India-Pakistan ceasefire declaration: What exactly is a ‘ceasefire’

What is a ceasefire?

A ceasefire is an agreement between nations involved in a conflict that seeks to regulate the termination of all military activity “for a given length of time in a given area”, as defined by the book The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law, by Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier.

A ceasefire does not represent an end to hostilities. It represents a truce, that is, “a temporary suspension of hostilities,” in both international as well as non-international armed conflicts. They also “do not reflect a juridical end to the state of war,” as stated in the document.

While there is no official definition of a ceasefire, Sydney D Bailey, an author and expert on international affairs, as quoted in an Oxford encyclopedia entry, describes it as “suspension of acts of violence by military and paramilitary forces, usually resulting from the intervention of a third party.” Ceasefires can either be formally documented, or agreed upon orally.

The terms ‘truce,’ ‘armistice,’ and ‘peace treaties’ were used distinctively prior to the introduction of the United Nations Charter in 1945. However, the flexible use of the term ‘ceasefire’ by the UN itself and the collapse of the pre-Charter concepts led to the use of these terms interchangeably, the entry made under the Oxford Public International Law stated.

What do ceasefire agreements deal with?

Ceasefire agreements, both in cases of international and non-international armed conflicts, as per the Oxford entry, entail:

• Timing of commencement: It specifies the timing (date and hour) when the ceasefire came into force.
• Identification and definition of prohibited acts: It may identify two types of prohibited acts: military (which includes all acts of military violence), and non-military (such as threats of violence or even propaganda).
• Physical separation of armed forces, including delineation of ceasefire lines and/or buffer zones: Separation is used to “maintain the ceasefire and to prevent the potential for renewed military action.”
• Verification, supervision, and monitoring: This can be achieved through UN peacekeeping supervision, joint monitoring commissions or ceasefire commissions, joint commands, and civilian monitoring missions.
• Besides these important terms, it also includes “repatriation of prisoners of war; return of missing — internally displaced persons and refugees; restitution and compensation of claims;” among other measures.

What does international law say about ‘breach’ of a ceasefire?

A ceasefire in itself or a breach of a ceasefire does not have any legal consequences as the agreements are seen as a first step between conflict and peace. In times of conflict, humanitarian law remains concerned, mostly, with regulation of the “use of violence and the protection of civilians.”

The remedies for a breach of a ceasefire are detailed in the Regulations Respecting the Law and Customs of War on Land, also called the Hague Regulations, that were formulated in 1910.

According to the encyclopedia entry under the Oxford Public International Law, Article 36 of the Hague Regulations says that if an armistice or a ceasefire does not define its duration, then “the belligerent parties may resume operations at any time, provided that the enemy is warned within the time agreed upon.”

Moreover, a serious breach of a truce by one of the involved parties gives the other a right to denounce it, and in urgent cases, to recommence hostilities immediately, the entry stated quoting Article 40 of the Regulations.

A violation of the ceasefire terms by “private persons acting on their own initiative” authorises the “injured party to demand the punishment of the offenders or, if necessary, compensation for the losses sustained,” Article 41 states.