Review Article
BibTex RIS Cite

Savaş Suçları: Evrim, Kavramsallaştırma, Kategoriler ve Zorluklar

Year 2025, Volume: 29 Issue: 3, 400 - 416

Oğuzhan Emre Açikalin , Gülşen Şeker Aydın

https://doi.org/10.53487/atasobed.1619936

Abstract

Çalışma; tarih, hukuk ve uluslararası ilişkileri kapsayan çok disiplinli bir yaklaşımla savaş suçlarına odaklanmaktadır. Birincil ve ikincil kaynaklara dayanan vaka çalışması yöntemi kullanılmaktadır. Çalışmanın amacı, savaş suçlarını analiz etmek için net, geçerli ve güncel bir çerçeve sağlamak ve bu çerçeveyi tarihsel ve Soğuk Savaş sonrası savaş suçları vakalarına uygulamaktır. Bu amaçla, çalışma, girişi takiben, teorik ve tarihsel arka planı incelemektedir. Sonraki bölüm, ilgili literatürü inceleyerek savaş suçlarının dar ve geniş kavramsallaştırmalarını karşılaştırmalı olarak analiz etmekte ve netlik sağlamak için dar kavramsallaştırmanın benimsenmesinin gerekli olduğu bulgusuna ulaşmaktadır. Aynı bölüm, savaş suçlarının dar kavramsallaştırmasının kapsadığı kategoriler olarak, bir yandan korunan kişilere ve nesnelere karşı işlenen savaş suçlarına, diğer yandan yasadışı savaş araçları ve yöntemleriyle ilgili savaş suçlarına da odaklanmaktadır. Takip eden bölümler, her bir savaş suçu kategorisini tarihsel ve güncel örneklerle incelemekte ve savaş suçlarının güçlü taraflar gerekli gördüğünde cezalandırıldığı bulgusuna ulaşmaktadır. Sonuç bölümü, savaş suçlarını cezalandırmak için siyasi iradenin gerekli olduğunu ve hukuk üzerine Realist varsayımlar paralelinde ve Liberal varsayımları haksız çıkaran şekilde, zayıfların hâlâ savaşlardaki şiddete karşı büyük ölçüde savunmasız olduğunu vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

