MMSL 2017, 86(4):167-173 | DOI: 10.31482/mmsl.2017.029

INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW PROTECTION OF MEDICAL FACILITIES AND MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THE CZECH REPUBLICReview article

Pavla Rožánková*
International Law Department, Defence Policy and Strategy Division, Ministry of Defence, Prague, Czech Republic

Together with the protection of the sick and wounded in armed conflicts, rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) provide protection to medical facilities and personnel. Despite universal acknowledgement of these rules, their violations occur regularly. Causes of these violations are numerous and complex, however, in order to be respected, IHL rules need to be in the first place implemented within domestic legislations of individual states. Specific measures to be taken are to a certain extent left up to discretion of every state concerned. This article examines existing legislation and measures adopted in this context by the national authorities of the Czech Republic with respect to the Czech Armed Forces. A particular attention is directed at internal regulations of the Armed Forces against the wider background of Czech legal order. The article also touches upon areas of military training and criminal liability.

Keywords: International humanitarian law; Geneva Conventions; protection of medical facilities and personnel; national measures; Armed Forces of the Czech Republic

Received: August 31, 2017; Revised: October 1, 2017; Published: December 8, 2017  Show citation

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Rožánková, P. (2017). INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW PROTECTION OF MEDICAL FACILITIES AND MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC. MMSL, 86(4), 167-173. doi: 10.31482/mmsl.2017.029
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    References

    1. 1. Geneva Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field (opened for signature 12 Aug 1949, 75 UNTS 31, entered into force 21 Oct 1950) (Geneva Convention I, GC I); Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea (opened for signature 12 Aug 1949, 75 UNTS 85 entered into force 21 October 1950); Geneva Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (opened for signature 12 Aug 1949, 75 UNTS 135, entered into force 21 Oct 1950); Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (opened for signature 12 Aug 1949, 75 UNTS 287, entered into force 21 Oct 1950).
    2. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (opened for signature 8 Jun 1977, 1125 UNTS 3; entered into force 7 Dec 1978) (Additional Protocol I, AP I); Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (opened for signature 8 Jun 1977, 1125 UNTS 609; entered into force 7 Dec 1978).
    3. Article 10 of the Constitution of the Czech Republic (No. 1/1993 Coll.): Promulgated treaties, to the ratification of which the Parliament has given its consent and by which the Czech Republic is bound, form a part of the legal order; if a treaty provides something other than that which a statute provides, the treaty shall apply.
    4. The Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols were promulgated under Nos. 65/1954 Coll. and 168/1991 Coll. respectively.
    5. Article 54 of Geneva Convention I or Article 45 of Geneva Convention II.
    6. Act No. 126/1992 Coll., on the Protection of the Red Cross Emblem and Name and on the Czechoslovak Red Cross, as amended.
    7. Act No. 40/2009 Coll., the Penal Code, as amended.
    8. Act. No. 221/1999 Coll., on Career Soldiers, as amended.
    9. As law of war and IHL (or law of armed conflict) are usually used as synonyms, this wording may be considered imprecise.
    10. Zákl-1 Základní řád ozbrojených sil ČR; approved by the President of the Czech Republic as the commander in chief of the Armed Forces in 2001, legally binding for all members of the Armed Forces.
    11. Všeob-Ř-1 Polní řád pozemních sil Armády České republiky; approved by the Minister of Defence in 1997, legally binding for all members of the Armed Forces.
    12. STANAG 2931 was implemented by a military regulation Oper-1-9 Maskování ochranných zdravotnických znaků na zemi v taktických operacích.
    13. Jean Pictet (ed.), International Committee of the Red Cross, "The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949: Commentary I Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field", Martinus Nijhoff, 1952, p. 307.
    14. Clapham, A., Gaeta, P., Sassòli, M. "The 1949 Geneva Conventions: A Commentary", Oxford University Press, 2015, p. 883.
    15. Jean Pictet (ed), International Committee of the Red Cross, "The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949: Commentary I Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field", Martinus Nijhoff, 1952, p. 348.
    16. STANAG 2449 was implemented by a military regulation Vševojsk-2-17 Příprava a výcvik v právu ozbrojeného konfliktu.
    17. Article 87(2) of the Additional Protocol I
    18. Regulative framework for the system of legal service in the Czech Armed Forces was given by RMO 29/2010 Právní podpora v rezortu Ministerstva obrany, approved by the Minister of Defence in 2010.
    19. Advisory Service of the ICRC, fact sheet "Respecting and Protecting Health Care in Armed Conflicts and in Situations Not Covered by International Humanitarian Law". Electronic copy available at https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/2012/health-care-law-factsheet-icrc-eng.pdf.
    20. As listed in Section 53 of Act. No. 221/1999 Coll., on Career Soldiers, as amended.
    21. Act No. 40/2009 Coll., the Penal Code, as amended.
    22. Sassòli, M. The Implementation of International Humanitarian Law : Current and Inherent Challenges. Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 2007, p. 70. Electronic copy available at https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:864
    23. Sassòli, M. "IHL mechanisms in armed conflict: Where is the problem?" in Michel Veuthey (ed) "Respecting International Humanitarian Law: Challenges and Responses", International Institute of Humanitarian Law, 2014, p. 109-115. Electronic copy available at http://www.iihl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IHL-Challenges-and-Responses.pdf

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