12 October 1949
Geneva
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons
in Time of War, of 12 August 1949 (Geneva Convention IV)
Signed at Geneva, 12 August 1949
PART I General Provisions
Article 1 Respect for the Convention
Article 2 Application of the Convention
Article 3 Conflicts not of an international character
Article 4 Definition of protected persons
Article 5 Derogations
Article 6 Beginning and end of application
Article 7 Special agreements
Article 8 Non-renunciation of rights
Article 9 Protecting Powers
Article 10 Activities of the International Committee of the
Red Cross
Article 11 Substitutes for Protecting Powers
Article 12 Conciliation procedure
Article 13 Field of application of Part 11
Article 14 Hospital and safety zones and localities
Article 15 Neutralized zones
Article 16 Wounded and sick: I. General protection
Article 17 II. Evacuation
Article 18 Ill. Protection of hospitals
Article 19 IV. Discontinuance of protection of hospitals
Article 20 V. Hospital staff
Article 21 VI. Land and sea transport
Article 22 VII. Air transport
Article 23 Consignments of medical supplies, food and clothing
Article 24 Measures relating to child welfare
Article 25 Family news
Article 26 Dispersed families
Article 27 Treatment: 1. General observations
Article 28 II. Danger zones
Article 29 Ill. Responsibilities
Article 30 Applications to Protecting Powers and relief organizations
Article 31 Prohibition of coercion
Article 32 Prohibition of corporal punishment, torture, etc.
Article 33 Individual responsibility, collective penalties,
pillage, reprisals
Article 34 Hostages
Article 35 Right to leave the territory
Article 36 Method of repatriation
Article 37 Persons in confinement
Article 38 Non-repatriated persons: I. General observations
Article 39 II. Means of existence
Article 40 Ill. Employment
Article 41 IV. Assigned residence. Internment
Article 42 V. Grounds for internment or assigned residence.
Voluntary internment
Article 43 VI. Procedure
Article 44 VII. Refugees
Article 45 VIII. Transfer to another Power
Article 46 Cancellation of restrictive measures
Article 47 Inviolability of rights
Article 48 Special cases of repatriation
Article 49 Deportations, transfers, evacuations
Article 50 Children
Article 51 Enlistment. Labour
Article 52 Protection of workers
Article 53 Prohibited destruction
Article 54 Judges and public officials
Article 55 Food and medical supplies for the population
Article 56 Hygiene and public health
Article 57 Requisition of hospitals
Article 58 Spiritual assistance
Article 59 Relief: I. Collective relief
Article 60 II. Responsibilities of the Occupying Power
Article 61 111. Distribution
Article 62 IV. Individual relief
Article 63 National Red Cross and other relief societies
Article 64 Penal legislation: 1. General observations
Article 65 II. Publication
Article 66 Ill. Competent courts
Article 67 IV. Applicable provisions
Article 68 V. Penalties. Death penalty
Article 69 VI. Deduction from sentence of period spent under
arrest
Article 70 VII. Offences committed before occupation
Article 71 Penal procedure: I. General observations
Article 72 11. Right of defence
Article 73 Ill. Right of appeal
Article 74 IV. Assistance by the Protecting Power
Article 75 V. Death sentence
Article 76 Treatment of detainees
Article 77 Handing over of detainees at the close of occupation
Article 78 Security measures. Internment and assigned residence.
Right of appeal
CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 79 Cases of internment and applicable provisions
Article 80 Civil capacity
Article 81 Maintenance
Article 82 Grouping of internees
CHAPTER II PLACES OF INTERNMENT
Article 83 Location of places of internment. Marking of camps
Article 84 Separate internment
Article 85 Accommodation, hygiene
Article 86 Premises for religious services
Article 87 Canteens
Article 88 Air raid shelters. Protective measures
CHAPTER III FOOD AND CLOTHING
Article 89 Food
Article 90 Clothing
CHAPTER IV HYGIENE AND MEDICAL ATTENTION
Article 91 Medical attention
Article 92 Medical inspections
CHAPTER V RELIGIOUS, INTELLECTUAL AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
Article 93 Religious duties
Article 94 Recreation, study, sports and games
Article 95 Working conditions
Article 96 Labour detachments
CHAPTER VI PERSONAL PROPERTY AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Article 97 Valuables and personal effects
Article 98 Financial resources and individual accounts
CHAPTER VII ADMINISTRATION AND DISCIPLINE
Article 99 Camp administration. Posting of the Convention
and of orders
Article 100 General discipline
Article 101 Complaints and petitions
Article 102 Internee committees: 1. Election of members
Article 103 II. Duties
Article 104 Ill. Prerogatives
CHAPTER VIII RELATIONS WITH THE EXTERIOR
Article 105 Notification of measures taken
Article 106 Internment card
Article 107 Correspondence
Article 108 Relief shipments: 1. General principles
Article 109 II. Collective relief
Article 110 Ill. Exemption from postal and transport charges
Article 111 Special means of transport
Article 112 Censorship and examination
Article 113 Execution and transmission of legal documents
Article 114 Management of property
Article 115 Facilities for preparation and conduct of cases
Article 116 Visits
CHAPTER IX PENAL AND DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS
Article 117 General provisions. Applicable legislation
Article 118 Penalties
Article 119 Disciplinary punishments
Article 120 Escapes
Article 121 Connected offences
Article 122 Investigations. Confinement awaiting hearing
Article 123 Competent authorities. Procedure
Article 124 Premises for.disciplinary punishments
Article 125 Essential safeguards
Article 126 Provisions applicable to judicial proceedings
CHAPTER X TRANSFERS OF INTERNEES
Article 127 Conditions
Article 128 Method
