Classic Distinctions and Modern Conflicts in International Humanitarian Law: Exploring the Struggles and Consequences of Maintaining the Original Distinctions in International Humanitarian Law between Peace and War and International and Internal Conflict.

Abstract: International Humanitarian Law has at its core distinctions and classifications: The sphere between jus in bello and jus ad bellum. Between Civilian and Combatant. Between proportional and indiscriminate attack. Between acceptable and prohibited targets. However the two most central distinctions in International Humanitarian Law are the distinction between War and Peacetime and between International and Non- International Armed Conflict. This essay will explore the significance of these two distinctions and how they impact the application and effect International Humanitarian Law has on war. However it will find that war has changed to an extent that it no longer fits into the established classes. These distinctions are arbitrary, dated, and inflexible serving not to help implement the law but to hinder its application and so fail it’s object and purpose of mitigating all suffering in all forms of war.