International Humanitarian Law in the Iraq Conflict

The armed hostilities in Iraq throughout the last almost two years have raised numerous questions from the perspective of international humanitarian law (IHL) or, as it is also sometimes called, the law of armed conflict. This article aims at addressing some of them. The focus will be on identifying the applicable law throughout the various stages of the hostilities and various problems that entail its practical application. It is not the aim of the authors to identify and attribute specific violations that may have been committed by the parties to the conflict.