Public Law Studies Quarterly

Assessing the Legitimacy of Temporary Detention by Non-State Actors ‎in Non-International Armed Conflicts

Document Type : Article

Authors

Yalda Naghizadeh 1
Seyed Hesamoddin Lesani 2
Seyed Yaser Ziaee 3

1 Department of International law, Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran,

2 Associate Prof, Department of Law, Hazrat-e-Masoumeh University, Qom, Iran.‎

3 Associate Prof, Department of Public and International Law, Faculty of Law, Qom University, ‎Qom, Iran‎

https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2024.367062.3420
Abstract
The emergence and increasing growth of non-state actors, along with the subsequent rise in non-international armed conflicts in recent decades, has raised the issue of the legitimacy of detaining military and civilian personnel by these groups. In this research, the authors aim to examine the legality of detention by non-state armed groups. The findings indicate that international humanitarian law has not taken a clear position on this matter and has made the assessment of the legitimacy of temporary detention by non-state armed groups dependent on the domestic laws of states. This approach stems from the traditional view of states regarding the non-recognition of these non-state entities in the international community. In this context, according to the provisions of common article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocol II, and by drawing on customary international humanitarian law, the implicit legitimacy of detention by non-state armed groups is justified particularly emphasizing security reasons, the principle of equality of parties in conflict, military advantage. Undoubtedly, regulating detention in the context of non-international armed conflicts enables humanitarian support for detainees in such conflicts.

Keywords

detention
non-state actors
‎international humanitarian ‎law
legality
non-‎international armed ‎conflicts.‎
Subjects

  1. English

    A) Books

    1. Heffes, E.(2022). Detention by Non-State Armed Groups Under International Law. Cambridge University Press.
    2. Moir, L. (2002). The Law of Internal Armed Conflict. Cambridge University Press.
    3. Pictet, J.S. (1958). The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 Commentary.Geneva International Committee of the Red Cross.

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Abdalla, M. S. (2015). Detention by Non-State Armed Groups: Defining the Applicable Laws and Rules. University of Nairobi School of Law, 1-131. http://hdl.handle.net/11295/97518.
    3. K. (2023). Detention by Armed Groups: Legal and Practical Challenges. SSRN, 1-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4336923
    4. Chertoff, E., Domínguez, L., Manfredi, Z. & Tzeng, P.J.D (2015). State Responsibility for Non-State Actors That Detain in The Course of a NIAC. Center for Global Legal Challenges, Yale Law School,1-42.
    5. Clapham, A. (2017). Detention by Armed Groups under International Law. International Law Studies, (93), 1-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2926502.
    6. Dormann, K. (2012). Detention in Non-International Armed Conflicts. International Law Studies, Vol.88, 347-366.
    7. Goodman, R. (2009). The Detention of Civilians in Armed Conflicts. The American Journal of International Law, 103(1), 48-74. https://doi.org/10.2307/20456721.
    8. Heffes, E. (2015). Detentions by Armed Opposition Groups in Non-International Armed Conflicts. Journal of Conflict & Security Law, 20(2), 229-250. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/kru024
    9. Macak, K. (2014). No Legal Basis under IHL for Detention in Non-International Armed Conflicts? A Comment on Serdar Mohammed v. Ministry of Defence. Available at: Ejiltalk.Org, 1-12.
    10. Murray, D. (2017). Non-State Armed Groups, Detention Authority in Non-International Armed Conflict, and the Coherence of International Law: Searching for a Way Forward. Leiden Journal of International Law, 30(2), 435-456. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0922156517000061.
    11. Niyo, J.J. (2020). Non-State Armed Groups and The Power to Detain in Non-International Armed Conflict, Israel Law Review, 53(1), 3-33. DOI:1017/S0021223719000207.
    12. Olson, L.M., & Sassoli, M. (2008). The Relationship between International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law Where It Matters: Admissible Killing and Internment of Fighters in Non-International Armed Conflicts, IRRC, (871), 599-627.
    13. Opara, L.C. (2019(. Rethinking existing detention laws and policies in non international armed conflicts under International Humanitarian Law. Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of International Law and Jurisprudence, 10(1), 59-68.
    14. Sivakumaran, S. (2009). Courts of Armed Opposition Groups. Fair Trial or Summary Justice?, Journal of International Criminal Justice 7, 489-513. https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqp039.
    15. Tuck, D. (2011), Detention by Armed Groups: Overcoming Challenges to Humanitarian Action, International Review of the Red Cross, 93(883), 759-782. doi:10.1017/S1816383112000069.
    16. Zegveld, L. (2002). Accountability of Armed Opposition Groups in International Law, Cambridge University Press, 145-162. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511495199

     

    1. C) Documents & Reports
    2. Additional Protocol (II) to the Geneva Conventions, 1977.
    3. Common Article 3 of Geneva Conventions,1949.
    4. European Convention on Human Rights (EtChR)(1953).
    5. Geneva Convention (III) on Prisoners of War, 12 August 1949.
    6. Geneva Convention (IV) on on Civilians, 12 August 1949.
    7. Jean-Marie and Doswald-Beck. Louise (2005). “Customary International H1umanitarian Law”, ICRC.
    8. ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)(1966).
    9. ICRC (2011). New Releae, No.05/51
    10. ICRC (2014). "Internment in Armed Conflict: Basic Rules and Challenges”. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Opinion Paper.
    11. ICRC (2015). " International humanitarian law and the challenges of contemporary armed conflicts"". 32nd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.Geneva.Switzerland.
    12. ICRC (2016), International Humanitarian Law Databases, Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. Geneva, 12 August 1949, Commentary of 2016.
    13. ICRC (2023). "Detention by Non-State Armed Groups". Available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/detention-non-state-armed-groups.
    14. ICTY (2008). (Case No. IT-96-21-A bis: Prosecutor v. Mucić: Order of the President in Response to Zdravko Mucić’s Request for Early Release).
    15. IRRC (2009). “Expert meeting on procedural safeguards for security detention in non-international armed conflict’. International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 91, No. 876,pp.859-881.
    16. Serdar Mohammed v Ministry of Defence [2014] EWHC 1369 (QB).
    17. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) (1959). 
    18. The Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) (1974). The 1974 Diplomatic Conference on Humanitarian Law.

     

    1. C) Websites
    2. Mohan, Ch. (2022). Detention For Security Reasons in Non-International Armed Conflicts. Cirsd, Available at: https://www.cirsd.org/en/expert-analysis/detention-for-security-reasons-in-non-international-armed-conflicts.
    3. Viswanath, R. (2020). To Detain or not to Detain? Deciphering Detention in Non- International Armed Conflicts ,IntLawGrrls, Available at: https://ilg2.org/2020/10/21/to-detain-or-not-to-detain-deciphering-detention-in-non-international-armed-conflicts/.

     

    References In Persian:

    1. 1. Ghasemi, G., Karami , M. & Zandi, R. (2023). Protection of Detainees in Non-International Armed Conflicts under International Human Rights Law: With A View on Serdar Mohammed v. UK Ministry of Defence Case, Comparative Law Review, 14 (1), 413-432 (In Persian).
    2. Lesani, S.H. The Legality of Judicial Courts Convened by Non- State Armed Groups. Public Law Research, 21 (64), 183-204 (In Persian).
Public Law Studies Quarterly
Volume 55, Issue 2 - Serial Number 42
Summer 2025
Summer 2025
Pages 1329-1351

  • Receive Date 22 October 2023
  • Revise Date 26 February 2025
  • Accept Date 06 May 2024

Home

Journal Process Ethics

Peer Review Process

Submission

Indexing and Abstracting

Contact Us