International armed conflicts

International armed conflicts (IACs) are fought between sovereign States. An IAC includes military occupation of another State (even if it is not met with armed resistance).¹Art 2 common to the four 1949 Geneva Conventions War Watch specifies an IAC includes a situation of military occupation. In addition, an armed conflict involving a proxy armed group amounts to an an IAC when the armed group is under the overall control of another State.²ICTY, Tadić, Appeals Chamber, Judgment, IT-94-1-A, 15 July 1999, para 96; ICC, Lubanga, Pre-Trial Chamber I,  Decision on the Confirmation of Charges, ICC-01/04-01/06, 29 January 2007, para 211; ICC, Lubanga, Trial Chamber, Judgment pursuant to Article 74 of the Statute, ICC-01/04-01/06, 14 March 2012, para 541 An armed group fighting a war of national liberation on behalf of a people exercising its right of self-determination may also amount to an IAC, but this is very rare in practice.³Art 1(4), AP

• 1
  Art 2 common to the four 1949 Geneva Conventions
• 2
  ICTY, Tadić, Appeals Chamber, Judgment, IT-94-1-A, 15 July 1999, para 96; ICC, Lubanga, Pre-Trial Chamber I,  Decision on the Confirmation of Charges, ICC-01/04-01/06, 29 January 2007, para 211; ICC, Lubanga, Trial Chamber, Judgment pursuant to Article 74 of the Statute, ICC-01/04-01/06, 14 March 2012, para 541
• 3
  Art 1(4), AP