Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot
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1.1History and Purpose
The Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot is organised by national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in partnership with ICRC regional delegations. Versions of the competition operate across multiple regions — including South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe — making it one of the most geographically distributed IHL moot competitions globally. The competition emerged from ICRC’s longstanding commitment to IHL dissemination through academic channels, and it reflects a deeply practical approach: problems are designed not merely to test doctrinal knowledge but to train lawyers capable of applying IHL in real operational contexts.
The competition is unique in that its organising body — the ICRC and national Red Cross societies — is itself the world’s most significant practitioner of the legal framework being tested. The feedback loop between competition design and operational IHL practice is therefore more direct in this competition than in virtually any other moot court event.
1.2Competition Architecture
| Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Organiser | National Red Cross / Red Crescent Societies with ICRC regional delegation support |
| Geographic Scope | Regional editions across South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe |
| Team Size | Typically 2–3 members; 2 oral advocates standard |
| Written Submissions | Memorial for both sides; scenario-based factual matrix drawn from composite conflicts |
| Oral Format | Pleadings before an IHL tribunal; judges intervene heavily with operational scenarios |
| Judging Panel | ICRC field delegates, IHL academics, Red Cross legal officers, military lawyers (JAG officers) |
| Scoring Focus | IHL accuracy, practical application, humanitarian reasoning, composure under pressure |
1.3What Makes This Competition Distinctively Demanding
2.1The ICRC Analytical Framework
The ICRC’s approach to IHL analysis is distinctive in three respects that every Red Cross IHL Moot competitor must internalise. First, the ICRC approaches every IHL question from the perspective of the protection objective — the question “what does the rule require?” is always paired with “what protection outcome does compliance with this rule achieve?” Second, the ICRC employs a humanitarian purpose teleology — where a treaty provision is ambiguous, the interpretation that better achieves humanitarian protection is preferred. Third, the ICRC operates with deep factual sensitivity — abstract legal principles are always translated into specific operational directives that can be communicated to commanders and combatants.
This means that Red Cross IHL Moot memorials and oral submissions must demonstrate not just doctrinal correctness but operational credibility. An argument that is technically defensible but would be unworkable in field conditions will be challenged by ICRC practitioner judges. An argument that accurately captures the protection purpose of a rule and translates it into clear operational guidance will be rewarded.
2.2ICRC Source Hierarchy in Legal Analysis
2.3The Three ICRC Analytical Lenses
| Lens | Question Asked | How It Shapes Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Protection Objective | “Who is this rule designed to protect, and from what harm?” | Arguments anchored in the protection beneficiary — civilian, POW, wounded, detainee — rather than abstract legal propositions |
| Humanitarian Purpose | “Which interpretation better fulfils the humanitarian purpose of this Convention?” | Ambiguous provisions resolved in favour of the more protective interpretation; object and purpose analysis central |
| Operational Credibility | “Can this rule be communicated to and complied with by commanders in field conditions?” | Arguments that require impossible levels of information or precision in combat are challenged as inconsistent with IHL’s practical architecture |
2.4Fact-Sensitive Battlefield Interpretation
Red Cross IHL Moot problems are deliberately fact-heavy. Unlike Jessup problems where facts support legal arguments at a macro level, Red Cross problems embed specific tactical and operational details — the distance of a target from a populated area, the type of weapons system used, the specific communications made before an attack, the exact conditions of detention — each of which directly affects the IHL analysis.
Effective battlefield interpretation requires the advocate to move fluidly between the abstract legal standard (e.g., the proportionality test) and the specific facts on the ground (the commander’s intelligence picture, the civilian population estimate, the anticipated military advantage). The best Red Cross IHL Moot advocates think simultaneously as lawyers and as operational advisers — they know what a military legal adviser would tell a commander, not just what a court would say years later.
