(_a_) =Definition.= Insurgents are organized bodies of men who, for public political purposes, are in a state of armed hostility to an established government.
(_b_) =Effect of Admission of Insurgency.= The practice of tacitly admitting =insurgent rights= has become common when the hostilities have assumed such proportions as to jeopardize the sovereignty of the parent state over the rebelling community, or seriously to interfere with customary foreign intercourse.[73] The general effect of the admission is shown as follows:[74]
(1) Insurgent rights cannot be claimed by those bodies seeking other than political ends.[75]
(2) Insurgent acts are not piratical, as they imply the pursuit of "public as contrasted with private ends."[76]
(3) The admission of insurgent rights does not carry the rights of a belligerent, nor admit official recognition of insurgent body.[77]
(4) The admission of insurgent rights does not relieve the parent state of its responsibilities for acts committed within its jurisdiction.[78]
(5) When insurgents act in a hostile manner toward foreign states, they may be turned over to the parent state, or may be punished by the foreign state.[79]
(6) A foreign state must in general refrain from interference in the hostilities between parent state and insurgents, _i.e._ cannot extend hospitality of its ports to insurgents, extradite insurgents, etc.[80]
(7) When insurgency exists, the armed forces of the insurgents must observe and are entitled to the advantages of the laws of war in their relations to the parent state.[81]
+Note.+ During the struggles between the parties in the United States of Colombia in 1885, the President of Colombia decreed: (1) That certain Carribean ports held by the opposing party should be regarded as closed to foreign commerce, and trade with these ports would be considered illicit and contraband, and that vessels, crews, etc., involved in such trade would be liable to the penalties of Colombian laws. (2) That as the vessels of the opposing party in the port of Cartagena were flying the Colombian flag, it was in violation of right, and placed that party beyond the pale of international law.[82]
The United States refused to recognize the validity of the first decree unless Colombia should support it by an effective blockading force.[83] (For similar position on part of Great Britain, see Parl. Deb. H. C., June 27, 1861.)
