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The stated aim of the book under review, edited by three prominent Scandinavian academics, is to explore whether a "principle of humanity" exists as an independent, binding norm in international humanitarian law (IHL) or whether its legal impact is limited to the norm-creation process. It consists of 11 articles (with an introduction and a conclusion), divided into two principal sections: "theoretical perspectives" and "Nordic experiences".
The editors observe that there is currently a lack of clarity with regard to a "principle of humanity" and, accordingly, propose to consider two related questions in order to illuminate the discussion. The first is whether recent developments may have resulted in humanitarian considerations having a greater impact than considerations of military necessity on IHL. This issue is explored in various articles in both sections of the book, and the articles tend to focus in particular on the impact of international human rights law (IHRL) on IHL. Indeed, one of the major themes of IHL has been the growing move towards the rules of human rights law and vice versa. The debate has also gained particular importance from a European perspective as a result of the decisions in Al-Jedda v. United Kingdom and Al-Skeini and others v. United Kingdom.
The second question discussed in this book (principally in the second section) is whether certain regions or nations that are not directly affected by armed conflicts are likely to place more emphasis on humanitarian considerations in IHL than are other regions or nations. The issue is addressed from the perspective of Scandinavian nations (referred to as "Nordic" nations), and all of the articles in the second section are written by Scandinavian academics. However, some of these articles not only question whether there is in fact a unified "Nordic perspective" (for ex ample, the article