4.1The Classification Framework
| Type | Definition | Applicable Law | Key Indicators |
|---|---|---|---|
| IAC | Armed conflict between two or more states; GC Common Art. 2 | GC I–IV in full; AP I; full body of customary IAC rules | State armed forces of two distinct states in armed opposition; international border crossed |
| NIAC (High Intensity) | Protracted armed conflict between state forces and organised armed group; CA3 + AP II | Common Art. 3; AP II (if ratified and threshold met); customary NIAC rules | OAG with organisational structure, effective command, capacity to sustain military operations |
| NIAC (Low Intensity) | Below AP II threshold but above CA3 threshold | Common Art. 3 only; applicable customary rules | Protracted armed violence; some organisational structure; but insufficient territorial control for AP II |
| Mixed Character | Concurrent IAC and NIAC in the same territory | Each party-to-party relationship governed by its applicable type | State conflict simultaneously with non-state conflict; occupation coexisting with NIAC |
| Occupation Without Active Conflict | Effective control of territory; no armed resistance | GC IV occupation provisions; Hague Regulations; customary occupation law | Occupying power exercises governmental functions; no effective resistance by the occupied state |
4.2The Tadić Threshold — NIAC Classification Test
The foundational legal test for NIAC classification was established by the ICTY Appeals Chamber in Prosecutor v. Tadić (1995, para. 70): “protracted armed violence between governmental authorities and organised armed groups or between such groups within a State.” Two elements must be demonstrated:
- Intensity of Violence: More than sporadic acts of internal violence; indicators include: the seriousness of attacks, spread of violence over territory, increase in armed clashes, type of weapons used, displacement of civilians, and involvement of security forces
- Organisation of Armed Group: Sufficient hierarchical command structure to impose discipline, plan and carry out military operations, and bear responsibility for IHL violations; indicators include: established chain of command, military headquarters, ability to recruit and train fighters, and communications infrastructure
4.3AP II vs. CA3 — The Internal Threshold
Additional Protocol II applies only to NIACs where: (a) an organised armed group is under responsible command, (b) the group exercises such control over a part of the state’s territory as to enable it to carry out sustained and concerted military operations, and (c) the state has ratified AP II. Common Article 3 sets a lower threshold — any armed conflict not of an international character occurring in a state’s territory. The difference matters enormously: AP II provides substantially greater protections, including Arts. 13–16 on civilian and medical protection.
5.1The Core Protection Trinity — Distinction, Proportionality, Precaution
Legal standard: Parties must at all times distinguish between civilians and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objectives. Attacks may only be directed at combatants and military objectives.
Military objective definition (Art. 52(2) AP I / Rule 8 CIHL): Objects which by their nature, location, purpose, or use make an effective contribution to military action AND whose partial or total destruction, capture, or neutralisation offers a definite military advantage in the circumstances ruling at the time. Both elements are conjunctive.
Dual-use objects: Objects serving both civilian and military purposes (communication towers, power plants, bridges) lose civilian protection only when they satisfy the Art. 52(2) test at the time of the attack. Prior military use does not automatically extend to future attacks. Red Cross problems routinely test whether the military use was current, substantial, and verifiable at the time of the decision to attack.
Legal standard: An attack is unlawful if it may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, or damage to civilian objects which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.
Assessment methodology: (1) Identify the anticipated civilian harm — concrete estimate of civilian casualties and property damage expected at the time of attack; (2) Identify the military advantage — concrete, direct, not merely speculative; (3) Balance — excessive means disproportionate, not merely some collateral damage; (4) Standard — objective reasonable commander, not the subjective belief of the actual commander.
Red Cross approach: The ICRC position — reflected in the updated Commentary on AP I — is that even small-scale expected civilian harm can constitute a violation if the military advantage is correspondingly limited. The proportionality calculus is not a high bar; it requires genuine weighing, not a post hoc rationalisation of civilian casualties as “acceptable.”
Legal standard: Those who plan and decide on attacks must take all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event minimise, incidental civilian casualties. “Feasible” means practicable taking into account military and humanitarian considerations.
Specific precautions required: (1) Verify that objectives are military objectives; (2) Select means and methods that minimise incidental civilian harm; (3) Refrain from attacks whose civilian harm would be excessive; (4) Give effective advance warning, unless circumstances do not permit; (5) Cancel or suspend attacks if it becomes apparent that the target is civilian or civilian harm would be excessive.
