On March 30, the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC's) Regional Delegation for the US and Canada invites members of the public to join a panel discussion on the release of the new Commentary to the First 1949 Geneva Convention. The release includes the much-anticipated Commentaries on Common Articles One, Two, and Three.
In 2011, the ICRC and a team of experts embarked on a major project: updating the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977. Since their adoption, the Conventions and Protocols have been put to the test, and there have been significant developments in how they are applied and interpreted. The new Commentaries seek to incorporate these developments and provide an up-to-date interpretation of the law.
The Commentaries will be developed and released in numerical order, with the Commentary on the First Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in the Field being released on March 22, 2016. The DC event on March 30 will bring together experts and practitioners to discuss the updates.
Panelists:
Jean-Marie Henckaerts, head of the Commentaries Update Unit, International Committee of the Red Cross
Diane Marie Amann, associate dean and Emily & Ernest Woodruff chair in international law, University of Georgia School of Law; International Criminal Court prosecutor’s special adviser on children in & affected by armed conflict
Col. (Ret.) Dick Jackson, special assistant to the army Judge Advocate General for law of war matters
Michael Matheson, professor of law, George Washington University Law School
This event will precede ASIL's 110th Annual Meeting, being held in the same hotel. ASIL and ASIL's Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict are cosponsors of this event.