CYIL 2012

JAN ONDŘEJ CYIL 3 ȍ2012Ȏ In the publication D. Fleck (ed.) 11 it is stated that, unlike Protocol I, this Protocol does not forbid the use of the weapons because they are deemed to be excessively injurious but forbids the indiscriminate use and concentrates on indiscriminate effects . Protocol II does not forbid possession or even the use of mines or booby-traps as such. It forbids only the use of mines or booby-traps in certain situations when the danger of indiscriminate effects is particularly serious. 12 In spite of a broad support for the complete prohibition of landmines during the negotiations over the amendment to Protocol II in 1996 the state parties failed to reach agreement on the general prohibition of the mines in the Protocol. Protocol II was, as mentioned above, amended in 1996. The importance of this Amendment lies in the fact that it extends in its Article 1 the scope of application of Protocol II to armed conflicts not of an international character . Nevertheless, the scope of application of all the protocols was extended in 2001 to conflicts not of an international character. Also concerning other issues the Amendment of 1996 completes and specifies Protocol II. Protocol II refers, according to Article 1, to the use of mines on land and to the use booby-traps and other devices, including mines laid to interfere with beaches, waterway crossings or river crossings. On the other hand, it does not apply to the use of anti-ship mines at sea or in inland waterways . The Protocol defines in Article 2 weapons which it deals with: mine, 13 booby-trap 14 and other devices 15 . The Amendment of Protocol II of 1996 completes and specifies Protocol II, and contains a new element . In comparison to Protocol II of 1980, it newly refers to anti personnel mines . Although agreement on a complete prohibition of anti-personnel mines was not reached in 1996, the Amendment of Protocol II contains certain restrictions on the use of anti-personnel mines. According to the Study of the International Committee of the Red Cross, these provisions apply to the states that are not yet bound by the complete prohibition of anti-personnel mines , i.e. by the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines of 1997. According to Article 4 of the Amended Protocol II of 1996, it is prohibited to use anti-personnel mines which are not detectable, as specified in the Technical Annex. This provision refers to the prohibition of use of plastic mines, 16 which 11 Conf. Fleck, D. (ed.) The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law . Second edition. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 142. 12 Ibid. 13 „Mine“ means a munition placed under, on or near the ground or other surface area and designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person or vehicle. 14 „Booby-trap“ means any device or material which is designed, constructed or adapted to kill or injure, and which functions unexpectedly when a person disturbs or approaches an apparently harmless object or performs an apparently safe act. 15 „Other devices“ means manually-emplaced munitions and devices including improvised explosive devices designed to kill, injure or damage and which are actuated manually, by remote control or automatically after a lapse of time. 16 Conf. Fleck, D. (ed.) The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law . Second edition. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 147.

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