Harmonizing War Crimes Under the Rome Statute

Under the Rome Statute, war crimes can be committed in international armed conflicts (IACs) and in non-international armed conflicts (NIACs). However, the lists granting the International Criminal Court (ICC) with jurisdiction over war crimes in each type of conflict are not the same.

Indeed, the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the following ten war crimes if they are committed in a NIAC: (1) directing attacks against civilian objects; (2) disproportionate attacks; (3) attacks against undefended places; (4) using human shields; (5) improper use of flags, emblems, and uniforms; (6) employing weapons or methods of warfare listed in an annex to the Statute; (7) using starvation as a method of warfare; (8) killing or wounding persons who are hors de combat; (9) depriving nationals of a hostile power of legal rights and action; (10) compelling nationals of a hostile power to participate in military operations.

The Research Brief Harmonizing War Crimes Under the Rome Statute discusses the need to harmonize the list of war crimes that can be committed in IACs with those that can be committed in NIACs. Written by Patrick S. Nagler – an alumnus of our LLM and a Research Assistant at the University of Geneva – it examines whether and the extent to which customary and/or conventional international humanitarian law (IHL) and international criminal jurisprudence provide a sound legal basis to do so.

AUTHOR

Patrick S. Nagler

NEWS AND EVENTS

Judges at the ICC News

New Publication Discusses the Harmonization of War Crimes Under the Rome Statute

14 March 2019

Our new Research Brief Harmonizing War Crimes Under the Rome Statute discusses the need to harmonize the list of war crimes that can be committed in international armed conflicts with those that can be committed in non-international armed conflicts.

Read more >

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

IHL in Focus Spot Report News

Spot Report – Water Crisis in War and Under Occupation: Current Israeli Policy and Practice in Occupied Palestinian Territory Under International Humanitarian Law

16 June 2025

The Geneva Academy has published a new spot report analysing Israeli policy and practice relating to water in the Occupied Palestinian Territory through the lens of IHL.

Read more

IHL Lab Geneva Academy News

The Geneva IHL Lab: Bridging Theory and Practice

21 May 2025

The Geneva Academy has launched a practice-oriented course designed to equip our Master of Advanced Studies students with skills in open-source research and legal analysis under international humanitarian law.

Read more

A destroyed camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Khor Abeche, South Darfur, Project

Understanding the Relationship between Conflict, Security and the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

Started in May 2023

This project will develop guidance to inform security, human rights and environmental debates on the linkages between environmental rights and conflict, and how their better management can serve as a tool in conflict prevention, resilience and early warning.

Read more

A session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

IHL Expert Pool

Started in January 2022

The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.

Read more

Cover of the 2023 Geneva Academy Annual Report Publication

Annual Report 2024

published on July 2025

Read more