Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of
Practice Relating to Rule 108. Mercenaries
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s Military Manual (1988) states:
A mercenary is a person who:
1) is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
2) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities;
3) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party;
4) is neither a national of a party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict;
5) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and
6) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.
In 1980, during a debate in the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly on the UN Mercenary Convention, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia stated that it supported the definition of a mercenary provided by Article 47 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I.
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s Military Manual (1988) states: “Mercenaries shall not have the right to combatant or prisoner-of-war status.”
In 1980, during a debate in the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly on the UN Mercenary Convention, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia recalled that Article 47 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I provided that mercenaries did not have a right to the status of combatant or prisoner of war and concluded that mercenaries could not enjoy any protection under international law.