Red Cross NIAC application: Customary IHL Rule 15 applies in both IAC and NIAC — this is a non-controversial application of the Study. In Red Cross problems, the failure to take feasible precautions — particularly the failure to give advance warning and the failure to re-verify target identification — is a frequently tested violation.
5.2Direct Participation in Hostilities (DPH)
The ICRC’s 2009 Interpretive Guidance on Direct Participation in Hostilities establishes a three-element test for determining when a civilian loses protection against direct attack: (1) Threshold of harm — the act must be likely to adversely affect the military operations or military capacity of a party, or alternatively, to cause death, injury, or destruction to protected persons/objects; (2) Direct causation — a direct causal link between the specific act and the expected harm, without an independent intervening act by a third party; (3) Belligerent nexus — the act must be specifically designed to directly cause the required threshold of harm in support of one party and to the detriment of another.
The Guidance also establishes the “revolving door” concept: civilians who directly participate in hostilities lose their protection for the duration of their participation only — they do not permanently forfeit civilian status. This creates complex identification challenges in Red Cross problems involving irregular forces and part-time combatants.
6.1POW Status — Article 4 Geneva Convention III
Prisoner of War status attaches automatically to members of the armed forces of a party to an IAC (GC III Art. 4A(1)) and to members of organised resistance movements fulfilling four conditions: (a) commanded by a person responsible for subordinates; (b) wearing a fixed distinctive sign recognisable at a distance; (c) carrying arms openly; (d) conducting operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.
In Red Cross problems, the contested POW status scenarios typically involve: (a) members of para-military groups with ambiguous state affiliation; (b) fighters who partially comply with the four conditions; (c) persons captured while not actively engaged in hostilities; and (d) persons detained in occupation contexts. The fundamental rule of Art. 5 GC III applies: if there is any doubt as to whether a person qualifies as a POW, they shall be treated as a POW until their status is determined by a competent tribunal.
6.2Detention in NIAC — The Legal Gap Problem
One of the most contested areas in modern IHL is the legal framework governing detention in NIACs. GC III POW protections apply only in IACs. In NIACs, the applicable framework is Common Article 3 (minimum humane treatment, prohibition of torture and summary execution) and, where applicable, AP II (Art. 5 on persons whose liberty has been restricted). Customary IHL Rules 87–105 provide the most comprehensive customary framework.
The ICRC’s position — expressed in its 2005 Customary IHL Study and subsequent position papers — is that states party to a NIAC must have a legal basis for detention, provide meaningful procedural safeguards for review of detention, and ensure all detainees are treated in accordance with minimum humane treatment standards regardless of their legal categorisation.
6.3Interrogation Standards and Prohibited Treatment
| Standard | Legal Basis | Scope | Derogability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prohibition on Torture | Common Art. 3; GC III Art. 17; Rule 90 CIHL | All persons in the power of a party; both IAC and NIAC | Absolute — no military necessity exception |
| Prohibition on CIDT | GC III Art. 17; Rule 90 CIHL; AP II Art. 4 | All persons; both conflict types | Absolute — no exception regardless of security threat |
| Humane Treatment | Common Art. 3; GC III Art. 13; Rule 87 CIHL | All persons hors de combat; all conflict types | Absolute floor — can only be exceeded (greater protection) |
| Access by ICRC | GC III Arts. 125–126; GC IV Art. 143 | All POWs and civilian internees; IAC primarily | Non-derogable in IAC; ICRC’s right to offer services in NIAC |
7.1When Does Occupation Begin?
Occupation commences when an occupying power establishes actual authority over enemy territory — the effective control test (Art. 42 Hague Regulations 1907). The key indicators are: (a) the occupying power is in a position to exercise authority; (b) the authority of the territorial sovereign has been suspended; and (c) the occupying power has established, or is in a position to establish, its own administration.
