* This article was initially published in the German Yearbook of International Law 47 (2004), 293–342; republication courtesy of Duncker & Humblot, Berlin. ** Dr. Knut Dörmann is Deputy Head of the Legal Division of the International Com- mittee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Geneva; Laurent Colassis is Head of Unit of the Legal Advisers to the Operations, Legal Division of the ICRC, Geneva. The article reflects the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the ICRC. 1 See Yoram Dinstein, Jus in Bello Issues Arising in the Hostilities in Iraq in 2003, Israel Yearbook on Human Rights (Isr. Y.B. Hum. Rts.), vol. 33, 2003, 2; Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg, Irak-Krieg und ius in bello, Archiv des Völkerrechts, vol. 41, 2003, 274 et seq. International Humanitarian Law in the Iraq Conflict * By Knut Dörmann and Laurent Colassis ** The armed hostilities in Iraq throughout the last almost two years have raised numerous questions from the perspective of international humanitarian law (IHL) or, as it is also sometimes called, the law of armed conflict. This article aims at addressing some of them. The focus will be on identifying the appli- cable law throughout the various stages of the hostilities and various problems that entail its practical application. It is not the aim of the authors to identify and attribute specific violations that may have been committed by the parties to the conflict. All issues pertaining to ius ad bellum, i.e. related to the lawfulness of the use of force, are not subject of this article. Given the fact that there is often some confusion as to the relationship between the ius ad bellum and IHL (ius in bello), it should be stressed at the outset that IHL applies equally to all parties to an armed conflict, and that this is independent of whether the use of force has been lawful or not under the ius ad bellum. 1