Participants of international armed conflicts: on the legal status once again
Participants of international armed conflicts: on the legal status once again By analyzing the international agreements and the records of diplomatic conferences the author asserts that a doctrine needs to be aligned with the existing legal rules concerning participants of international armed conflicts and their legal status. The category «non-combatant» (earlier in a doctrine - «medical personnel, intendants, military correspondents and lawyers, religious personnel, members of working teams...») was abolished according to the Additional Protocol I 1977. Members of the armed forces include the non-combatants of a special status: medical, religious personnel and military personnel assigned to the performance of the tasks of civil defence. Crew members of merchant ships and civil aviation are civilians.