Savaş suçları siviller realizm liberalizm

References

  • Akehurst, M. A. (1982). A modern introduction to international law (4th ed.). George Allen and Unwin.
  • Ambos, K. (2014). Treatise on international criminal law (Vol. II: The crimes and sentencing). Oxford University Press.
  • Barenblatt, D. (2004). A plague upon humanity: The secret genocide of axis Japan's germ warfare operation. HarperCollins Publishers.
  • Barmash, P. (2020). The laws of Hammurabi: At the confluence of royal and scribal traditions. Oxford University Press.
  • Benvenisti, E., & Lustig, D. (2020). Monopolizing war: Codifying the laws of war to reassert governmental authority, 1856–1874. European Journal of International Law, 31(1), 127-169.
  • Blakemore, E. (2019, June 28). Why Kaiser Wilhelm was never tried for starting World War I. History. https://www.history.com/news/wwi-kaiser-wilhelm-war-crimes-leipzig-trial
  • Bryant, M. S. (2015). A world history of war crimes: from antiquity to the present. Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Bugnion, F. (2000). The Geneva conventions of 12 August 1949: From the 1949 diplomatic conference to the dawn of the new millennium. International Affairs, 76(1), 41-50.
  • Bull, H. (2012). The anarchical society: A study of order in world politics. Bloomsbury Publishing.
  • Carnegie Endowment for Peace (1914). Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars. Pollicon Publications.
  • Cryer, R., Friman, H., Robinson, D., & Wilmshurst, E. (2014). An introduction to international criminal law and procedure. Cambridge University Press.
  • Davison, C. (2011). History of War Crimes. LawNow, 35(5), 9-12.
  • Dragonenko, A. (2022). Concepts and signs of war crimes in international criminal law. Наукові записки, 1(12), 151-157. https://dspace.nlu.edu.ua/jspui/handle/123456789/20219
  • Fenrick, W. J. (2004). Crimes in combat: the relationship between crimes against humanity and war crimes. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia - Office of the Prosecutor: ICTY-OTP.
  • Gordon, G. S. (2013). The trial of Peter Von Hagenbach: Reconciling history, historiography, and international criminal law. In K. J. Heller and G. Simpson (Eds.), The Hidden Histories of War Crimes Trials (pp. 13-50). Oxford University Press.
  • Green, L. C. (1998). The law of war in historical perspective. International Law Studies, 72(1), 39-78.
  • Greenwood, C. (1992). Defence of the laws of war. In R. A. Hinde (Ed.), The institution of war (pp. 133-147). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
  • Greenwood, C. (1999). A Critique of the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. In H. Durham & T. L. H. Mccormack (Eds). The Changing Face of Conflict and the Efficacy of International Humanitarian Law (pp. 3-20). Brill Nijhoff.
  • Greenwood, C. (2008). Historical Development and Legal Basis. In D. Fleck (Ed.), The handbook of international humanitarian law (2nd ed, pp.1-45). Oxford University Press.
  • Grotius, H. (2007). The rights of war and peace: Including the law of nature and of nations. Cosimo, Inc..
  • Hankel, G. (2016). Leipzig war crimes trials. In U. Daniel, P. Gatrell, O. Janz, H. Jones, J. Keene, A. Kramer, & B. Nasson (Eds.), 1914-1918-online international encyclopedia of the First World War. Freie Universität Berlin. https://doi.org/10.15463/ie1418.10981
  • Harris, S. H. (2002). Factories of death: Japanese biological warfare, 1932-1945, and the American cover-up. Routledge.
  • Hayashi, N. (2017). The role and importance of the Hague Conferences: A historical perspective. United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.
  • Hongsheng, S. (2006). The evolution of law of war. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 1(2), 267-301.
  • Horvitz, L. A., & Catherwood, C. (2006). Encyclopedia of war crimes and genocide. Facts on File.
  • International Criminal Court (2024). Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf
  • International Criminal Court (March 14, 2012). ICC First verdict: Thomas Lubanga guilty of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 and using them to participate in hostilities. https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/icc-first-verdict-thomas-lubanga-guilty-conscripting-and-enlisting-children-under-age-15-and
  • International Criminal Court (2014, March 7). Germain Katanga found guilty of four counts of war crimes and one count of crime against humanity committed in Ituri, DRC. https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/germain-katanga-found-guilty-four-counts-war-crimes-and-one-count-crime-against-humanity
  • International Criminal Court (2023). Report on the Situation in Colombia. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2023-11/2023-11-30-otp-report-colombia-eng.pdf
  • International Criminal Court (2024, November 21). Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-rejects-state-israels-challenges
