International humanitarian law (IHL)
Definition
The body of law, including the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, governing the conduct of armed conflict. IHL includes obligations to search for and record the missing and dead, which underpins the legal basis for forensic archaeology in post-conflict contexts.
Related terms
- Burial Act 1857
- UK legislation requiring a Ministry of Justice licence before any exhumation from a registered burial ground. The licence specifies the purpose, practitioner,...
- Chain of custody
- The unbroken documentary trail of who held a sealed exhibit, when, and under what seal, from the moment of collection through analysis...
- Coroner's jurisdiction
- The authority of a coroner to investigate deaths where the cause is unknown, unnatural, or occurred in custody. In England and Wales,...
- Expert witness vs. scene manager
- Scene manager is a field role: the practitioner controlling the physical recovery and recording. Expert witness is a court role: the person...
- Scene authority
- The legal right to control access to and activity at an investigation site. In a criminal context this usually rests with the...
Explained in
- Legal Framework and Scene AuthorityThe body of law, including the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, governing the conduct of armed conflict. IHL includes obligations to search f...