As a general rule, the role of human rights law in regulating the conduct of hostilities is very limited because it is superseded by IHL according to the principle of lex specialis generalibus derogat. Where the lex specialis of IHL provides a rule designed for a concrete situation it takes precedence over the continuously applicable lex generalis of human rights, regardless of whether that rule is more or less precise. This chapter discusses the regulation of hostilities through human rights law, and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights dealing with the conduct of hostilities. It argues that the direct application of human rights law to the conduct of hostilities does not import the rules and principles of law enforcement into the conduct of hostilities. Instead, the factual occurrence of hostilities requires an interpretation of human rights law in accordance with the paradigm of hostilities.
Keywords: international human rights law, lex specialis, lex generalis, lex specialis generalibus derogat, hostilities, European Court of Human Rights