

It does not regulate the circumstances in which a state may use force, or determine whether an armed conflict is legal, and its rules apply to all sides, regardless of who started the conflict. It also limits the methods and means of warfare that may be employed by parties to an armed conflict, prohibiting attacks on civilian populations and weapons that are indiscriminate or inhumane. International Humanitarian Law regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its inhumanity.

International humanitarian law (IHL) – known also as the Law of Armed Conflict or the Law of War – is the body of international rules that in time of armed conflict protects those who do not, or can no longer, participate in hostilities, such as civilians, the wounded and prisoners of war.
