CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

BIRUTĖ PRANEVIČIENĖ – VIOLETA VASILIAUSKIENĖ

CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ

2.

Fight against terrorists using the practice of targeted killings

2.1 The Definition of Targeted Killings Prof. J. Žilinskas and W. Declerck outline targeted killing as “the premeditated killing of a specific target (person(s)) suspected of terrorism, with explicit or implicit governmental approval.” 13 This concept is important in that it does not include the legitimacy of a prior assessment of targeted killings (as is the case with the definition of other terms, such as “extrajudicial execution”), but indicates the elements necessary for the legal analysis of the phenomenon. N. Melzer defines targeted killing as the use of lethal force by an entity of international law where it is purposefully intended, in advance, to kill specific persons who are not detained by those who are aiming at them. 14 He identifies five elements of this act that distinguish it from other acts snd which are all necessary to constitute an act of targetted killing: 1) Use of deadly force. This is any coercive act, regardless of measures used, which may result in the loss of human life. 2) The goal of killing, anticipatory resolution to kill. The purpose of this act is to deliberately kill a particular person, the death of a person does not arise from a negligent criminal act. It is also a pre-planned action, the main purpose of which is the death of the individual concerned, and not other goals. 3) The target is a specific person, not an anonymous group of people. 4) The person to whom it applies is not in the control of the aiming authority. 5) This act is attributed to a subject of international law. 15 This act differs from a political assassination at peacetime, which is defined as the killing of a private or public person for political reasons. In an armed conflict, assassination occurs when a person is killed by fraud. Meanwhile, “extrajudicial execution” usually means the killing of specific suspects instead of arresting them, although they do not present an imminent danger at a particular moment. If targeted killings are committed in peace, not in the context of an armed conflict, norms of IHL will not apply, and stricter standards of human rights will be applicable. If this assassination is committed during an armed conflict and is related to it, norms of IHL should be regarded as lex specialis in that particular situation. However, it should be noted that human rights standards do not cease to exist, and, as will be discussed further, influence the evaluation of targeted killings and the criteria of legality of targeted killings. 3.2 Armed conflict and targeted killings It should be noted that IHL does not have lex specialis rules that apply specifically to the fight against terrorism, in the case of terrorists. Thus, in the fight against terrorists, the general rule is that IHL applies only in the event of an armed conflict. The beginning of an armed conflict is “the moment at which one or another IHL full regime begins. Therefore, it can be argued that the classification of a situation as an armed conflict is a legal fact of 13 ŽILINSKAS, J., DECLERCK, W. Targeted Killing under International Humanitarian Law. Jurisprudencija , 2008, t. 5(107): 8-18, p. 8. 14 MELZER, N. Targeted Killing in International Law. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2008, p. 5. 15 Ibid., pp. 3-4.

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