OADH 3065 - International Humanitarian Law (IHL): Between Idealism and Realism

The course “International Humanitarian Law (IHL): between idealism and realism” is a foundation course for understanding the IHL main rules and the challenges of its implementation in the field of humanitarian action.

IHL is a set of rules that seek to limit the effects of armed conflict, with the dual purpose of saving those who do not, or no longer, participate directly in hostilities and to restrict the use of violence to the strict military necessity.

IHL is a branch of public international law that has close relations with other branches, such as international human rights law and international criminal law, but also with international politics and transitional justice. While analyzing its principles, sources, rules and jurisprudence, and using case studies for reflecting the challenges of its implementation, this course encourages a critical and interdisciplinary approach of IHL.

Learning outcomes:

• Understand the concept, the purpose and the limitations of IHL.
• Develop a basic knowledge of IHL principles (distinction, proportionality, humane treatment, military necessity, unnecessary suffering, precaution in the attack, etc.) and of notions such as “direct participation in hostilities”.
• Analyses scenarios or real-life cases and identify the relevant IHL issues .

Professional skills:

• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Research & Analysis

There is no strict prerequisite for this course but previous knowledge of public international law and notions of international criminal justice can be helpful.

Interactive discussions and active class participation. Oral feedback on the presentation, written feedback for written exams will be provided.

To validate the course, the student is expected to pass the following assignments:

• 45 % of the final grade for one short presentation by group (4-5 students) on a specific IHL topic according to the topics distributed to students at the first session. Each group presents for 15 minutes on a selected IHL topic, followed by class discussion (10 minutes), due for class sessions from 2 to 11 in September, October and November 2026.
• 45 % of the final grade for two hours written exam on IHL challenges related to a case study.
• 10% of the final grade: class participation, including debates after the presentations, as well as optional additional short presentations on IHL’s key issues.

• In-class presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
• Reading and preparation for class: 80 hours a semester
• Preparation for the group presentation: 25 hours a semester
• Additional preparation for the written exam: 15 hours a semester