  • International Criminal Court (2025, March 17). Information for Victims: Ukraine. https://www.icc-cpi.int/victims/ukraine
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1864). Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gc-1864
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1907). Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague Convention IV). https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/assets/treaties/195-IHL-19-EN.pdf
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1949a). Geneva Convention for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick in armed forces in the field of 12 August 1949, (Geneva Convention I). https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/assets/treaties/365-GC-I-EN.pdf
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1949b). Geneva Convention for the amelioration of the condition of wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea of 12 August 1949 (Geneva Convention II). https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/assets/treaties/365-GC-I-EN.pdf
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1949c). Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war (Geneva Convention IV), August 12, 1949. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1977). Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I).
  • International Humanitarian Law Databases. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/api-1977?activeTab=1949GCs-APs-and-commentaries
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (2010, October 29). Methods and means of warfare. https://www.icrc.org/en/document/methods-means-warfare
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (2023). The principle of proportionality. https://www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/war-and-law/04_proportionality-0.pdf
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (2024). The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. https://www.icrc.org/en/publication/0173-geneva-conventions-august-12 1949?utm_term=&utm_campaign=gu_DSA_GSN_EN_traffic_Alle+Seiten_AOK_2023&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=2458906539&hsa_cam=20202495119&hsa_grp=152583294634&hsa_ad=660057586232&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=dsa-19959388920&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIppiI4LSDiAMVsk-RBR0Z9g3KEAAYASAAEgIMpvD_BwE
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (n.d.). What are the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols? https://www.icrc.org/en/law-and-policy/geneva-conventions-and-their-commentaries
  • International Military Tribunal. (1946). Judgment of 1 October 1946. In The Trial of German Major War Criminals: Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal sitting at Nuremberg, Germany (Part 22, 22nd August 1946 to 1st October 1946).
  • Jochnick, C. A., & Normand, R. (2016). The legitimation of violence: A critical history of the laws of war. In M. N. Schmitt & W. H. von Heinegg, The development and principles of International Humanitarian Law (pp. 49-95). Routledge.
  • Keen, M. (2015). The laws of war in the Late Middle Ages. Routledge.
  • Keller, A. (2012). Cicero: Just war in classical antiquity. In H.-G. Justenhoven & W. A. Barbieri, Jr. (Eds.), From just war to modern peace ethics (pp. 9-30). De Gruyter.
  • Kent, A., McConnachie, K., & Gulati, R. (2024, May 22). What are the ICJ and the ICC and how do their power and jurisdiction differ? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-are-the-icj-and-the-icc-and-how-do-their-power-and-jurisdiction-differ-230573
  • Khan, S. M. (2020, May 18). Saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem (1187 CE). World history encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1553/saladins-conquest-of-jerusalem-1187-ce/56
  • Lauterpacht, H. H. (1953). The Limits of the Operation of the Law of War. British Year Book of International Law, 30, 206-243.
  • Library of Congress (1967). The Tokyo war crimes trials. Law Library.
  • Lukens, E. C. (1947). Public opinion and the rules of civilized warfare. Temple Law Quarterly, 21(4), 376-386.
  • Martin, H. (1995, May 31). Bosnia and Herzegovina, Using Uniforms of Peacekeepers. Financial Times. https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/bosnia-and-herzegovina-using-uniforms-peacekeepers
  • Meron, T. (2006). Reflections on the prosecution of war crimes by international tribunals. American Journal of International Law, 100(3), 551-579.
  • Noone, G. P. (2000). The history and evolution of the law of war Prior to World War II. Naval Law Review, 47, 176-207.
  • Ochs, S. L. (2019). The United States, the international criminal court, and the situation in Afghanistan. Notre Dame Law Review Reflection, 95, 89-100.
  • Orakhelashvili, A. (2008). The interpretation of acts and rules in public international law. Oxford.
  • Ören, E. (2022). Just war in political thought: From Cicero to Grotius. Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 12(3), 188-204.
