The term lawful enemy combatant is defined in the
Military Commissions Act of 2006; the term is used as an exclusionary term to prevent most of those who qualify under the definition from being an
unlawful enemy combatant.
Definition
Criticism
The definition given in the act seems to face several difficulties. Firstly it is to a substantial extent analogous to the definition of such persons who are to be held as
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
under the
Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and indeed would appear to define those who are to be treated as prisoners of war, but it is missing three of the categories under said convention, categories 4, 5, 6. Furthermore, under Protocol Additional to the
Geneva Conventions
upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...
of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (
Protocol I
Protocol I (also Additional Protocol I and AP I) is a 1977 amendment Protocol (diplomacy), protocol to the Geneva Conventions concerning the protection of civilian casualty, civilian victims of international war, including "armed conflicts in ...
), 8 June 1977 there are additional categories given, but to which the United States of America is merely a signatory, since it has not been ratified there.
See also
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Geneva Conventions
upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...
*
Jus ad bellum
' ( or ), literally "right to war" in Latin, refers to "the conditions under which States may resort to war or to the use of armed force in general". Jus ad bellum is one pillar of just war theory. Just war theory states that war should only be ...
*
Jus in bello
The law of war is a component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of hostilities (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, ...
References
Guantanamo Bay captives legal and administrative procedures
Military terminology
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