Regarding the legal protection of civilians during armed conflict in the context of the implementation of international humanitarian law

The article is devoted to the study of the main aspects of the legal protection of the civilian population during armed conflict in the context of the implementation of the norms of international humanitarian law. The authors indicate that the main international legal acts that regulate the issues of protecting the civilian population in international armed conflict are the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Geneva Convention IV) of 1949 and Additional Protocol I of 1977. The vast majority of international legal norms contained in the above-mentioned international treaties are implemented through the national implementation mechanism. The authors note that the concept of «civilian» in international law is defined quite broadly, which creates certain problems with determining the legal status of a particular person. A civilian can be defined as any natural person who is on the territory of a belligerent state and does not take or has ceased to take part in an armed conflict. Civilians do not include combatants, i.e. persons who have the right to participate in hostilities between states, members of the regular armed forces of a party to the conflict (with the exception of medical and religious personnel), partisans, provided that they openly carry weapons during combat and when deployed in battle formation before combat and in the presence of a leader responsible to the party to the conflict for their actions. Combatants may be persons from the civilian population of an unoccupied territory who spontaneously took up arms when the enemy approached and did not have time to organize themselves into regular troops of a party to the conflict, only if they openly carry weapons and respect the laws and customs of war. Combatants include police officers, border guards or similar persons who are part of the armed forces of the state. The authors conclude that Ukraine’s ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is a positive signal in terms of the correct interpretation by law enforcement and judicial authorities of the provisions of Art. 438 «Violation of the Laws and Customs of War» of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The norms of the Rome Statute make it possible to more clearly clarify the meaning of the concept of «laws and customs of war». At the same time, a problem arises regarding the existing skills, knowledge and abilities in the field of both criminal and international law by law enforcement officers and judges.