The Irish Yearbook of International Law supports research into Ireland's practice in international affairs and foreign policy, filling a gap in existing legal scholarship and assisting in the dissemination of Irish policy and practice on matters of international law. On an annual basis, the Yearbook presents peer-reviewed academic articles and book reviews on general issues of international law, as well as topics with significant interest for an Irish audience. Designated correspondents provide reports on international law developments in Ireland, Irish practice in international bodies, and the law of the European Union as relevant to developments in Ireland. This volume of the Yearbook includes contributions on international humanitarian law, including intersections with international human rights law and the law of state responsibility, the concept of due diligence in international law, and the exercise of international criminal jurisdiction with specific reference to Irish law.

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are persons who have been forced to leave their places of residence as a result of armed conflict, violence, human rights violations, or natural or human-made disasters, but who have not crossed an international border. There are about 55 million IDPs in the world today, outnumbering refugees by roughly 2:1. Although IDPs and refugees have similar wants, needs and fears, IDPs have traditionally been seen as a domestic issue, and the international legal and institutional framework of IDP protection is still in its relative infancy. This book explores to what extent the protection of IDPs complements or conflicts with international refugee law. Three questions form the core of the book's analysis: What is the legal and normative relationship between IDPs and refugees? To what extent is an individual's real risk of internal displacement in their country of origin relevant to the qualification and cessation of refugee status? And to what extent is the availability of IDP protection measures an alternative to asylum? It argues that the IDP protection framework does not, as a matter of law, undermine refugee protection. The availability of protection within a country of origin cannot be a substitute for granting refugee status unless it constitutes effective protection from persecution and there is no real risk of refoulement. The book concludes by identifying current and future challenges in the relationship between IDPs and refugees, illustrating the overall impact and importance of the findings of the research, and setting out questions for future research.