  • Öztürk, A. (2019). İslam savaş hukukunun kökenleri: Kur'an ve sünnet'te savaş (Tez No: 612892) [Yüksek Lisans Tezi, İbn Haldun Üniversitesi]. Yükseköğretim Kurulu Ulusal Tez Merkezi. https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/tezSorguSonucYeni.jsp
  • Paust, J. J. (2001, January). Dr. Francis Lieber and the Lieber Code. In Proceedings of the ASIL annual meeting (Vol. 95, pp. 112-115). Cambridge University Press.
  • Pictet, J. S. (1951). The New Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims. The American Journal of International Law, 45(3), 462. https://doi.org/10.2307/2194544
  • Pittman, T. W., & Murnane, L. S. (2003). The law of armed conflict in modern warfare. Judges’ Journal, 42, 18-19.
  • Rodriguez, M., & Kinne, B. J. (2019). Blue Helmets, Red Flags: Institutional, Societal, and Military Determinants of Peacekeeping Abuses. International Studies Quarterly. 63(3), 626-640. https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqz020
  • Safferling, C. J. M. (2012). War crimes in Europe. In T. W. Zeiler & D. M. DuBois (Eds.), A companion to World War II (pp. 929-944). Wiley-Blackwell
  • Sałkiewicz-Munnerlyn, E., & Sayapin, S. (2022). War crimes. In S. Sayapin, R. Atadjanov, U. Kadam, G. Kemp, N. Zambrana-Tévar, & N. Quénivet (Eds.), International conflict and security law (pp. 1093-1109). T.M.C. Asser Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-515-7_49
  • Sarajevo Times. (2024, April 5). 32nd Anniversary of the Siege of Sarajevo: Daily Killings and Starvation lasted for 44 Months. https://sarajevotimes.com/32nd-anniversary-of-the-siege-of-sarajevo-daily-killings-and-starvation-lasted-for-44-months/.
  • Schabas, W. A. (2011). An introduction to the International Criminal Court (Fourth Edition). Cambridge University Press.
  • Schwarz, R. (2015). War crimes: a reference handbook. ABC-CLIO.
  • Sheehan, M. (2004). The balance of power: history & theory. Routledge.
  • Slim, H. (2016). Civilians, distinction, and the compassionate view of war. In H. Willmot, R. Mamiya, S. Sheeran, & M. Weller (Eds.), Protection of civilians (pp. 11-28). Oxford University Press.
  • Smith, J. (2020). Laying Bare the War: Responses to the My Lai Massacre and the Trial of Lt. William Calley in American Public Opinion. The Ascendant Historian, 7(1), 68-83.
  • Speri, A. (2021, October 5). How the U.S. derailed an effort to prosecute its crimes in Afghanistan. The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2021/10/05/afghanistan-icc-war-crimes/
  • Steinacher, G. J. (2018). The betrayal: The Nuremberg Trials and German divergence. Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 32(1), 122-124. https://doi.org/10.1093/hgs/dcy019
  • The Communications Service of the ICTY (2009). Stanislav Galić (IT-98-29). https://www.icty.org/x/cases/galic/cis/en/cis_galic_en.pdf
  • The First Geneva Convention of 1864: a historic document (1966). International Review of the Red Cross, 6(67), 547–548. doi:10.1017/S0020860400087878
  • Trahan, J., & Lovall, E. K. (2014). The ICTY Appellate Chamber's acquittal of Momcilo Perisic: The specific direction element of aiding and abetting should be rejected or modified to explicitly include a reasonable person due diligence standard. Brooklyn Journal of International Law, 40, 171-206.
  • Tran, M. (2010, January 25). ‘Chemical Ali’ executed in Iraq. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/25/chemical-ali-execution-iraq-kurd
  • United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1954). The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/convention-protection-cultural-property-event-armed-conflict-regulations-execution-convention
  • Van den Berg, S. (2024, October 1). What war crimes are Israel and Hamas accused of one year on? Reuters. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-10-01/explainer-what-war-crimes-are-israel-and-hamas-accused-of-one-year-on.
  • Van der Wilt, H. (2012). War crimes and the requirement of a nexus with an armed conflict. Journal of International Criminal Justice, 10(5), 1113-1128.
  • Van Schaack, B. (2016, February 4). Siege warfare and the starvation of civilians as a weapon of war and war crime. Just Security. https://www.justsecurity.org/29157/siege-warfare-starvation-civilians-war-crime/.
  • Vanhullebusch, M. (2015). War and law in the Islamic world. Brill. Watts, J. (2002, August 28). Japan guilty of germ warfare against thousands of Chinese. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/aug/27/japan.jonathanwatts.
  • Werle, G. & Jeßberger, F. (2014). Principles of international criminal law. Oxford University Press.
  • Wyke, T. (2016, January 15). Sieges across Syria have left more than a million people at risk of starvation, UN warns. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1099882.
  • Wylie, N., & Cameron, L. (2018). The impact of World War I on the law governing the treatment of prisoners of war and the making of a humanitarian subject. European Journal of International Law, 29(4), 1327-1350.

