Classification of Non-International Armed Conflicts S : Lessons from the Sierra Leone Conflict

Abstract

Classification of armed conflicts in international law is important because it determines whether the law of international armed conflict or the law of non-international armed conflict applies to the parties in a conflict. The clearer and more accessible the law of conflict classification is to all involved, the better the chance that those affected will be in a position to apply international humanitarian law correctly in urgent or borderline situations.

Classification is additionally relevant to international criminal law since the existence of an armed conflict informs the two contextual elements inherent in war crimes as the type or categorisation of armed conflict determines the category of crimes under which the alleged offender is charged.

This research explores what constitutes a non-international armed conflict, the challenges of classifying conflicts with legal certainty and the mixed nature of the armed conflict that took place in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone conflict spanned eleven years and had different dimensions and parties that were of abiding significance to the classification of the conflict.

However, in the case of Prosecutor v Fofana the Special Court failed to consider the issue of classification. The study, accordingly, draws lessons from the Sierra Leone conflict on ways to approach conflicts of a mixed nature taking into consideration the complexities of the conflict and the missed opportunity by the Special Court.