Distinction (law)

Distinction (the principle of distinction) is a principle under international humanitarian law governing the legal use of force in an armed conflict, whereby belligerents are required to distinguish between combatants and protected civilians. Combatant in this instance means persons entitled to directly participate in hostilities and thus are not afforded immunity from being directly targeted in situations of armed conflict. Protected civilian in this instance means civilians who are enemy nationals or neutral citizens outside of the territory of a belligerent power. Distinction, proportionality, and precaution are important factors in assessing military necessity in that the harm caused to protected civilians or civilian property must be proportional and not "excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated" by an attack on a military objective.

The principle of distinction is a fundamental axiom of the modern law of war — also known as the law of armed conflict or international humanitarian law (IHL) — and requires that only military objects may be lawfully targeted while non-military objects, such as civilian objects, remain immune. Regarding persons, only combatants may be lawfully targeted unless rendered hors de combat by illness, injury, or capture. In order to comply with the principle of distinction, parties to an armed conflict must identify combatants and military objects from non-combatants and non-military objects, such as ciivlians and civilian objects, and combatants rendered hors de combat due to injury, illness, or capture. This means that direct attacks may only be launched against military objectives, while non-military objects (such as civilian objects) are immune from attack. The principle of distinction is applicable in both international and non-international armed conflicts.