WAR DEFINITION According to Starke war in its

WAR

DEFINITION According to Starke’ “war in its most generally understood sense was a contest between 2 or more states primarily through their armed forces, the ultimate purpose of each contestant group being to vanquish the other and impose its own conditions of peace. ” According to oppenheim, “the chief objective of war id to overwhelm the enemy and to impose conditions upon it.

According to old definition of war, war is mainly a contest between the armed forces of the belligerent states. But in modern times it is often seen that war takes place not only between the armed forces of the belligerent states, but also effects the citizens of the states concerned. Example of this situation is: dropping of atom bombs at Nagasaki and Hiroshima during the second world war which caused devastation unprecedented in the annals of the world.

Movement to outlaw the war General treaty for renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy is a 1928 international agreement in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve disputes of whatever nature or whatever origin may be which may arise among them. Similar provisions were incorporated in charter of united nation and other treaties and it became a stepping stone to a more activist American policy.

These treaties neither ended war nor stopped the rise of militarism and was unable to prevent the 2 nd world war. The pact has been ridiculed for its moralism and legalism and lack of influence on foreign policy. Moreover its effectively erased the legal distinction between war and peace because the signatories began to wage wars without declaring them. The pact’s central provisions renouncing the use of war, and promoting peaceful settlement of disputes and the use of collective force to prevent aggression were incorporated into the UN charter and other treaties.

Although civil war continued, wars between established states have been rare since 1945, with few exceptions in the middle east. The pact also served as the legal basis for the concept of a crime against peace for which Nuremberg tribunal and Tokyo tribunal tried and executed the top leaders responsible for starting world war II.

With the signing of the Litvinov Protocol in Moscow on February 9, 1929, the soviet union and its western neighbors, including Romania agreed to put the Kellogg- Briand pact in effect without waiting for other western signatories to ratify. The Bessarabia Question had made agreement between Romania and soviet union challenging and dispute b/w the nations over Bessarabia continued.

Legal regulations: Legal regulation of war was probably the most important development of 20 th centaury. The covenant of league of nations under article 12 to 15 imposed certain restrictions upon the states in regard to their right to resort to war. According to this states firstly tries to resolve their disputes in other manners i. e. through peaceful manners even if disputes were not resolve through these means even they could not go to war before the lapse of three months.

If any state go against the provisions and go to war then that state shall be deemed to be the enemy of the whole league of nations. Next important event in this connection was the Paris pact of 1928 known as Kellogg. Briand pact. With the establishment of the UN charter in 1945 the legal regulation of war reached its Zenith. The UN charter contains the following provisions prohibiting war by states:

Preamble of the charter says that ‘ armed forces shall not be used save in the common interest. ’ It is an imp. Principle of the UN that the state shall settle their dispute peacefully. Chapter VI provides certain methods for the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Under chapter VII security council is empowered to take collective auction against the state which has committed aggression.

The most imp. Achievement of the UN is probably that it has completely prohibited war and there are only a very few exceptions. Even in those exceptions a state can resort to war only in accordance with the provision of the UN charter.

Effects of the outbreak of war General effects : beside effecting neutral states war mainly affect the belligerent states. peaceful relations among the belligerent states comes to an end. But international law prescribed certain limitations and prohibitions and the relation of the belligerent states during war governed by the laws of war.

Diplomatic and consular relations: these relations b/w the belligerent states are broken immediately. And belligerent states recall their diplomatic agents from each others states but Vienna convention provides that it is the duty of the receiving state to provide necessary facilities to such agent so that they may return safely to their home safely. Treaties: according to old view all treaties b/w them comes to an end but acc. To new view some treaties comes to an end but some remain in force while other remain suspended during the war.

Trading and intercourse in commerce: these are also prohibited during the war. These traties stand terminated at the outbreak of war. Contracts: the effect of contracts at the outbreak of war b/w the belligerent states is a matter of municipal law rather than that of international law. Enemy property: it may be of 2 kinds: 1)public enemy property 2) private enemy property.

Public enemy property: movable public property may be seized. however position of immovable property s different. It can be temporarily taken but cannot be permanently seized. Private enemy property: it may be taken over for a temporarily period. After the end of the war the fate of this property is decided according to the provisions.

Combatants and non combatants: according to international law soldiers are divided into 2 categories- lawful and unlawful. At the outbreak of war lawful soldier can be killed, grievously hurt or made prisoners of wars. However unlawful soldier can enjoy certain facilities they cannot be killed or grievously hurt during the war.

Concept of total war In accordance with the traditional definition of the war is a contest between the armed forces of the belligerent states. This definition has become inadequate in view of the scientific developments and development of destructive weapons in the modern times. War not only effects the armed forces but also the civilians such a war becomes the total war. This term is first used by the Grotius. in this view 30 years war of Europe was ‘total war’.

International armed conflict An international armed conflict occurs when one or more states have recourse to armed force against another state, regardless of reasons or the intensity of this confrontation. No formal declaration of war or recognition of the situation is required. Apart from regular inter state armed conflicts additional protocols I extends the definition of international armed conflicts to include armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination, alien occupation or racist regimes in the exercise of their right to self determination.

Non international conflicts If none of the contending parties is recognised as a belligerent power, the civil war remains a non international armed conflict. As regard non international armed conflicts the 4 Geneva conventions of 1949 marked a great advance by providing uniformly that in such conflict which occur in the territory of one of the parties to the convention, each party to the fundamental character.

The convention prohibits the following acts in respect of these persons: Violence to life and person Taking of hostages Outrages upon personal dignity in particular humiliating and degrading treatment The passing of sentences and the carrying out of execution without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensible by civilized peoples. These provisions relating to non international armed conflict continue to apply in case of civil war until one of the contending parties is recognised as a belligerent power.

Humane treatment: part II of the protocol comprising article 4 to 6 lays great empasis on humane treatment of persons affected by the non international armed conflicts. civilian population part IV of protocol II deals with the civilian population according to article 13 civilian population and individual civilian shall enjoy general protection against the danger arising from military operations.