The situation in non-international armed conflict (NIAC) is less clear when it comes to detention of those

who do not respect International Humanitarian Law. Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention is the
single rule of the GC that covers non-international conflict, this attempts to lay down rules governing
non-international armed conflicts. However, the International Court of Justice states that in the rules in
common Article 3 it reflects elementary considerations of humanity applicable under customary
international law to any armed conflict.

Common Article 3 does not clearly define what is exactly meant by a non-international armed conflict. It
also emphasizes that the introduction of these minimum rules do not affect the legal status of the
parties. However, the legal government can still suppress an insurgency with the use of their domestic
law since the conflict is not international in nature. According to the Geneva Conventions, NIAC does not
have such thing as combatant status and captives are not entitled to POW status, however, they are still
protected by law.

When states applied the common article 3 and protocol II, there is no clear provision on the penal
repression of violations. But, in the present time, many of the rules governing non-international armed
conflicts are recognized as being part of customary international law. The concept of individual criminal
responsibility in non-international armed conflict has also become a part of international law.

Violations of the common article 3 and the provision of the Protocol II by individual parties are
considered criminal offenses under international law. Such crimes are already being tried in the
international tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Thus, the International Criminal Court will
reinforce this trend. The violations of the law applicable in a non-international armed conflict is listed in
the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

How eveerThe Common Article 3 says nothing about grounds and procedures for detention.