Pilloud, de Preux, Sandoz, Zimmerman, Eberlin, Junod & Swinarski et al. 1986 (French) and 1987 (English). Commentary on the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. Geneva: International Committee of the Red Cross and Nijhoff

Date01 September 1987
Published date01 September 1987
DOI10.1177/002234338702400320
Subject MatterArticles
326
extremely
worthwhile
reading
for
several
reasons:
the
importance
of
the
topic,
the
author’s
in-depth
analysis
of
the
concept
of
peace,
the
measured
message
of
hope
it
conveys
and
the
variety
and
originality
of
the
experiments
conducted
among
young
people.
JM
Pilloud,
de
Preux,
Sandoz,
Zimmerman,
Eberlin,
Junod
&
Swinarski
et
al.
1986
(French)
and
1987
(English).
Commentary
on
the
Additional
Pro-
tocols
of
8
June
1977
to
the
Geneva
Conventions
of
12
August
1949.
Geneva:
International
Com-
mittee of
the
Red
Cross
and
Nijhoff.
This
impressive
1647-page
work
(French
edition,
the
English
edition
was
published
in
June
1987)
has
been
produced
by
a
team
of
legal
experts
from
the
International
Committee
of
the
Red
Cross
under
the
guidance
of
Dr.
Jean
Pictet,
who
supervised
the
publication
of
the
four
Commentaries
on
the
1949
Con-
ventions.
As
the
custodian
of
humanitarian
law,
the
ICRC
is
the
appropriate
body
to
make
a
fresh
contribution
to
the
knowledge
of
this
law.
The
book
has
been
eagerly
awaited
by
all
those
responsible
for
implementing
and
disseminating
humanitarian
law.
Obviously,
those
who
did
not
take
part
in
the
Diplomatic
Conference
when
these
Protocols
were
drawn
up
cannot
always
grasp
the
exact
scope
of
the
texts,
often
extremely
complex
or
obfuscated
by
compromises
achieved
at
the
expense
of
clarity.
As
the
former
President
of
the
ICRC,
Alexandre
Hay,
points
out
in
his
foreword,
the
Commentary
is
first
and
foremost
the
outcome
of
a
scholarly
investigation
and
not
a
work
intended
to
propagate
the
opinions
of
the
ICRC.
Nonetheless,
this
self-effacement
must
not
cause
us
to
forget
that
a
work
such
as
this
also
contributes
greatly
towards
the
interpretation
of
humanitarian
law.
Of
course,
the
Commentary,
like
its
predecessors,
is
not
a
definitive
inter-
pretation
of
the
Protocols.
Their
interpretation
is
initially
the
responsibility
of the
Contracting
Parties
and
of
the
International
Court
of
Justice,
the
role
of
which
should
not
be
overlooked.
Undoubtedly
this
Commentary
is
not
the
final
word;
the
meaning
of
the
new
regulations
laid
down
in
the
two
Protocols
will
continue
to
be
pondered
upon.
Indeed,
those
who
expound
the
law
must
also
endeavour
to
ensure
that
inter-
pretations
ever
more
consonant
with
the
needs
of
humanity
prevail.
Through
its
rigorousness
and
objectivity,
the
Commentary
should
help
to
speed
up
ratification
of the
Protocols
which,
beyond
any
shadow
of
doubt,
give
better
protection
to
all
the
victims
of
armed
conflict.
MT
Levie,
Howard
S.
1986.
The
Code
of
Interna-
tional
Armed
Conflict,
2
vols. ,
London:
Oceana
Publications,
1099
pp.
The
codification
of
the
law
of
armed
conflict
during
the
last
century
created
a
great
number
of
provisions
which
are
hard
to
find
and
even
more
difficult
to
approach
in
a
systematic
way.
Already
during
the
Diplomatic
Conference
1974-1977
the
late
Judge
R. Baxter
suggested
how
useful
it
would
be
to
put
all
these
provisions
in
systematic
order.
This
idea
has
now
been
realized
thanks
to
the
enormous
work
done
by
Professor
Howard
Levie,
the
well
known
expert
on
the
laws
of
war
and
the
author
of
numerous
studies
in
this
field.
Professor
Levie
presents
the
laws
of
war
in
such
a
manner
so
that
the
research
worker
can
find
all
provisions
applicable
to
a
specific
sub-
ject
in
one
place.
The
table
of
contents
is
div-
ided
into
14
parts
(including
definitions,
opening
of
hostilities,
means
and
methods
of
combat,
protection
of
persons
and
objects,
protective
institutions,
identification
of
persons
and
objects,
military
occupation,
neutrality,
methods
of
compliance,
termination
of
hos-
tilities)
followed
by
chapters,
sections
and
arti-
cles.
After
each
article
a
source
is
given
ident-
ifying
the
instrument
or
document
from
which
it
has
been
taken.
The
source
is
followed
by
a
comment
which
describes
the
evolution
of
the
provision
and
gives
examples
of
application
highlighting
matters
of
particular
importance.
Finally,
the
reader
is
guided
by
a
table
of
distri-
bution
of
the
provisions
by
which
a
known
arti-
cle
may
be
located
in
the
Code,
a
table
of
sources
and
an
index.
By
this
systematic
approach
the
Code
is
not
only
useful
but
indis-
pensable
for
students
and
research
workers
in
the
field
of
international
humanitarian
law.
JT
The
book
note
column
in
this
issue
was
edited
by
Jan
Egeland.
Authors
of
Book
Notes
in
this
issue:
AAB -
Antoine
A.
Bouvier,
ICRC
AR -
Allan
Rosas,
Abo
Academy
BZ -
Bruno
Zimmerman,
ICRC
JEG -
Jan
Egeland,
Henry
Dunant
Institute
HTH -
Huong
T.
Huynh,
ICRC
JM -
Jacques
Meurant,
ICRC
JT -
Jiri
Toman,
Henry
Dunant
Institute
MT -
Maurice
Torrelli,
Nice
University

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