Spain
Practice Relating to Rule 10. Civilian Objects’ Loss of Protection from Attack
Section B. Situations of doubt as to the character of an object
Spain’s LOAC Manual (1996) states: “In case of doubt, an object which is normally dedicated to civilian purposes, such as a house, a school or a place of worship, must be considered to be a civilian object.”
Spain’s LOAC Manual (2007) states: “If there is any doubt, based on the information available at the time about whether an object normally used for civilian purposes, such as a dwelling, a school or a place of worship, is a military objective, it must be presumed to be a civilian object.”
In 2010, in the
Couso case, which concerned the killing of a Spanish journalist in Baghdad on 8 April 2003 by troops of the United States of America, the Criminal Chamber of Spain’s Supreme Court referred to norms of IHL relevant to the case under review, including Article 52(3) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I.