How have Inter-American Human Rights bodies dealt with thenotion of “war”, which has been transformed over time into the notion of internal and international “armed conflicts”? This question provides the analytical foundation of the first part of this study, which sets out the various types of conflicts that have occurred in the American continent. These situations (armed conflicts, internal strife, State terrorism) have produced a wide range of legal categorizations, utilized by both the Commission and Inter-AmericanCourt of Human Rights in their case-law. This conceptualdelimitation carried out by these two bodies is all the moreimportant as it affects the law that applies to armed conflicts. Indeed, by analysing this question, the never-ending debate on therelationship between International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law reappears. The second part of this study therefore focuses on the issue of discovering whether and in which way jus inbello has found its place into the Inter-American Human Rights bodies’ case-law. As the active political life of Latin Americansocieties has shown, the study of the different applicable legalregimes also requires looking into “state of emergency” Law, an issuewhich has been shaped by the Inter-American Court and Commission’s work.