War Crimes: Evolution, Conceptualization, Categorization and Challenges

Year 2025, Volume: 29 Issue: 3, 400 - 416

Oğuzhan Emre Açikalin , Gülşen Şeker Aydın

https://doi.org/10.53487/atasobed.1619936

Abstract

This study focuses on war crimes using a multi-disciplinary approach, which comprises history, law, and international relations. It employs case study methodology by using both primary and secondary resources. The main objective is to provide a clear, valid, and up-to-date framework to analyze war crimes and apply this framework to both historical cases and those occurring after the Cold War. To this end, having introduced the scope and importance of the subject, the study moves on to discussing theoretical and historical backgrounds. The third section analyses the narrow and broad conceptualizations of war crimes comparatively. It finds that it is necessary to adopt the narrow conceptualization to avoid ambiguity. As the categories included in the narrow conceptualization, this section also focuses on the war crimes against protected persons and objects and the war crimes related to unlawful means and methods of warfare. The following sections examine each category of war crimes in the light of historical and recent examples and find that war crimes were punished when powerful parties deemed necessary. The study concludes by emphasizing that political will is essential for punishing war crimes, and weak parties are still vulnerable to wartime violence to a large extent despite all the advances in the prosecution and punishment of war crimes in line with the premises of Realism on power and law versus those of Liberalism.

