armed conflict

Armed conflicts are contextualized into two different categories: international armed conflicts and domestic armed conflicts. International armed conflicts occur when there is conflict between two or more states . Domestic armed conflicts occur when there is conflict between a state and one or more non-state armed groups or among non-state armed groups. In international criminal law , prosecution for a war crime requires the existence of an armed conflict. Some war crimes require an international armed conflict, while others require only a domestic armed conflict.

Domestic armed conflicts do not include "situations of internal disturbances and tensions, such as riots , isolated and sporadic acts of violence or other acts of a similar nature." They do include "armed conflicts that take place in the territory of a State when there is protracted armed conflict between governmental authorities and organized armed groups or between such groups."

See e.g., Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S 507 (2004)

Further Reading : Michigan Journal of International Law Article on conflict recognition.

[Last reviewed in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

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