ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how issues surrounding persons hors de combat have been addressed in international criminal law (ICL) and considers some of the more interesting issues that have arisen in the jurisprudence to date. It examines how international criminal tribunal (ICT) have determined who qualifies for prisoners of war (POW) status and the importance POW status has in ICL. The chapter examines the differences that can arise in war crimes cases when the alleged victim is a person hors de combat rather than a civilian. The Hostages and Einsatzgruppen case illustrates the importance of POW status in war crimes cases following the Second World War and the different levels of analysis that courts applied when establishing entitlement to POW status. Unlawful confinement is a grave breach of Geneva Convention IV, whereas under Geneva Convention III, POWs can be detained until the cessation of hostilities. Geneva Convention III broadly prohibits using POWs in labour related to combat operations.