Keywords

War crimes civilians realism liberalism

References

  • Akehurst, M. A. (1982). A modern introduction to international law (4th ed.). George Allen and Unwin.
  • Ambos, K. (2014). Treatise on international criminal law (Vol. II: The crimes and sentencing). Oxford University Press.
  • Barenblatt, D. (2004). A plague upon humanity: The secret genocide of axis Japan's germ warfare operation. HarperCollins Publishers.
  • Barmash, P. (2020). The laws of Hammurabi: At the confluence of royal and scribal traditions. Oxford University Press.
  • Benvenisti, E., & Lustig, D. (2020). Monopolizing war: Codifying the laws of war to reassert governmental authority, 1856–1874. European Journal of International Law, 31(1), 127-169.
  • Blakemore, E. (2019, June 28). Why Kaiser Wilhelm was never tried for starting World War I. History. https://www.history.com/news/wwi-kaiser-wilhelm-war-crimes-leipzig-trial
  • Bryant, M. S. (2015). A world history of war crimes: from antiquity to the present. Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Bugnion, F. (2000). The Geneva conventions of 12 August 1949: From the 1949 diplomatic conference to the dawn of the new millennium. International Affairs, 76(1), 41-50.
  • Bull, H. (2012). The anarchical society: A study of order in world politics. Bloomsbury Publishing.
  • Carnegie Endowment for Peace (1914). Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars. Pollicon Publications.
  • Cryer, R., Friman, H., Robinson, D., & Wilmshurst, E. (2014). An introduction to international criminal law and procedure. Cambridge University Press.
  • Davison, C. (2011). History of War Crimes. LawNow, 35(5), 9-12.
  • Dragonenko, A. (2022). Concepts and signs of war crimes in international criminal law. Наукові записки, 1(12), 151-157. https://dspace.nlu.edu.ua/jspui/handle/123456789/20219
  • Fenrick, W. J. (2004). Crimes in combat: the relationship between crimes against humanity and war crimes. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia - Office of the Prosecutor: ICTY-OTP.
  • Gordon, G. S. (2013). The trial of Peter Von Hagenbach: Reconciling history, historiography, and international criminal law. In K. J. Heller and G. Simpson (Eds.), The Hidden Histories of War Crimes Trials (pp. 13-50). Oxford University Press.
  • Green, L. C. (1998). The law of war in historical perspective. International Law Studies, 72(1), 39-78.
  • Greenwood, C. (1992). Defence of the laws of war. In R. A. Hinde (Ed.), The institution of war (pp. 133-147). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
  • Greenwood, C. (1999). A Critique of the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. In H. Durham & T. L. H. Mccormack (Eds). The Changing Face of Conflict and the Efficacy of International Humanitarian Law (pp. 3-20). Brill Nijhoff.
  • Greenwood, C. (2008). Historical Development and Legal Basis. In D. Fleck (Ed.), The handbook of international humanitarian law (2nd ed, pp.1-45). Oxford University Press.
  • Grotius, H. (2007). The rights of war and peace: Including the law of nature and of nations. Cosimo, Inc..
  • Hankel, G. (2016). Leipzig war crimes trials. In U. Daniel, P. Gatrell, O. Janz, H. Jones, J. Keene, A. Kramer, & B. Nasson (Eds.), 1914-1918-online international encyclopedia of the First World War. Freie Universität Berlin. https://doi.org/10.15463/ie1418.10981
  • Harris, S. H. (2002). Factories of death: Japanese biological warfare, 1932-1945, and the American cover-up. Routledge.
  • Hayashi, N. (2017). The role and importance of the Hague Conferences: A historical perspective. United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.
  • Hongsheng, S. (2006). The evolution of law of war. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 1(2), 267-301.
  • Horvitz, L. A., & Catherwood, C. (2006). Encyclopedia of war crimes and genocide. Facts on File.
  • International Criminal Court (2024). Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf
  • International Criminal Court (March 14, 2012). ICC First verdict: Thomas Lubanga guilty of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 and using them to participate in hostilities. https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/icc-first-verdict-thomas-lubanga-guilty-conscripting-and-enlisting-children-under-age-15-and
  • International Criminal Court (2014, March 7). Germain Katanga found guilty of four counts of war crimes and one count of crime against humanity committed in Ituri, DRC. https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/germain-katanga-found-guilty-four-counts-war-crimes-and-one-count-crime-against-humanity
  • International Criminal Court (2023). Report on the Situation in Colombia. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2023-11/2023-11-30-otp-report-colombia-eng.pdf
  • International Criminal Court (2024, November 21). Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-rejects-state-israels-challenges
  • International Criminal Court (2025, March 17). Information for Victims: Ukraine. https://www.icc-cpi.int/victims/ukraine
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1864). Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gc-1864
