From January 6-9, The Center for Global Law & Policy at Santa Clara University School of Law hosted its third International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Workshop with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Details here. The workshop, which was open to LLMs, second- and third-year law students, featured lectures and hands-on workshops led by members of the ICRC, current and former members of the Judge Advocates General Corps, and Professor Beth Van Schaack of the law faculty.
In light of events in the Middle East and elsewhere, the topics were timely and included discussion of—when IHL applies; the challenges of conflict classification; the law governing targeting and limitations other means and methods of warfare; the legal regimes protecting vulnerable classes of people such as prisoners of war and civilians; internment and detention, non-state actors (such as terrorists, unprivileged combatants, and military contractors) and IHL; the concept of direct participation in hostilities and when civilians may be targeted; and the modalities and institutions of implementation and enforcement. Among other presenters, Major Olga Marie Anderson of the Army Judge Advocates General School gave a lecture on current detention operations in Iraq in light of the expiration of relevant Security Council Resolutions on Iraq and recent agreements between Iraq and the United States. Representatives from the Washington Office of the ICRC also discussed their ongoing activities in conflict zones around the world, including Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gaza.
The Workshop culminated in a negotiation and role-play exercise, in which students, representing various nation-states, were tasked with drafting a statute for a fictitious international tribunal to prosecute crimes of terrorism. Students had to grapple with defining the crimes within the court’s jurisdiction; reaching consensus on whether to address domestic as well as international terrorism; theorizing the interface between crimes of terrorism and IHL; establishing the relationship between proceedings before domestic courts and the jurisdiction of the proposed international tribunal; and agreeing upon punishable forms of participation.
The Workshop is held annually, and the Center for Global Law & Policy accepts applications beginning in September. Interested law students from any U.S. accredited law school are encouraged to apply next year. The Workshop is free, and the ICRC and the American Red Cross issues a certificate upon completion. Many law schools sponsor select students to attend to help defray the costs of travel and lodging.