Red Cross problems frequently involve disputes over whether effective control has been established — particularly in situations of contested control (urban districts where forces are present but resistance continues) or remote control (territory governed at a distance through proxy forces). The ICRC’s position is that the test is functional, not formal: if an occupying power can exercise governmental functions over a population, it bears the corresponding obligations under occupation law.
7.2Core Obligations of the Occupying Power
- Food and medical supplies (GC IV Art. 55): Occupying power must ensure food and medical supplies for the civilian population “to the fullest extent of the means available to it” — cannot use blockade or supply denial as an instrument of governance
- Public order (Hague Reg. Art. 43): Occupying power must take all measures to restore and ensure public order and civil life “while respecting, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country”
- Prohibition on transfer of own population (GC IV Art. 49(6) / Rule 130 CIHL): Occupying power must not transfer parts of its own civilian population into occupied territory — the most politically sensitive occupation law provision
- Protection of civilian property (Hague Reg. Arts. 46–56): Private property must be respected; public property may be administered but not confiscated; cultural property requires special protection
- IHRL application: The ICJ in the Wall Advisory Opinion (2004) and in Armed Activities (DRC v. Uganda, 2005) confirmed that IHRL continues to apply in occupied territory alongside IHL
8.1The Legal Basis for Humanitarian Access
- GC IV Art. 23 (IAC): Free passage of consignments of medical supplies, foodstuffs, and clothing for civilians, children, pregnant women, and maternity cases — subject to security screening rights
- GC IV Arts. 59–62 (IAC — Occupied Territory): If the occupying power is unable to provide adequate food and medical supplies, relief schemes must be facilitated; ICRC and other humanitarian organisations must be allowed to undertake such schemes
- AP I Art. 70 (IAC): If the civilian population is insufficiently provided for, humanitarian relief operations must be undertaken; parties must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of relief consignments, equipment, and personnel
- Rule 55 CIHL (Both IAC and NIAC): Parties must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need — applies to both state parties and non-state armed groups
8.2Protection of Humanitarian Workers
Humanitarian workers are civilians under IHL and benefit from all protections afforded to civilians — they may not be targeted unless they directly participate in hostilities. Additional specific protections arise from: Art. 71 AP I (relief personnel), the UN Safety Convention (1994) — which applies to UN personnel in operations authorised under the UN Charter — and Rule 31 CIHL (humanitarian relief personnel and objects used in humanitarian relief operations must be respected and protected).
The growing phenomenon of attacks on humanitarian workers in contemporary conflicts — MSF, ICRC, and WFP personnel — has made this a central issue in Red Cross IHL Moot problems. Arguments must engage with: the distinction between accidental and targeted attacks; the loss of civilian protection doctrine; command responsibility for failure to prevent attacks; and the accountability gap in NIAC contexts where non-state armed groups attack humanitarian workers.
9.1The Medical Protection Framework
| Protected Entity | Legal Basis | Scope of Protection | Loss of Protection Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wounded & Sick | GC I Arts. 12–18; Rule 110 CIHL | Must be respected and protected; collected and cared for | None — absolute protection; even enemy combatants hors de combat |
| Medical Personnel | GC I Arts. 24–26; Rule 25 CIHL | Must be respected and protected; cannot be targeted | Only if committing acts harmful to the enemy outside humanitarian function, after warning |
| Medical Units | GC I Arts. 19–23; Rule 28 CIHL | Must be respected and protected at all times | Only if used to commit acts harmful to enemy, after warning and reasonable time to comply |
| Medical Transports | GC I Arts. 35–37; Rule 29 CIHL | Protected in same manner as medical units | Same conditions as medical units; must display protective emblem |
| Protective Emblem | GC I Arts. 38–44; AP III; Rules 30–32 CIHL | Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Crystal — three recognised emblems | Perfidious use of emblem is a grave breach (Art. 85(3)(f) AP I) |
9.2The Dual-Use Medical Facility Problem
One of the most contested scenarios in modern armed conflict — and in Red Cross IHL Moot problems — is the dual-use medical facility: a hospital or medical unit that is also used (whether by the defending party’s forces or by non-state armed groups) to store weapons, shelter combatants, or direct military operations. The legal framework for this scenario is Art. 19 GC IV and Rule 28 CIHL.
