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Maxime Nijs, International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies, and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare Marco Sassòli, Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Volume 29, Issue 3, December 2024, Pages 391–397, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/krae010
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Extract
The large-scale armed conflicts that we are currently witnessing in Ukraine and Gaza, along with the immense suffering and destruction they cause, present unprecedented challenges to International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Numerous violations of IHL’s most elementary rules have already been recorded, frequently raising doubts about its effectiveness in regulating the conduct of belligerents in wartime. Beyond apparent violations of the law, concerns have been voiced about the increasingly permissive interpretations held by some of the belligerents.1 Indeed, these conflicts, once again, reveal deep disparities in the interpretation of IHL among its interpretative communities, leading to significant controversies about practically every aspect of the law.
Amidst these formidable challenges, the publication of the second edition of Professor Marco Sassòli’s seminal work, International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies, and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare, could not be timelier. True to the purpose of the first edition, this handbook precisely aims to shed more light on IHL’s most intricate complexities and controversies, both longstanding and emerging ones. Authored by one of the foremost experts in the field, the handbook’s first edition quickly became an essential resource for students, researchers, and practitioners alike. The second edition promises to become equally indispensable. Reflecting on the Russia–Ukraine war2 and taking into account other recent events and developments, the book has been thoroughly updated and expanded. However, what remains unchanged is Professor Sassòli’s rigorous analysis of the law and his commitment to achieving pragmatic yet principled solutions to problems arising in warfare. This review will first outline the textbook’s core features, followed by a discussion of some of the substantive additions in the second edition.