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1907). Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague Convention IV). https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/assets/treaties/195-IHL-19-EN.pdf
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1949a). Geneva Convention for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick in armed forces in the field of 12 August 1949, (Geneva Convention I). https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/assets/treaties/365-GC-I-EN.pdf
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1949b). Geneva Convention for the amelioration of the condition of wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea of 12 August 1949 (Geneva Convention II). https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/assets/treaties/365-GC-I-EN.pdf
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1949c). Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war (Geneva Convention IV), August 12, 1949. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (1977). Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I).
  • International Humanitarian Law Databases. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/api-1977?activeTab=1949GCs-APs-and-commentaries
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (2010, October 29). Methods and means of warfare. https://www.icrc.org/en/document/methods-means-warfare
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (2023). The principle of proportionality. https://www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/war-and-law/04_proportionality-0.pdf
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (2024). The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. https://www.icrc.org/en/publication/0173-geneva-conventions-august-12 1949?utm_term=&utm_campaign=gu_DSA_GSN_EN_traffic_Alle+Seiten_AOK_2023&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=2458906539&hsa_cam=20202495119&hsa_grp=152583294634&hsa_ad=660057586232&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=dsa-19959388920&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIppiI4LSDiAMVsk-RBR0Z9g3KEAAYASAAEgIMpvD_BwE
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (n.d.). What are the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols? https://www.icrc.org/en/law-and-policy/geneva-conventions-and-their-commentaries
  • International Military Tribunal. (1946). Judgment of 1 October 1946. In The Trial of German Major War Criminals: Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal sitting at Nuremberg, Germany (Part 22, 22nd August 1946 to 1st October 1946).
  • Jochnick, C. A., & Normand, R. (2016). The legitimation of violence: A critical history of the laws of war. In M. N. Schmitt & W. H. von Heinegg, The development and principles of International Humanitarian Law (pp. 49-95). Routledge.
  • Keen, M. (2015). The laws of war in the Late Middle Ages. Routledge.
  • Keller, A. (2012). Cicero: Just war in classical antiquity. In H.-G. Justenhoven & W. A. Barbieri, Jr. (Eds.), From just war to modern peace ethics (pp. 9-30). De Gruyter.
  • Kent, A., McConnachie, K., & Gulati, R. (2024, May 22). What are the ICJ and the ICC and how do their power and jurisdiction differ? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-are-the-icj-and-the-icc-and-how-do-their-power-and-jurisdiction-differ-230573
  • Khan, S. M. (2020, May 18). Saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem (1187 CE). World history encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1553/saladins-conquest-of-jerusalem-1187-ce/56
  • Lauterpacht, H. H. (1953). The Limits of the Operation of the Law of War. British Year Book of International Law, 30, 206-243.
  • Library of Congress (1967). The Tokyo war crimes trials. Law Library.
  • Lukens, E. C. (1947). Public opinion and the rules of civilized warfare. Temple Law Quarterly, 21(4), 376-386.
  • Martin, H. (1995, May 31). Bosnia and Herzegovina, Using Uniforms of Peacekeepers. Financial Times. https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/bosnia-and-herzegovina-using-uniforms-peacekeepers
  • Meron, T. (2006). Reflections on the prosecution of war crimes by international tribunals. American Journal of International Law, 100(3), 551-579.
  • Noone, G. P. (2000). The history and evolution of the law of war Prior to World War II. Naval Law Review, 47, 176-207.
  • Ochs, S. L. (2019). The United States, the international criminal court, and the situation in Afghanistan. Notre Dame Law Review Reflection, 95, 89-100.
  • Orakhelashvili, A. (2008). The interpretation of acts and rules in public international law. Oxford.
  • Ören, E. (2022). Just war in political thought: From Cicero to Grotius. Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 12(3), 188-204.
  • Öztürk, A. (2019). İslam savaş hukukunun kökenleri: Kur'an ve sünnet'te savaş (Tez No: 612892) [Yüksek Lisans Tezi, İbn Haldun Üniversitesi]. Yükseköğretim Kurulu Ulusal Tez Merkezi. https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/tezSorguSonucYeni.jsp
  • Paust, J. J. (2001, January). Dr. Francis Lieber and the Lieber Code. In Proceedings of the ASIL annual meeting (Vol. 95, pp. 112-115). Cambridge University Press.
