The Legal Status of Mercenaries in International Conventions and Customs

Abstract

 It is known that the army of any state of the world is composed of the citizens of this state. These citizens take upon themselves the task of defending their country and maintaining its security and stability, based on the loyalty bond between these individuals and the state to which they belong.

 However, it may sometimes occur that some individuals contribute to the defense of a state other than the state of nationality by participating with its armed forces in its military operations, usually at the request of the authorities of their state of origin. That may happen because the war waged by the other state is a legitimate war within the framework of collective security or self-defense, or that the involvement of those persons in the war alongside the state concerned may stem from their full belief in the fairness of the case defended by that state. On the other hand, some people may take up from recruiting themselves a profession from which they are living, since they mortgage their lives for those who pay them a higher price without considering the legality of the war, its causes or the extent to which it respect the humanitarian principles. These people are usually knowed as mercenaries, because they have taken their fight alongside others as a means of earning a living, that is, it was not in defense of the doctrine or principles they believe in. Accordingly, most of the laws, including international law, have tended to combat mercenary activities, either by criminalizing their actions or by simply depriving them of the treatment enjoyed by other groups of combatants.