MME CircleThe International Committee of Military Medicine, the ICMM Reference Centre for Education on International Humanitarian Law and Ethics, and the Swiss Armed Forces Medical Services Directorate wish to offer to Military Medical Personnel, Military Medico-Legal Officers, and Chaplains as well as other interested members of the armed forces a a course on Military Medical Ethics.

Course Dates

  • The 13th ICMM Course on Military Medical Ethics in Times of Armed Conflict will take place as a hybrid course in Schwarzenberg Luzern, Switzerland: 14-19 September 2025
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Basic information

The course aims to

  • Enable participants to recognise and analyse situations that present ethical and legal dilemmas in contemporary military operations.
  • Equip participants with the tools to make legally and ethically sound decisions in situations where competencies in international law and ethics are equally relevant.

The course

  • develops the responsibilities of the medical doctor, the medical officer or medical official with respect to International Humanitarian Law and Ethics
  • establishes connections of the Humanitarian Law with its ethical foundations;
  • illustrates the ethically difficult role of the medical officer who plays a role between soldier and physician;
  • familiarizes course participants with approaching ethically difficult situations and dilemmas by teaching them a framework for ethical decision making;
  • recognizes and analyzes current problems and challenges related to International Humanitarian Law and military medical ethics within the scope of military operations including peace-keeping operations and modern warfare contexts;
  • motivates course participants to recognize their responsibility of training and disseminating Humanitarian Law and Ethics.

The course presupposes basic knowledge of the fundamental norms of International Humanitarian Law (Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols) as the teaching focuses on the ethical analysis. The cases will however be analysed both from the legal and ethical point of view during the course. Teachers will be both experts in IHL and Applied Ethics.