An Appraisal of Nuclear Weapons Under International Humanitarian Law

Abstract

The most humane principles for the protection of human beings and the natural environment during armed conflict are contained in the rich corpus of international Humanitarian Law (IHL). Principles of IHL have set a high standard for acceptable weapons in warfare, hence IHL has been the mechanism through which the international community has prohibited the use and production of several weapons that cause superfluous injury. Nuclear weapon states have for decades maintained the validity of the possession of nuclear weapons upon the doctrine of nuclear deterrence. As the world faces new and imminent security challenges, the questions of the continued sustenance of nuclear weapons vis. -a- vis. the need to eliminate them in the interest of preservation of world peace and security assume greater relevance. With its rules on limitation of weapons of war, IHR seems to be appropriate law to turn to in this context and this position has been upheld by the International Court of Justice