Loss of protection requires: (1) acts harmful to the enemy are committed from the medical facility; (2) a warning is given calling upon cessation of those acts; (3) a reasonable time limit is allowed for compliance; (4) only after these conditions are met may the facility be attacked. The ICRC’s position is that this sequence is mandatory — there is no exception permitting immediate attack even where military urgency is claimed.
10.1The Seven Principles — Content and Legal Relevance
11.1ICRC Source Hierarchy — Practical Research Protocol
- Treaty Text (ihl-databases.icrc.org): Full text of Geneva Conventions I–IV and Additional Protocols I–III; all states’ ratifications, reservations, and derogations; historical travaux préparatoires for contested provisions
- ICRC Updated Commentaries: GC I (2016), GC II (2017), GC III (2020) — free at ihl-databases.icrc.org; cite paragraph numbers not just article numbers; note where Commentary acknowledges interpretive controversy
- ICRC Customary IHL Study (2005): All 161 rules with state practice citations; cross-reference each rule against the online practice database (which is regularly updated post-publication)
- ICRC Interpretive Guidance Documents: DPH Guidance (2009); AWS position papers; humanitarian access guidelines; medical care in armed conflict guidance — these represent ICRC’s operational positions on the most contested issues
- International Review of the Red Cross (IRRC): The primary IHL academic journal; all articles are freely accessible online; search by theme for the most current scholarly analysis of the issues raised in your problem
- ICTY / ICTR / ICC Jurisprudence: icc-cpi.int/legal-tools; icty.org — use as confirmatory authority rather than primary; flag where court decisions diverge from ICRC Commentary positions
- UN CoI Reports and OHCHR Reports: Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, Gaza CoI reports — current state practice and accountability analysis from expert UN bodies; essential for practical grounding
11.2Customary IHL Database Research Methodology
The ICRC Customary IHL Study database (ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl) is more than just the 161 rules — it contains the underlying state practice citations that justify each rule. For contested rules (particularly those applicable to NIAC), the practice analysis is essential. The research protocol for any contested customary rule:
- Identify the rule number and its stated scope (IAC only, NIAC only, or both)
- Read the rule commentary — where does the Study acknowledge contested state practice or opinio juris?
- Access the practice database for the specific rule — identify the strongest state practice citations supporting your position
- Check for any ICRC Expert Meeting Reports or subsequent IRRC articles that update the analysis post-2005
- Cross-reference with the Geneva Academy RULAC project for current conflict-specific application
11.3Research Databases
12.1The Three Structural Differences
1. Conflict Classification Must Lead: Unlike Jessup memorials where jurisdiction is often a threshold treated briefly, Red Cross IHL memorials must open with a comprehensive conflict classification analysis. The classification — IAC, NIAC, occupation — determines every subsequent legal framework. A thorough, precisely argued classification section is the foundation of the entire memorial.
2. Protection Beneficiary, Not State Interest: Arguments are structured around the person or object being protected — the civilian population, the wounded soldier, the detained prisoner, the medical facility — not around abstract state entitlements. This shifts the argumentative register from “State X is entitled to…” to “The civilian population of [area] is protected from [conduct] by [rule] because…”
3. Operational Context Integration: Facts from the problem must be integrated continuously throughout the legal analysis — not stated once in a facts section and then abandoned. Every legal proposition should be immediately applied to specific facts from the compromis, and the operational context (type of weapons, time of attack, state of intelligence available) must be brought to bear on each IHL assessment.
Red Cross IHL Moot
ARTICLE 19 GC IV, ARTICLE 18 AP I, AND RULE 28 OF THE ICRC
CUSTOMARY IHL STUDY — AND THE CONDITIONS FOR LOSS OF PROTECTION
WERE NOT SATISFIED
// Classification context — always state applicable framework first
This conflict is a NIAC between [State A] armed forces and the organised
armed group Al-Saraya, satisfying the Tadic threshold (ICTY, 1995, para. 70)
of both protracted violence and organisational capacity. The applicable
framework is Common Article 3, the ICRC Customary IHL Study, and where
[State A] has ratified AP II, those provisions apply additionally.