CHAPTER XI DEATHS
Article 129 Wills. Death certificates
Article 130 Burial. Cremation
Article 131 Internees killed or injured in special circumstances
CHAPTER XII RELEASE, REPATRIATION AND ACCOMMODATION IN
NEUTRAL COUNTRIES
Article 132 During hostilities or occupation
Article 133 After the close of hostilities
Article 134 Repatriation and return to last place of residence
Article 135 Costs
Article 136 National Bureaux
Article 137 Transmission of information
Article 138 Particulars required
Article 139 Forwarding of personal valuables
Article 140 Central Agency
Article 141 Exemption from charges
Article 142 Relief societies and other organizations
Article 143 Supervision
Article 144 Dissemination of the Convention
Article 145 Translations. Rules of application
Article 146 Penal sanctions: I. General observations
Article 147 II. Grave breaches
Article 148 Ill. Responsibilities of the Contracting Parties
Article 149 Enquiry procedure
Article 150 Languages
Article 151 Signature
Article 152 Ratification
Article 153 Coming into force
Article 154 Relation with the Hague Conventions
Article 155 Accession
Article 156 Notification of accessions
Article 157 Immediate effect
Article 158 Denunciation
Article 159 Registration with the United Nations
Part I. General Provisions
Article 1. The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect
and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances.
Art. 2. In addition to the provisions which shall be implemented
in peace-time, the present Convention shall apply to all cases
of declared war or of any other armed conflict which may arise
between two or more of the High Contracting Parties, even
if the state of war is not recognized by one of them.
The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or
total occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party,
even if the said occupation meets with no armed resistance.
Although one of the Powers in conflict may not be a party
to the present Convention, the Powers who are parties thereto
shall remain bound by it in their mutual relations. They shall
furthermore be bound by the Convention in relation to the
said Power, if the latter accepts and applies the provisions
thereof.
Art. 3. In the case of armed conflict not of an international
character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting
Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply,
as a minimum, the following
provisions:
(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including
members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and
those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention,
or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated
humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race,
colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any
other similar criteria.
To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited
at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to
the above-mentioned persons:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of
all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(b) taking of hostages;
(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating
and degrading treatment;
(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions
without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted
court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized
as indispensable by civilized peoples.
(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International
Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the
Parties to the conflict.
The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring
into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of
the other provisions of the present Convention.
The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect
the legal status of the Parties to the conflict.
Art. 4. Persons protected by the Convention are those who,
at a given moment and in any manner whatsoever, find themselves,
in case of a conflict or occupation, in the hands of a Party
to the conflict or Occupying Power of which they are not nationals.
Nationals of a State which is not bound by the Convention
are not protected by it. Nationals of a neutral State who
find themselves in the territory of a belligerent State, and
nationals of a co-belligerent State, shall not be regarded
as protected persons while the State of which they are nationals
has normal diplomatic representation in the State in whose
hands they are.
The provisions of Part II are, however, wider in application,
as defined in Article 13.
Persons protected by the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration
of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in
the Field of 12 August 1949, or by the Geneva Convention for
the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked
Members of Armed Forces at Sea of 12 August 1949, or by the
Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of
War of 12 August 1949, shall not be considered as protected
persons within the meaning of the present Convention.
Art. 5 Where in the territory of a Party to the conflict,
the latter is satisfied that an individual protected person
is definitely suspected of or engaged in activities hostile
to the security of the State, such individual person shall
not be entitled to claim such rights and privileges under
the present Convention as would, if exercised in the favour
of such individual person, be prejudicial to the security
of such State.
Where in occupied territory an individual protected person
is detained as a spy or saboteur, or as a person under definite
suspicion of activity hostile to the security of the Occupying
Power, such person shall, in those cases where absolute military
security so requires, be regarded as having forfeited rights
of communication under the present Convention.
