Rules are kind of murky on this, but it does seem that BHG ID cannot initiate combat without a valid bounty contract and / or claiming:
The Bounty Hunters Guild is a well-established mercenary group who specialise in hunting criminals and terrorists. A large number of bounty hunters are ex-criminals. All unlawfuls treat the Bounty Hunters as enemies.
Quote:This Independent Corporate ID is used by members of the Bounty Hunters Guild, who:
- Can attack any ship to protect allied or neutral police, military, or corporate ships.
- Can attack any ship in pursuit of a Contract issued by an allied or neutral faction or individual.
- Cannot use Cruisers, Battleships, or ships with more than 4300 cargo space.
And I do recall at least one sanction (warning ?) for this behaviour (not claiming bounties after 7 days). But let's wait for a mod to confirm.
BHG can still assist allies and corporations freely though, so as long as they don't start fights without intention to claim they should be in the clear.
