The Faculty of Law (UP Law) at the University of Pretoria (UP) announces with great pride that Dr Martha M Bradley, a lecturer in its Department of Public Law, has the honour of being the first female UP Law academic specialising in international humanitarian law  to publish in the ‘International Review of the Red Cross (ICRC):  Humanitarian Debate: Law, policy, action’. 

Bradley’s paper, titled ‘Additional Protocol II: Elevating the minimum threshold of intensity?’ was published online by Cambridge University Press on 22 July 2021, pp. 1-28. 

As indicated in the abstract, Bradley’s paper ‘examines the notion of intensity in the context of common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II (AP II) to the Geneva Conventions in order to establish whether AP II demands a different intensity threshold from the minimum threshold of intensity contemplated in common Article 3.

The paper considers the question of whether the inclusion of the term “sustained” in the phrase “sustained and concerted military operations” intrinsic to the threshold in Article 1(1) of AP II introduces a temporal requirement in addition to mere protracted armed violence.

The paper argues that the inclusion of the term “sustained” in Article 1(1) of AP II potentially demands prolonged protracted armed violence. The research aims to contribute to the existing literature on the notion of intensity demanded by the scope of application inherent in AP II through an interrogation of the phrase “sustained” military operations by employing the rules of treaty interpretation and by examining relevant case law and scholarly debate.

In this way, the author hopes to contribute towards filling a lacuna with regard to the minimum threshold for intensity in the context of treaty law concerned with the classification of non-international armed conflicts.’

The Southern Africa region of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) includes Angola, Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Mandate and Vision of the ICRC indicates that their work ‘is based on the Geneva Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols, its Statutes – and those of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – and the resolutions of the International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The ICRC is an independent, neutral organisation ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. It takes action in response to emergencies and at the same time promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national law.’

‘Established in 1869, the International Review of the Red Cross is a peer-reviewed, academic journal produced by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the audience includes governments, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, humanitarian practitioners, academics, the media and all those interested in humanitarian issues.’

A proud and honoured Bradley acknowledges that this is a historically important journal in this discipline and that her contribution on conflict classification is particularly important in the Africa context.  She views this publication as evidence that there is appetite for African and female African voices in top rated international humanitarian law journals. She acknowledges that this publication would not have been possible without the support of her mentors Professors Christo Botha and Dire Tladi, the support of her local ICRC branch, specifically Ms Tamalin Bolus, and the inputs of Professors Annelize McKay, Jann Kleffner, Hennie Strydom and Erika de Wet.  Bradley further acknowledges the research assistance of Ms Jessie Phyffer and editing assistance by Dr Walter McKay and Ms Isabeau de Meyer, as well as the valuable feedback from the blind peer reviewers and specifically the support of the Editor-in-Chief of the IRRC, Mr Bruno de Meyere.

Further, during May 2021, Bradley joined the teaching staff of the Military Department of The International Institute of Humanitarian Law based in San Remo Italy, by lecturing in two of its virtual courses.

She lectured on ‘The 2^nd IHL in Depth Online Course’ and the ‘ICRC MAG Delegates Online Course’.  She taught on the law of conflict classification and general principles of the law of International Humanitarian Law, as well as the Law of means and methods of warfare.

The International Institute of Humanitarian Law, founded in 1970 in San Remo, Italy, is an independent, non-profit association, with its central purpose to promote international humanitarian law and related subjects. Their website indicates that the IIHL ‘has earned an international reputation as a centre of excellence in the field of training, research, and the dissemination of all aspects of international humanitarian law’. As for her teaching international humanitarian law at the University of Pretoria Dr Bradley is the course coordinator of the LLM Programme in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Military Operations offered by the Department of Public Law.

As for future research projects, Bradley is currently working on a paper titled 'Testing the boundaries of Tadic: Aggregated violence in relation to organised armed groups pledging allegiance to and coalitions of organised armed groups engaging a common enemy in a mosaic of conflicts'.

It is the purpose of her research project to determine the content, contours and status of employing an aggregated or cumulative method of assessment in complex non-international armed conflicts fought on the one side by alliances or coalitions of non-state armed groups. The contribution will not consider the aggregation assessment in situations of splintering or fragmented armed groups. In order to achieve this research purpose, an in-depth study will be conducted of both the assessment method of ‘aggregating violence’ as well as the thresholds demanded to constitute an ‘alliance or coalition’ of organised armed groups (OAGs). The consequences of pledging allegiance on the organisational criterion demanded from an organised armed group will also be examined.

A proud and delighted Dean Professor Elsabe Schoeman congratulated Dr Bradley on her international activities, influence and research, and more specifically on her paper published in the ‘International Review of the Red Cross: Humanitarian Debate: Law, policy, action’.  ‘What makes this even more remarkable is that the confirmation of publication has been confirmed as we are celebrating South Africa’s Women’s Month in August.  Dr Bradley’s achievements to date emphasises and underscores the role and power of women in law, policy and action.  Thank you for continuously keeping UP Law on the global map where it belongs, Martha!’