Italy
Practice Relating to Rule 62. Improper Use of Flags or Military Emblems, Insignia or Uniforms of the Adversary
Under Italy’s IHL Manual (1991), it is prohibited “to use flags, insignia or military uniforms other than the country’s own”.
Italy’s LOAC Elementary Rules Manual (1991) provides: “It is prohibited to feign a protected status by inviting the confidence of the enemy: … use of enemy uniform or flag.”
Under Italy’s Law of War Decree (1938), as amended in 1992, it is prohibited “to use flags, insignia or military uniforms other than the country’s own”.
The Decree further provides: “Warships may not enter into hostilities without a flag or with a flag other than the country’s own.”
Italy’s Wartime Military Penal Code (1941) punishes anyone who “uses improperly the flag, insignia or military uniforms other than the country’s own”.