International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance. It directs and coordinates the international relief activities con­ducted by the Movement in situations of conflict. It also endeavours to pre­vent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and univer­sal humanitarian principles. Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The ICRC may engage in the following activities in behalf of victims of armed conflict and internal disturbances:

1. The work of the Central Tracing Agency.

2. Visits to persons deprived of their freedom.

3. Relief operations:

food aid;

building shelters, distributing tents, clothing, blankets, etc.;

emergency agricultural and veterinary assistance (agronomic expertise, distribution of seed, farming tools and fishing equipment, treatment of livestock, etc.).

4. Health activities:

looking after the war-wounded (first aid, evacuation, medical and surgical treatment, orthopaedics, fitting of amputees with artificial limbs, prosthesis workshops);

supporting the existing health services (medicines, equipment, organization and training);

water and sanitation (wells, bores, pumping, treatment, distribution, etc.); -nutrition (assessing famine situations and seeking their causes, etc.).

5. Dissemination

This means spreading knowledge of international humanitarian law, of the Movement in general and the ICRC in particular, of the Fundamental Princi­ples which guide the activities of the components of the Movement, and of those activities themselves. Its main objectives are to limit violations of the law and human suffering on the one hand, and to facilitate humanitarian ac­tion on the other.

ICRC activities have a twofold purpose, namely to protect and to assist the victims of conflict. Although those two concepts may be considered sep­arately in theory, they are closely associated in practice because in many cases humanitarian action encompasses both protection and assistance.

Protection activities are aimed essentially at securing respect for the rights of victims, whereas the purpose of assistance is to bring them material aid. Relief operations are thus based on legal rules; conversely, in many situations they serve as a means of asserting the rights of victims and protecting their lives and health.

Humanitarian assistance: a few principles:

- Emergency assistance must be accompanied by rehabilitation work.

- Victims must be made self-sufficient as soon as possible to restore their dignity.

- Victims must be listened to and local resources identified to ensure that the assistance given is tailored to the situation.

- Contacts, partnerships and synergic relationships must be developed at the local and international levels to ensure the efficiency of constantly expanding operations.

- In the meantime, thought must be given to preparing for a return to lasting peace.

The ICRCis neither a judge nor a prosecutor; nor is it a court of law.

If in the performance of its tasks the ICRC observes a violation of the Geneva Conventions or the Additional Protocols, it makes a confidential ap­proach to the authorities responsible for the incident. Where violations are serious, repeated, and established with certainty, it reserves the right to take a public stance by denouncing this failure to respect humanitarian law, provided that it deems such publicity to be in the interests of those affected or threat­ened by the violations. Such a step is therefore exceptional.

Consequently, the ICRC neither investigates nor prosecutes offences, be­cause punishing those responsible for violating international humanitarian law is a matter for the States party to the Geneva Conventions.

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Historical Evolution

Trade was a central theme for ancient and medieval nations. Some of the great powers, like Persia and Rome, could afford to be relatively indifferent to foreign trade. They maintained well-developed agricultural bases. For other nations, trade was a method for raising revenue and exercising a degree of political power. From ancient Athens through the medieval city-States, the role of trade was to create wealth – in turn, leading to social and cultural development. Trade thus provided access to broader social and cultural perspectives, as merchants traveled in search of trading opportunities. Civilization developed, in part, from the concentration of people on or near trade routes and major ports. Trade led to diplomatic and other exchanges between these congregations of people.

Early medieval international agreements thus focused on economic matters. The treaty of A.D. 860 between Byzantium – the major trading empire of that era – and Russia formalized their initial diplomatic and commercial relations. Under Article 4 of their agreement, Russia removed its interest on Byzantine exports. Trade was thus the ideal vehicle for developing international relations which to usher in and era of relative peace. That concession also launchedRussia’s development of international trade relations with other nations.

Links between commerce and law were forged by trade and exploration. Many territories of the world were “discovered” by explorers seeking new trading opportunities. The ancient Phoenicians traveled the Mediterranean Sea and the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean in search of new trading partners. Portuguese and Spanish explorers discovered the New World during their trade development programs of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Modern international commercial law is rooted in trade practices that developed during the resulting interaction of national legal systems. Many standard contractual expectations were expressed in the medieval “Lex Mercatoria” (Law Merchant). This body of law was created and developed by specialized commercial tribunals, typically located in major port cities. Private merchants could resolvetheir local and international business disputes. The Lex Mercatoris flourished in the twelfth century Italian city-States, and later spread to other commercial centers. The customary practices of these tribunals were incorporated into the commercial laws of many nations.

An old English case suggests how continued to apply the Lex Mercatoria when resolving subsequent maritime disputes. A shipment of goods was en route from San Francisco to London during a long sea voyage at the turn of this century. The contract did not include a clause regarding when payment was due – thus failing to express the buyer’s and seller’s intent. While die goods were en route, die seller’s agent presented the bill of lading (document of title) to the buyer. The buyer refused payment, however. He wanted to inspect the goods on arrival in London. The seller sued the buyers for breach of contract, prior to the arrival of the goods. Under the medieval maritime practice, a buyer was required to pay for goods when the seller’s agent provided a bill of lading for cargoes still en route by sea – unless the parties expressly contracted for payment at another time. The London court incorporated this old commercial practiceinto the contract, which supplied the missing terms. Arbitrators and judges thus merged certain commercial practices into the decisionallaw and legislative enactments of maritime nations. Those practices then became customary rules of international commercial practice. Some were then codified into modern legislation or treaties.

The global business climate changed dramatically after World War II. The postwar Marshall Plan, announced by US in 1947, was the largest and most successful foreign assistance program ever devised.

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