War & law

Conduct of hostilities

International law on the conduct of hostilities regulates and limits the methods and means of warfare used by parties to an armed conflict. It aims to strike a balance between legitimate military action and the humanitarian objective of reducing human suffering, particularly among civilians. Read full overview

Selected Topics

Methods and means of warfare

International law restricts the methods and means used in war, limiting types of weapons, how they are used and soldiers’ conduct. A distinction must always be made between legitimate military targets and civilians.
Cultural property

The protection of cultural property during armed conflict is based on the principle that damage to the cultural property of any people means, in the words of the 1954 Hague Convention, “damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind”.
War and the natural environment

International humanitarian law aims to protect the civilian population during armed conflict and to ensure its survival. As a result, it also seeks to protect the natural environment without which human life is impossible.

Legal basis

Customary law

Reference documents

Analysis

Reviewing the legality of new weapons, means and methods of warfare

Parties to an armed conflict are limited in their choice of weapons, means and methods of warfare by the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) governing the conduct of hostilities. This article goes back to the relevant rules.

31-12-2006 | International Review of the Red Cross | Kathleen Lawand
Precautions under the law governing the conduct of hostilities

This article presents a descriptive analysis of the precautions that are required of all belligerents in order to ensure the protection of civilian populations and objects against the effects of hostilities.

31-12-2006 | International Review of the Red Cross | Jean-François Quéguiner

International Review of the Red Cross More articles

Publications More publications

Water and war: ICRC response

Water and sanitation in conflict-affected countries where the ICRC works.
The International Review of the Red Cross: French selection 2006

This issue is a collection of articles drown from the four special issues of the year 2006 whose themes included: methods of warfare, private military companies, truth and reconciliation commissions, international criminal tribunals. The articles were selected based on their quality and originality.