Everything about Civilian totally explained
A
civilian under
international humanitarian law is a person who isn't a member of his or her
country's
armed forces. The term is also often used
colloquially to refer to people who are not members of a particular profession or occupation, especially by
law enforcement agencies, which often use rank structures similar to those of
military units.
The
International Committee of the Red Cross 1958 Commentary on
IV Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War Article 4.4 states that "[e]very person in enemy hands must have some status under international law: he's either a prisoner of war and, as such, covered by the Third Convention, a civilian covered by the Fourth Convention, or again, a member of the medical personnel of the armed forces who is covered by the First Convention.
There is no intermediate status; nobody in enemy hands can be outside the law. We feel that this is a satisfactory solution – not only satisfying to the mind, but also, and above all, satisfactory from the humanitarian point of view." The ICRC has expressed the opinion that "If civilians directly engage in hostilities, they're considered 'unlawful' or 'unprivileged' combatants or belligerents (the treaties of humanitarian law don't expressly contain these terms). They may be prosecuted under the domestic law of the detaining state for such action".
Article 50 in Chapter II: "Civilians and Civilian Population" of
Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions defines that a civilian isn't a
privileged combatant. Article 51 describes the protection that must be given to civilians (unless they're
unprivileged combatants) and civilian populations. Chapter III of Protocol I regulates the targeting of civilian objects. Article 8(2)(b)(i) of the
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court also prohibits attacks directed against civilians. Not all states have ratified Protocol I or the Rome Statute, but it's an accepted principle of international humanitarian law that the direct targeting of civilians is a breach of the customary laws of war and is binding on all belligerents.
Under international
maritime law and
aviation law a distinction is made between passengers and crew that's similar to that of combatants and civilians under the
laws of war. Under their own
municipal law governments may extend the definition of who is a civilian to exclude those who work for the
emergency services, because members of the emergency services may from time to time need additional legal powers over and above those usually available to ordinary citizens.
Further Information
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