Rule 28 CIHL applies in NIAC: “Medical units exclusively assigned to
medical purposes must be respected and protected in all circumstances.”
// Protection objective — identify who is being protected and from what
The Al-Noor Hospital provided surgical care to 847 civilians including
62 children in the week preceding the strike (Compromis Annex 8, MSF report).
Rule 28 protects such facilities from attack to preserve access to medical
care for the civilian population — a foundational humanitarian protection.
// Loss of protection — sequential conditions NOT met
For the hospital to lose its protected status, three sequential conditions
must be met (Rule 28 CIHL Commentary; ICRC GC IV Commentary, para. 1496):
(1) Acts harmful to the enemy are committed from the facility;
(2) Warning is given calling upon cessation, with reasonable time limit;
(3) The warning remains unheeded.
// Application — each condition tested against compromis facts
Condition (1): The evidence of military use is contested. Respondent alleges
weapons storage (Compromis Annex 12, intelligence report), but the report
itself is marked “low confidence assessment” and is contradicted by MSF’s
on-site inspection completed 6 hours before the strike (Annex 8, para. 3).
Condition (2): NO WARNING was issued — Respondent’s own operational log
records “time-sensitive target; immediate engagement” (Annex 13, entry 14:22).
The warning requirement is non-derogable; urgency does not suspend it.
Condition (2) was never met. The attack was therefore unlawful.
13.1Oral Style — The IHL Operational Adviser Register
Red Cross IHL Moot oral rounds demand a distinctive advocacy register: the IHL operational adviser. This means: precise, not flowery; operationally grounded, not abstractly doctrinal; protection-purpose centred, not strategically one-sided; and honest about uncertainty, not over-confident about contested rules. ICRC practitioner judges respond most positively to advocates who think and speak as if they genuinely understand what it means to apply IHL in the field.
13.2The Humanitarian Balancing Framework
Red Cross IHL problems frequently present situations requiring a balancing of competing IHL considerations — military necessity against humanitarian protection. The advocate must demonstrate mastery of this balancing framework. The structure is:
- Identify the protection obligation: What specific rule protects the person, object, or activity in question?
- Identify the claimed military necessity exception: What is the specific IHL exception or qualification that the opposing party claims permits the conduct?
- Apply the exception’s requirements precisely: Does the conduct actually satisfy all conditions of the exception? (e.g., Was there a warning? Was the military advantage concrete and direct? Was the proportionality assessment objectively reasonable?)
- Apply the benefit-of-the-doubt principle: In cases of genuine doubt, protection is presumed — the burden of establishing loss of protection rests on the party claiming it
- State the humanitarian consequence: What protection failure resulted from the conduct? Who specifically was harmed?
13.3Handling the Most Difficult Bench Questions
This question tests your understanding of the “feasibility” standard. IHL does not require perfect compliance — it requires that all feasible precautions be taken. “Feasible” means what is practicable given military and humanitarian constraints at the time. The standard is objective reasonableness: what a reasonably prudent commander would have done with the information available. However, “feasibility” does not provide a blanket exemption — absolute prohibitions (torture, perfidy, starvation as a method of warfare) admit no feasibility qualification whatsoever. Know precisely which IHL rules are absolute and which admit a feasibility qualification.
Engage with the ICRC Customary IHL Study directly. Each of the 161 rules specifies whether it applies in IAC only, NIAC only, or both. For the specific rule challenged, cite: (a) the rule’s stated scope in the Study; (b) the state practice most relevant to NIAC application; (c) whether ICTY or ICC jurisprudence has applied it in NIAC. Where the Study’s evidence for NIAC application is stronger (e.g., Rules 87–105 on humane treatment, where state practice is near-universal), the customary status is well-established. Where it is thinner (e.g., some targeting precaution rules), acknowledge the uncertainty while arguing the better-reasoned position.
