free law journal - volume 3, number 1 (18 january 2007)

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FREE LAW JOURNAL - VOLUME 3, NUMBER 1 (18 JANUARY 2007)There is, however, only one case where a political crime maybe envisaged at international level. See comments to ArticleIII supra.Article XII:1. Political crimes and terrorism can be identical, if both aredeemed an act or a conflict at national level.1a. Individual political crimes and terrorism are not identical ifboth are deemed types of conflict other than disturbance, and ifindividual political crime involves violent action.Comments:Common Articles 50/51/130/147 state as follows:“Grave breaches […] shall be those involving any of thefollowing acts, if committed against persons or propertyprotected by the present Convention: Willful killing, torture orinhuman treatment, including biological experiments,willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body orhealth, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawfulconfinement of a protected person, compelling a protectedperson to serve in the forces of a hostile Power, or willfullydepriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regulartrial prescribed in the present Convention, taking of hostagesand extensive destruction and appropriation of property, notjustified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully andwantonly.”Indiscriminate attacks against protected civilians or civilianproperty can, therefore, be considered as grave breaches, i.e.,war crimes. But war crimes are international crimes.Therefore, grave breaches committed during armed conflictscan not qualify as political crimes even though committed forpolitical motives or reasons, the political character of anoffence being excluded when the offence is deemed aninternational crime.68DR. ANWAR FRANGI - A PROPOSAL OF A UNIFORM CODE FORPOLITICAL CRIMES AND TERRORISM
FREE LAW JOURNAL - VOLUME 3, NUMBER 1 (18 JANUARY 2007)However, indiscriminate attacks against protected civilians orcivilian property are defined by the Fourth GenevaConvention as acts of terrorism. (Article 33(1) of the FourthConvention which states that “Collective penalties andlikewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism areprohibited.” See also Anwar Frangi, The InternationalizedNon-International Armed Conflict in Lebanon: 1975-1990,Introduction to Confligology, 22 CAP.U.L.REV. 965 (Fall1993), pp. 29-33. Therefore, an act that would be consideredas a political offence to the contrary, may be qualified as anact of terrorism. In this context, one act may be taken for theother identically. The outcome however can be differentdepending on whether the armed conflict is of international ornon-international character. If the armed conflict is ofinternational character, and if “willful killing” and theextensive destruction of property are war crimes according tothe above Article, and if terrorism under Article 33(1) of theFourth Convention can actually be either a willful killing or anextensive destruction of property, the political character of anoffence is excluded. And the act of terrorism may not beidentical with the political offence since at the internationallevel only international crime may be considered. But if thearmed conflict is not of international character, anindiscriminate attack against civilians or civilian property maybe qualified as either political offence or terrorism when theindiscriminate attack is committed for political intimidation,as for example, is the case of the Syrian shelling of theChristian civilians and civilian property in 1976 and 1989. Inthis context, it can be said that both acts are identical. But, ifgrave breaches are considered as customary international lawapplicable in armed conflict not of international character,both acts would, therefore, be not identical. This, however,has not been considered the case by humanitarian lawscholars (id. at 94, note 270).1b. Individual political crimes and terrorism are not identical ifboth are deemed types of conflict beyond tension, and if individual69DR. ANWAR FRANGI - A PROPOSAL OF A UNIFORM CODE FORPOLITICAL CRIMES AND TERRORISM
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