Decentralized armed groups: Can they be classified as parties to non-international armed conflicts?

This article explores the potential classification of decentralized armed groups in non-international armed conflicts (NIACs). Unlike centralized armed groups,decentralized groups consist of fluid alliances of small subunits or cells with loosecoordination between them. The central question explored by the authors iswhether such groups meet the minimum organizational criterion to be consideredparties to an armed conflict under international humanitarian law (IHL). Theauthors argue that, while not possessing the same chain of command as centralizedarmed groups, decentralized armed groups can, under certain conditions,nevertheless fulfil the criteria for conflict classification. Judicial precedents and IHLinterpretation point to this conclusion where the absence of a centralized command structure within the group can be compensated by the existence of other factors attesting tothe group's organization, such as the exercise of operational command over armedsubunits, with the intensity of violence being an additional element suggesting theoverall organization of the group. Ultimately, this interpretation would ensure theapplicability of a legal framework that would better reflect theintensityofarmedconfrontations on the ground, and bind both States and non-State parties to a NIAC alike.