Documents on international humanitarian law

At the beginning of the 21st century, international humanitarian law-the area of international law that addresses parties involved in armed conflicts-faces new challenges. The discussion on its further development is being revived by the introduction of modern weapons systems and methods of warfare, many of which are information technology-driven, and by dangerous asymmetric conflicts between state and non-state actors, such as covert transnational terrorist organizations. Against this background, detailed study of the legal sources of international humanitarian law takes on special significance. The collection is conceived as a bilingual German-English parallel text edition. It is designed to be a practical reference tool for international negotiations, military training, humanitarian or peacekeeping missions, and to give its users quick access to these documents in reliable English and German versions. It will also prove helpful to students of international law or politics, media representatives who report on international humanitarian law-related issues, or Red Cross volunteers and staff who act as multipliers. This volume contains German-language versions of all texts. If a German-language version was not available-such as for the Roerich Pact of 1935, the Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nürnberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, the Model Status-of-Forces Agreement for Peace-Keeping Operations (1990), and the Draft Code of Crimes Against the Peace and Security of Mankind (1996)-translations prepared by the German Translation Section at the United Nations in New York and the Language Services Division at the Federal Foreign Office helped complete the collection.