  • Pictet, J. S. (1951). The New Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims. The American Journal of International Law, 45(3), 462. https://doi.org/10.2307/2194544
  • Pittman, T. W., & Murnane, L. S. (2003). The law of armed conflict in modern warfare. Judges’ Journal, 42, 18-19.
  • Rodriguez, M., & Kinne, B. J. (2019). Blue Helmets, Red Flags: Institutional, Societal, and Military Determinants of Peacekeeping Abuses. International Studies Quarterly. 63(3), 626-640. https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqz020
  • Safferling, C. J. M. (2012). War crimes in Europe. In T. W. Zeiler & D. M. DuBois (Eds.), A companion to World War II (pp. 929-944). Wiley-Blackwell
  • Sałkiewicz-Munnerlyn, E., & Sayapin, S. (2022). War crimes. In S. Sayapin, R. Atadjanov, U. Kadam, G. Kemp, N. Zambrana-Tévar, & N. Quénivet (Eds.), International conflict and security law (pp. 1093-1109). T.M.C. Asser Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-515-7_49
  • Sarajevo Times. (2024, April 5). 32nd Anniversary of the Siege of Sarajevo: Daily Killings and Starvation lasted for 44 Months. https://sarajevotimes.com/32nd-anniversary-of-the-siege-of-sarajevo-daily-killings-and-starvation-lasted-for-44-months/.
  • Schabas, W. A. (2011). An introduction to the International Criminal Court (Fourth Edition). Cambridge University Press.
  • Schwarz, R. (2015). War crimes: a reference handbook. ABC-CLIO.
  • Sheehan, M. (2004). The balance of power: history & theory. Routledge.
  • Slim, H. (2016). Civilians, distinction, and the compassionate view of war. In H. Willmot, R. Mamiya, S. Sheeran, & M. Weller (Eds.), Protection of civilians (pp. 11-28). Oxford University Press.
  • Smith, J. (2020). Laying Bare the War: Responses to the My Lai Massacre and the Trial of Lt. William Calley in American Public Opinion. The Ascendant Historian, 7(1), 68-83.
  • Speri, A. (2021, October 5). How the U.S. derailed an effort to prosecute its crimes in Afghanistan. The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2021/10/05/afghanistan-icc-war-crimes/
  • Steinacher, G. J. (2018). The betrayal: The Nuremberg Trials and German divergence. Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 32(1), 122-124. https://doi.org/10.1093/hgs/dcy019
  • The Communications Service of the ICTY (2009). Stanislav Galić (IT-98-29). https://www.icty.org/x/cases/galic/cis/en/cis_galic_en.pdf
  • The First Geneva Convention of 1864: a historic document (1966). International Review of the Red Cross, 6(67), 547–548. doi:10.1017/S0020860400087878
  • Trahan, J., & Lovall, E. K. (2014). The ICTY Appellate Chamber's acquittal of Momcilo Perisic: The specific direction element of aiding and abetting should be rejected or modified to explicitly include a reasonable person due diligence standard. Brooklyn Journal of International Law, 40, 171-206.
  • Tran, M. (2010, January 25). ‘Chemical Ali’ executed in Iraq. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/25/chemical-ali-execution-iraq-kurd
  • United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1954). The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/convention-protection-cultural-property-event-armed-conflict-regulations-execution-convention
  • Van den Berg, S. (2024, October 1). What war crimes are Israel and Hamas accused of one year on? Reuters. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-10-01/explainer-what-war-crimes-are-israel-and-hamas-accused-of-one-year-on.
  • Van der Wilt, H. (2012). War crimes and the requirement of a nexus with an armed conflict. Journal of International Criminal Justice, 10(5), 1113-1128.
  • Van Schaack, B. (2016, February 4). Siege warfare and the starvation of civilians as a weapon of war and war crime. Just Security. https://www.justsecurity.org/29157/siege-warfare-starvation-civilians-war-crime/.
  • Vanhullebusch, M. (2015). War and law in the Islamic world. Brill. Watts, J. (2002, August 28). Japan guilty of germ warfare against thousands of Chinese. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/aug/27/japan.jonathanwatts.
  • Werle, G. & Jeßberger, F. (2014). Principles of international criminal law. Oxford University Press.
  • Wyke, T. (2016, January 15). Sieges across Syria have left more than a million people at risk of starvation, UN warns. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1099882.
  • Wylie, N., & Cameron, L. (2018). The impact of World War I on the law governing the treatment of prisoners of war and the making of a humanitarian subject. European Journal of International Law, 29(4), 1327-1350.
There are 84 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Political Science (Other)
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Oğuzhan Emre Açikalin 0009-0001-9324-9141

Gülşen Şeker Aydın 0000-0003-1288-4053

Early Pub Date July 4, 2025
Publication Date
Submission Date January 14, 2025
Acceptance Date May 5, 2025
Published in Issue Year 2025 Volume: 29 Issue: 3

Cite

APA Açikalin, O. E., & Şeker Aydın, G. (2025). War Crimes: Evolution, Conceptualization, Categorization and Challenges. Current Perspectives in Social Sciences, 29(3), 400-416. https://doi.org/10.53487/atasobed.1619936

Content of this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License

29909