The Legal Nature of DAESH in International Law: State or Non-State Actor?

rpose: Contemporary international law has faced many new challenges. The expansion of modern objects as State-terrorism and the growth of new subjects such as new actors could be considered as some recent aspects of this evolution. In this framework the event of non-state actors because of some problems has changed the allocation of rights and duties and the balance of power between different actors in international community. Although in this environment, the states are still the most significant component of international law and international relations, the modern phenomena could cause new conceptions. The most widely accepted source for definition of statehood is the Montevideo Convention of 1933, which includes the traditional preconditions. According to this convention there are four criteria for States such as a permanent population; a defined territory; government; and the capacity to enter into relations with other entities. The purpose of this article is to focus on the different elements of a State and to answer the question whether DAESH could be considered as a State in international law? And Whether DAESH could expand its legal personality in order to be considered as a State? Design: To answer the main challenges of this essay, it will break up into sections; first, after examining the elements of states in accordance to existing documents and recent practices of various actors, we will consider DAESH, the foundations and the structural basis of creation and its practice in international law. In this section, we will also examine the capabilities by which DAESH may obtain a modern position in international relations. Second, we will consider the characteristic features of DAESH including violation of some fundamental principles of international law such as human rights and humanitarian law. Third, we will scrutinize the role and the responsibility of others before DAESH. In this section, the situations by which international community could overcome the challenges of this new actor in the best manner may also be examined. Finally we will explain the resolutions and the documents issued by some competent organizations such as some human rights organs and also the United Nations and especially those of the Security Council in condemnation of international and domestic practices of this group. Many international rules and principles have been violated by DAESH in Syria and Iraq. Some reports and comments by human rights commissions and non-governmental organizations show that DAESH has committed many heinous acts such as murder, extermination, slavery, deportation or forcible transfer, torture, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and other rules of international humanitarian law. Many of the crimes could be considered as those criminalized by International criminal court as the crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. Taking a look at some recent resolutions of the Security Council and paying enough attention to the international and domestic practice of DAESH are some legal facts to prove the premise of this query.