This tests the consent vs. legal obligation tension in humanitarian access law. State sovereignty over humanitarian access is not absolute under IHL. Rule 55 CIHL establishes a customary obligation to allow and facilitate humanitarian relief — the ICRC Commentary and state practice confirm that consent cannot be arbitrarily withheld where the civilian population is in urgent need. The key phrase from AP I Art. 70(1): relief schemes “shall be undertaken” subject only to consent of parties concerned. The ICRC’s position — supported by UN Security Council Resolutions 2165 (2014) and 2286 (2016) — is that consent may not be used as a weapon of war to deny relief to civilian populations in need.
AWS questions test whether you understand that IHL applies to the effects of weapons, not to the technology itself. The ICRC’s position (2021 IHL and Autonomous Weapon Systems report): existing IHL fully applies to AWS, but: (a) the principles of distinction and proportionality require human judgment that cannot currently be reliably delegated to algorithms; (b) meaningful human control over individual attacks is required to ensure IHL compliance and accountability; (c) new rules may be needed to address the specific challenges of AWS. In a Red Cross problem, the argument should be: the specific targeting decision violated IHL because the AWS could not reliably apply the distinction/proportionality assessment in the factual conditions present — not that AWS are categorically prohibited (which is not settled law).
14.1Practice Scenarios
- Does Aresia’s closure of land routes violate Rule 53 CIHL (prohibition on starvation as a method of warfare)? What is the threshold between lawful blockade and unlawful starvation?
- Did the first airstrike satisfy the three-step loss of protection requirements for the hospital? Was firing from the hospital perimeter (not from inside) sufficient to trigger loss of protection?
- Does the second artillery strike constitute an indiscriminate attack under Rule 11 CIHL if suppression fire was directed at FLNB positions 200m from the hospital?
- Does Aresia have an obligation to facilitate ICRC access to the hospital? What is the legal consequence of refusal?
- Does Article 5 GC III require individual status determination proceedings before POW status is denied? What is a “competent tribunal” under Article 5?
- Do the detention conditions violate Rule 87 CIHL (humane treatment) and Rule 90 CIHL (prohibition on torture and CIDT) even if the detainees do not hold POW status?
- Does sleep deprivation for 96 hours constitute torture or CIDT under the absolute prohibition? Is the “enhanced interrogation” characterisation legally relevant?
- Does Aresia’s refusal of ICRC access violate GC III Arts. 125–126? What is ICRC’s right to offer services in NIAC contexts?
15.1Judging Criteria
| Criterion | What Judges Are Assessing | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| IHL Accuracy | Correct identification and application of treaty provisions, customary rules, and ICRC Commentary positions | Very High |
| Conflict Classification | Correct classification of the conflict type with factual grounding and precise legal criteria | High — errors invalidate everything downstream |
| Operational Credibility | Would this argument work in a field advisory context? Is it practically grounded? | High for ICRC practitioner judges |
| Humanitarian Purpose Reasoning | Does the advocate demonstrate understanding of why the rule exists — not just what it says? | High |
| Factual Integration | Is the law consistently applied to the specific facts — not argued in abstract? | High |
| Bench Responsiveness | Direct, honest, precise answers to judicial questions; no evasion | Medium-High |
| Composure Under Pressure | Ability to maintain analysis quality when challenged on contested points | Medium |
16.1Memorial Failures
- Conflict classification treated as a formality: The most expensive error — 2–3 sentences on classification followed by immediate merits argument. Classification deserves comprehensive analysis: factual indicators, legal criteria, bilateral relationships, and precise consequences for the applicable framework.
- AP I applied to NIAC: AP I governs IACs only. Applying its targeting provisions to a NIAC without customary IHL support is immediately apparent to IHL-trained judges and discredits the entire submission.
