on the second result of the Conference - Protocol I. regarding non-international armed conflicts.Keywords: armed conflicts; Diplomatic Conference; International humanitarian law; national liberation; War Victims