Présentation - Lieber Code 1863

i n t r o d u c t i o n

Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field (Lieber Code). 24 April 1863.

The "Lieber Instructions" represent the first attempt to codify the laws of war. They were prepared during the American Civil War by Francis Lieber, then a professor of Columbia College in New York, revised by a board of officers and promulgated by President Lincoln. Although they were binding only on the forces of the United States, they correspond to a great extend to the laws and customs of war existing at that time. The "Lieber Instructions" strongly influenced the further codification of the laws of war and the adoption of similar regulations by other states. They formed the origin of the project of an international convention on the laws of war presented to the Brussels Conference in 1874 and stimulated the adoption of the Hague Conventions on land warfare of 1899 and 1907.

Dade of adoption

24.04.1863

Number of articles

157

Authentic text

English

Source

D.Schindler and J.Toman, The Laws of Armed Conflicts, Martinus Nihjoff Publisher, 1988, pp.3-23.

Keywords

CONDUCT OF THE HOSTILITIES; WAR ON LAND; INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT; NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT; PROTECTION; WAR VICTIM; CIVILIAN; PRISONER OF WAR; COMBATANT; METHOD OF COMBAT; MEANS OF COMBAT; PROTECTED OBJECT; MILITARY OCCUPATION; OCCUPIED TERRITORY; ARMED FORCES; OBJECT; TREATMENT