Related Rule
Italy
Practice Relating to Rule 3. Definition of Combatants
Italy’s IHL Manual (1991) defines “lawful combatants” as:
a. members of the Armed Forces;
b. members of militia, of volunteer corps, of resistance movements, who belong to a Party to the conflict, operating outside or inside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided they fulfil the following conditions:
1. being under a Head responsible for his own subordinates;
2. wear a uniform or a fixed distinctive sign recognisable from a distance;
3. carry arms openly;
4. abide by the laws and customs of war.
Italy, Manuale di diritto umanitario, Introduzione e Volume I, Usi e convenzioni di Guerra, SMD-G-014, Stato Maggiore della Difesa, I Reparto, Ufficio Addestramento e Regolamenti, Rome, 1991, Vol. I, § 4.
Italy’s LOAC Elementary Rules Manual (1991) states: “All members of the Armed Forces (except medical and religious personnel) are combatants.”
Italy, Regole elementari di diritto di guerra, SMD-G-012, Stato Maggiore della Difesa, I Reparto, Ufficio Addestramento e Regolamenti, Rome, 1991, § 2.
Italy’s Combatant’s Manual (1998) states: “Anyone who takes part in military operations or activities is considered a combatant.”
Italy, Manuale del Combattente, SME 1000/A/2, Stato Maggiore Esercito/Reparto Impiego delle Forze, Ufficio Dottrina, Addestramento e Regolamenti, 1998, § 250.
