Child Soldiers in International Law

Price: $90.00 185 pages. 1 Hardcover Volume. Bibliography. Index.Published November 2005.
ISBN-13: 978-1-929446-64-3

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Table of Contents

About the Book:
Can the use of children as soldiers be effectively regulated at an international level? Child Soldiers in International Law examines how international law has developed to deal with this problematic and emotive issue.

Happold looks at the rules restricting the recruitment of children into armed forces - rules which, though important, are often flouted - but also at the wider legal issues arising from child soldiering: to what extent can child soldiers be held criminally liable for their conduct? How should they be treated when captured? How are states obliged to demobilise and reintegrate them into their societies? It also identifies a move away towards enforcement, through the prosecution of those who recruit child soldiers, and proposals for Security Council sanctions against governments and groups who breach their international obligations by using children in armed conflicts.

This study will be essential reading for those concerned with public international law, human rights, and the United Nations and peacekeeping.

Praise for Child Soldiers in International Law

“Happold’s work is a succinct and comprehensive survey of international law as it relates to the phenomenon of child soldiering. Amid the often highly emotive responses that child soldiers elicit in discourse, this volume clearly and directly addresses the major debates relating to child combatants.  It is an important reference source for anyone, whether in academia, policy or advocacy, working on the child soldier issue.”
- (2006) 43 Journal of Peace Research 636


“[Happold] provides a lucid examination of how perceptions of childhood and children's rights vary over space and time, and how this affects the treatment of child soldiers.  He also examines the rules that govern the treatment and activities of child soldiers themselves, which has received much less attention.” (p. 121)

“This is a well written book that provides not only a good general introduction to the subject of child soldiers, but also a clear account of the complexities surrounding the application of international law to the subject.” (p. 123)
- Youth and Policy, No. 96, Summer 2007, 121-3


“[The book’s] great strength is its detailed and rigorous analysis of the development of the law in this area....  The critical analysis of the drafting history of the major legal instruments is then a strong feature of this book, and when added to the clear chapter structure and language of the author, Child Soldiers in International Law makes for an interesting and comprehensive insight into this important issue.” (p. 496)

“The book provides a solid and thorough analysis of the issue of child soldiers and presents the discussion of the law in this area in an interesting and methodical way. The book considerably expands understanding of the law in this area and will be appreciated by both experts and novices alike.” (p. 499)
- (2008) 71 Modern Law Review 496-9

About the Author:
Matthew Happold is a Reader in Law at the University of Hull.  He previously taught at the universities of Nottingham and Sussex, and has been a Visiting Fellow at the Human Rights Program, Harvard  Law School and a Visiting Professional in the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. He has published widely on international criminal law, international human rights law, international humanitarian law and United Nations law.  In 2010, he will take up the Professorship in International Public Law at the University of Luxembourg.