The Traditional Distinction between International and Internal Armed Conflict: Legal Artefact or Legal Fact?

Abstract

The theme of this paper is the distinction between international and internal armed conflict and the analytical task combines the examination as to whether that distinction traditionally existed and the careful consideration as to whether the distinction remains viable and useful in the modern era of the ICTY (The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia), and the ICC (International Criminal Court). It is submitted that the reliance on the dichotomy has been the prevailing approach, but nonetheless there is currently erosion to it, alas without nullifying its legal significance. As a corollary of the blurring of the distinction, there is a clearer presentation of the core of the problem, namely States’ unwillingness to comply at the implementation stage.