- Citing only judicial decisions and ignoring ICRC Commentaries: In the Red Cross IHL Moot source hierarchy, ICRC Commentaries outrank ICTY/ICC decisions for IHL interpretation. Teams that build arguments on ICTY case law alone without engaging the Commentary miss the primary interpretive authority recognised by the ICRC judges evaluating their work.
- Abstract legal argument without factual grounding: Every IHL proposition must be immediately applied to specific facts from the scenario. “The principle of distinction was violated” is not an argument without specific identification of which conduct, which target, and which rule was violated.
- Failing to address loss-of-protection conditions: When arguing that medical facilities, humanitarian workers, or civilian objects were unlawfully attacked, teams must address whether the loss-of-protection conditions were satisfied — not just assert that the protection existed.
16.2Oral Advocacy Failures
- Arguing IHL as a partisan exercise: Red Cross IHL judges are sensitive to advocates who approach IHL as a one-sided strategic argument. The register should be that of an IHL adviser applying the law — not an advocate trying to win at all costs.
- Claiming false certainty on contested rules: IHL contains genuinely uncertain areas — NIAC detention standards, the scope of DPH, the application of some customary rules. Acknowledging uncertainty and then arguing the better-reasoned position is far more credible than claiming a clear rule where none exists.
- Ignoring the jus ad bellum / jus in bello distinction: Arguing that because a party’s use of force was lawful (or unlawful), its conduct in hostilities was correspondingly lawful (or unlawful) is a fundamental IHL error. The two regimes are entirely independent.
- Failing to quantify humanitarian harm: Red Cross IHL judges respond to arguments grounded in concrete humanitarian consequences — the number of civilians affected, the specific medical care denied, the precise conditions of detention. Vague references to “civilian suffering” are less persuasive than specific factual applications.
Read one ICTY/ICC judgment passage (30 mins)
Study one CIHL rule from the ICRC Study + commentary
Work on memorial — 2 hours minimum
Practice conflict classification argument (timed)
Read one ICRC blog or IRRC article
Add one ICRC Commentary paragraph to research notes
Write model answer to one bench question
Review current conflict via RULAC or CoI report
18.1Essential Books
- Henckaerts & Doswald-Beck, Customary International Humanitarian Law (ICRC/Cambridge, 2005) — The foundational reference; read alongside the online updated practice database
- Marco Sassòli, International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies and Solutions (Edward Elgar, 2019) — Most comprehensive modern IHL treatise; exceptional on NSAGs and NIAC complexity
- Gary Solis, The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law in War (2nd ed., Cambridge, 2016) — Accessible and comprehensive; excellent for oral preparation
- Yoram Dinstein, The Conduct of Hostilities under the Law of International Armed Conflict (3rd ed., Cambridge, 2016) — Targeting law specialist text; essential for proportionality and military objective arguments
- ICRC Updated Commentaries: GC I (2016), GC II (2017), GC III (2020) — Free at ihl-databases.icrc.org; cite specific paragraph numbers
- Michael Schmitt (ed.), Tallinn Manual 2.0 (Cambridge, 2017) — Essential if the problem includes cyber operations in armed conflict
18.2Essential Journals & Online Resources
- International Review of the Red Cross (Cambridge / ICRC) — The premier IHL journal; free online access to all articles
- Journal of International Criminal Justice (Oxford) — ICC, ICTY, ICTR jurisprudence analysis
- ICRC IHL Database: ihl-databases.icrc.org — Treaties, customary IHL rules, national practice, commentaries
- Geneva Academy RULAC: rulac.org — Real-time armed conflict classification database
- ICRC Humanitarian Law & Policy Blog: blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy
- Just Security: justsecurity.org — Current IHL analysis by senior practitioners and academics
- Humanitarian Law & Policy Briefs: ICRC free publications on AWS, detention, cyber, medical care
Law That Protects
Human Dignity Under Fire
International humanitarian law exists because someone decided that even in war, human beings retain their humanity. To argue IHL is not to win a legal competition — it is to understand, defend, and advance the minimum standards of civilisation that apply even when everything else has broken down. Prepare with that seriousness. Compete with that purpose.
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