INTRODUCTION

This chapter aims to answer the main research question of this study, namely how can and should international law develop a responsibility framework for armed groups for violations of international humanitarian law (IHL)? In order to do so, four subquestions were formulated:

• 1. To what extent is a regime of responsibility for armed groups necessary under international law?

• 2. Which methodology can and should be used to develop a responsibility framework for armed groups under international law?

• 3. In terms of attribution, under which conditions can and should acts of formal or de facto members of an armed group be attributed to the group itself?

• 4. In terms of legal consequences, can the armed group be under an obligation to provide reparation to victims?

The answers to these sub-questions were provided in Chapters 2 to 5. This concluding chapter summarises the main findings from the four preceding chapters and answers the main research question. The study has advocated for a less state-centric approach to the question of regulation of armed groups taking into consideration certain nontraditional sources of international law. Moreover, this chapter reflects upon the main theoretical issues discussed in the previous chapters and considers the implications that the findings may have on any potential further research into the question of the regulation of armed groups under international law, such as the progressive development of international law.

In conducting the research, this book has tackled the question of the international responsibility of armed groups in a unitary study addressing the following issues: the legal reasons to develop such a responsibility framework; the methods and limitations in doing so; and the main elements to develop a responsibility framework, that is, the imputation or attribution element and the legal consequences. By addressing these elements in a unitary study, the research aims to avoid the problems of fragmentation and eventual conflicting outcomes. Moreover, although the question of international responsibility of armed groups was partially analysed by the scholarship, there was no comprehensive proposal on how to operationalize such responsibility. This study has also deepened the academic discussion regarding the organisational structure of armed groups and their temporal existence, both of which have been considered some of the main challenges in the regulation of armed groups under international law.