Pros and Cons of the 1977 Protocol I

Authors

Howard S. Levie

Abstract

There are many provisions of value to be found in the 1977 Protocol Additional to the 1949 Geneva Conventions (Protocol ). Unfortunately, there are also a number of provisions which would have been better left undrafted. This discussion will be limited to several provisions, or groups of provisions, which appear to be major advances in the humanitarian law of war - and several provisions, or groups of provisions, which appear to be retrogressive. Obviously, neither list will be all-inclusive; to make them so would require a listing and discussion of practically every substantive article in the Protocol. In fact, inasmuch as the lists must necessarily be rather short, it is extremely difficult to decide which "good" and which "bad" provisions should be included. Unquestionably, other students of the Protocol would not entirely agree with the selections to be found herein. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that the fact that an article is considered to be an advance in the humanitarian law of war does not necessarily mean that the writer believes that it is as well drafted as it could have been or that all of its parts should have been included therein.

Recommended Citation

Levie, Howard S. (1986) "Pros and Cons of the 1977 Protocol I," Akron Law Review: Vol. 19: Iss. 4, Article 4.
Available at: https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/akronlawreview/vol19/iss4/4