Introduction

War has been an unfortunate part of human existence from the beginning of recorded history, despite periodic efforts to eliminate war from human relations. The American Civil War proved to be a transformative event in the evolution of the laws and customs of war. The idea of enumerating rules of war for the force also appealed to the Confederacy, which also adopted Lieber's Code. The efforts to create a body of law governing armed conflict have resulted in the creation of a body of law historically called the law of war, but today more commonly referred to as the law of armed conflict (LOAC) or international humanitarian law (IHL). One especially significant IHL evolution has been in relation to the regulation of what are known as non-international armed conflicts (NIACs). Prior to 1949, international law played little to no role in the regulation of conflicts other than those between States: so-called international armed conflicts (IACs).