LEGAL PROTECTION OF JOURNALISTS DURING INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICTS

The article is devoted to the analysis of the peculiarities of the legal status of journalists during international armed conflicts. It is emphasized that representatives of mass media who are on dangerous business trips belong to the category of civilians and enjoy the protection of international humanitarian law under the conditions, if they do not participate in military operations, with the exception of accredited military correspondents, who have a special legal status during coverage acts of military aggression. It is emphasized that the modern concept of «journalist» includes not only employees of traditional mass media, such as television, radio broadcasting, print media, as well as news agencies, but also the so-called new media: journalists of online media, bloggers, freelancers, employees of media communities, public activists and other media participants who communicate publicly with their audience Modern international humanitarian law does not provide for the presence of special means of protection for journalists, although the presence of a certificate or a special badge of a press representative, recommended to journalists by humanitarian organizations, can be considered conditionally as such. Loss of international legal protection by a journalist is possible under the conditions of approaching the place of active hostilities, as well as being inside a military formation, when the enemy has no opportunity to distinguish a combatant from a civilian or a journalist. It is emphasized the importance of further work on the preparation of the Convention on the Protection of Journalists during Armed Conflicts, as well as improving the mechanisms of control over compliance with the current provisions of international humanitarian law through the efforts of the professional journalistic society and international human rights organizations.