International Law and Its Protection for Participants in Unconventional Warfare

Morris Greenspan

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1962, vol. 341, issue 1, 30-41

Abstract: Unconventional warfare is governed by inter national law. In the context of the cold war, it must be con sidered in relation to both international and internal war. In international war, volunteers are lawful, as are troops belonging to an authority not recognized by the enemy. Guerrillas are lawful combatants if they belong to an organized resistance movement of a party to the conflict, are commanded by persons responsible for their subordinates, wear a fixed distinctive sign, carry their arms openly, and obey the laws and customs of war. Lawful participants in a levée en masse must comply with the last two conditions. In countering guerrilla activity, reprisals may not be used against prisoners of war or civilians in occu pied territory. Hostages may, in general, not be taken. If in habitants in guerrilla areas are deported, their welfare must be safeguarded. Captured unlawful combatants can only be sen tenced by a competent tribunal. In occupied territory, the death penalty against an unlawful combatant is only possible if the pre-occupation law of that territory allowed it. Espio nage, sabotage, corruption, and propaganda may be employed in war. In civil and colonial war, both sides must obey the code laid down in Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Date: 1962
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DOI: 10.1177/000271626234100105

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