jus in bello

Jus in bello, now usually called international humanitarian law, limits the means and methods of warfare and protects people who are not, or are no longer, taking part in hostilities: civilians, the wounded and sick, prisoners of war. Its main sources are the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, and customary law. Its core principles are distinction, proportionality, military necessity and the prohibition of unnecessary suffering.

It applies equally to all parties regardless of whether the war was lawfully begun, which is a separate question of jus ad bellum. India gives effect to the Geneva Conventions through the Geneva Conventions Act, 1960.

Example

Even in a lawful war of self-defence, deliberately bombing a hospital violates jus in bello.

In Indian law

• Geneva Conventions, 1949, and Geneva Conventions Act, 1960

See also

jus ad bellum · genocide · International Criminal Court · universal jurisdiction