H.-J. Heintze; A. Zwitter: Introduction -- H. Spieker: The right to give and receive humanitarian assistance -- K. Mackintosh: Beyond the Red Cross: The protection of independent humanitarian organizations and their staff in international humanitarian law -- A. Zwitter: United Nations' Legal Framework of Humanitarian Assistance -- M. Broberg: Legal basic of EU Council Regulation 1257/96 concerning humanitarian aid - Time for revision?- H.-J. Heintze: Convergence between Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law and the Consequences for the Implementation -- S. Maus: Human Rights in UN Peacekeeping Missions: A Framework for Humanitarian Obligations?- D.S. Patnaik: Towards an International Legal Framework for the Protection of Individuals in the Event of disasters: A Initial Inquiry.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that there are major gaps in International Humanitarian Law and Public International Law in the area of humanitarian assistance. In response international organizations such as the UN and the EU are developing their own legal frameworks for humanitarian assistance and the body of customary law and so-called international disaster response law is growing steadily. This however shows that a coherent body of law is far from being a given. The legal reality of international law pertaining to emergency response is rather broadly spread over various international legal fields and related documents, covering situations of armed conflict and natural disasters. This book is one of the first attempts of linking different legal areas in the growing field of what could be called the international law of humanitarian assistance.