International Criminal Law in a Nutshell by Stewart David P.;

Author:Stewart, David P.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781640205987
Publisher: West Academic
Published: 2019-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

5.Common Article 3

Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions (called “common” because it appears in all four Conventions) obligates States Parties to provide at least a minimum of humanitarian protection to victims of armed conflicts, including in particular “persons taking no active part in hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention or any other cause.” Textually, the protection afforded by Common Article 3 is limited in two particular respects. First, it only applies to a certain category of internal hostilities (those occurring on the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties). Second, it only protects certain categories of victims of war (civilians or individuals who are taking no active part in the hostilities, because for example they are wounded or held prisoner).

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In Prosecutor v. Tolimir, IT-05-88/2-T, Judgment (Dec. 12, 2012), para. 683, the Appeals Chamber held that Common Article 3 applies in all armed conflicts, international and non-international alike, but there must be a “nexus” between the armed conflict and the crime in question. That connection need not have been causal but has to have played a “substantial part in the perpetrator’s ability to commit the crime.”

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