laws of armed conflict spies and saboteurs

To sum up, sabotage against the enemy is a lawful operation provided the legal rules for the choice of targets and the methods and means employed are respected. The targets of sabotage must form part of the enemy’s material infrastructure, that is, they must be military objectives. Mixed international arbitrations, espe-cially those involving state economic activity, raise mixed questions of public and private international law, while in many fields (such as the protection of human rights and democratic standards, investment guarantees and inter-national criminal law) international and national systems interact. It is generally carried out with great precision and therefore does not usually harm the civilian population. Sabotage is generally the work of individuals or small formations operating in enemy-controlled territory and taking advantage of clandestinity, surprise, and ruses of war. specially trained and equipped units of the regular forces (commandos), members of resistance movements and participants in a levée en masse) may commit acts of sabotage no person who does not have combatant status may lawfully commit sabotage. Whether the use of sabotage against the enemy is legitimate or otherwise depends onĪs regards the category of persons, in an international armed conflict only combatants (i.e.

In the latter sense, sabotage is a method of warfare. In military terminology, it is preferable to term acts committed against one’s own armed forces as “sabotage”, and acts committed against the enemy as “ destruction”. Sabotage refers to the action taken to destroy or damage material, works or installations which by their nature or purpose add to the efficiency of the enemy’s armed forces.

Laws of armed conflict spies and saboteurs