INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

Mitigation of violence and protection of fundamental human rights, in time of war, constitute the main object of international humanitarian law. The subject of present study is to determine whether or not, apart from international obligations, the duty to respect some basic principles of this law results directly from the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Any answer to this question, first of all, necessitates establishing the existence of relationship between humanitarian law and constitution on which manifold reasons can be raised regarding any constitution, in general, and the Constitution of Iran, in particular. It is in the light of this connection that the most important principles of international humanitarian law have been expressed in the Constitution of Iran, the rights which are non-derogable and have been recognized for application in emergency state of war, whether international or non-international.