Page 126 - MDSL Final

MARITIME DOCTRINE OF SRI LANKA
and proportionate force may be used for protection imminent and
immediate threats. Similarly, international law is aimed mainly at
regulating the conduct of States and their governments but, individual
combatants are also required to comply of the Law of Armed Conflict. 59
International Humanitarian Law

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a set of rules that seek to limit
the efforts of armed conflicts. It projects people who are not or are no
longer participating in hostilities and restricts the means and methods
of warfare.

IHL is based on a number of treaties, in particular the Geneva Conventions
of 1949 and their additional protocols and a series of other instruments.
In addition, customary international law which consists of rules that
came from a general practice accepted as law that exists independent
of treaty law.
60
The Law of Naval Warfare

The Law of Naval Warfare that governs the means and methods of
warfare at sea and is a subset of the Law of Armed Conflict. This law can
be found in the Customary International Law, various Hague Conventions
and the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and their two 1977 additional
Protocols. An attempt to document this customary international law in
relation to naval warfare resulted to publish the San Remo Manual on
International Law Applicable to Armed Conflict at Sea in 1994.

This manual is not a legally binding document; it is a useful guide to
contemporary laws of naval warfare. The manual is only binding to the
extent that its provisions reflect customary international law.

108 To Nurture a Stable Environment at Sea