In each case, such persons shall nevertheless be treated
with humanity and, in case of trial, shall not be deprived
of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed by the
present Convention. They shall also be granted the full rights
and privileges of a protected person under the present Convention
at the earliest date consistent with the security of the State
or Occupying Power, as the case may be.
Art. 6. The present Convention shall apply from the outset
of any conflict or occupation mentioned in Article 2.
In the territory of Parties to the conflict, the application
of the present Convention shall cease on the general close
of military operations.
In the case of occupied territory, the application of the
present Convention shall cease one year after the general
close of military operations; however, the Occupying Power
shall be bound, for the duration of the occupation, to the
extent that such Power exercises the functions of government
in such territory, by the provisions of the following Articles
of the present Convention: 1 to 12, 27, 29 to 34, 47, 49,
51, 52, 53, 59, 61 to 77, 143.
Protected persons whose release, repatriation or re-establishment
may take place after such dates shall meanwhile continue to
benefit by the present Convention.
Art. 7. In addition to the agreements expressly provided
for in Articles 11, 14, 15, 17, 36, 108, 109, 132, 133 and
149, the High Contracting Parties may conclude other special
agreements for all matters concerning which they may deem
it suitable to make separate provision. No special agreement
shall adversely affect the situation of protected persons,
as defined by the present Convention, not restrict the rights
which it confers upon them.
Protected persons shall continue to have the benefit of such
agreements as long as the Convention is applicable to them,
except where express provisions to the contrary are contained
in the aforesaid or in subsequent agreements, or where more
favourable measures have been taken with regard to them by
one or other of the Parties to the conflict.
Art. 8. Protected persons may in no circumstances renounce
in part or in entirety the rights secured to them by the present
Convention, and by the special agreements referred to in the
foregoing Article, if such there be.
Art. 9. The present Convention shall be applied with the
cooperation and under the scrutiny of the Protecting Powers
whose duty it is to safeguard the interests of the Parties
to the conflict. For this purpose, the Protecting Powers may
appoint, apart from their diplomatic or consular staff, delegates
from amongst their own nationals or the nationals of other
neutral Powers. The said delegates shall be subject to the
approval of the Power with which they are to carry out their
duties.
The Parties to the conflict shall facilitate to the greatest
extent possible the task of the representatives or delegates
of the Protecting Powers.
The representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers
shall not in any case exceed their mission under the present
Convention.
They shall, in particular, take account of the imperative
necessities of security of the State wherein they carry out
their duties.
Art. 10. The provisions of the present Convention constitute
no obstacle to the humanitarian activities which the International
Committee of the Red Cross or any other impartial humanitarian
organization may, subject to the consent of the Parties to
the conflict concerned, undertake for the protection of civilian
persons and for their relief.
Art. 11. The High Contracting Parties may at any time agree
to entrust to an international organization which offers all
guarantees of impartiality and efficacy the duties incumbent
on the Protecting Powers by virtue of the present Convention.
When persons protected by the present Convention do not benefit
or cease to benefit, no matter for what reason, by the activities
of a Protecting Power or of an organization provided for in
the first paragraph above, the Detaining Power shall request
a neutral State, or such an organization, to undertake the
functions performed under the present Convention by a Protecting
Power designated by the Parties to a conflict.
If protection cannot be arranged accordingly, the Detaining
Power shall request or shall accept, subject to the provisions
of this Article, the offer of the services of a humanitarian
organization, such as the International Committee of the Red
Cross, to assume the humanitarian functions performed by Protecting
Powers under the present Convention.
Any neutral Power or any organization invited by the Power
concerned or offering itself for these purposes, shall be
required to act with a sense of responsibility towards the
Party to the conflict on which persons protected by the present
Convention depend, and shall be required to furnish sufficient
assurances that it is in a position to undertake the appropriate
functions and to discharge them impartially.
No derogation from the preceding provisions shall be made
by special agreements between Powers one of which is restricted,
even temporarily, in its freedom to negotiate with the other
Power or its allies by reason of military events, more particularly
where the whole, or a substantial part, of the territory of
the said Power is occupied.
Whenever in the present Convention mention is made of a Protecting
Power, such mention applies to substitute organizations in
the sense of the present Article.
The provisions of this Article shall extend and be adapted
to cases of nationals of a neutral State who are in occupied
territory or who find themselves in the territory of a belligerent
State in which the State of which they are nationals has not
normal diplomatic representation.
Art. 12. In cases where they deem it advisable in the interest
of protected persons, particularly in cases of disagreement
between the Parties to the conflict as to the application
or interpretation of the provisions of the present Convention,
the Protecting Powers shall lend their good offices with a
view to settling the disagreement.
For this purpose, each of the Protecting Powers may, either
at the invitation of one Party or on its own initiative, propose
to the Parties to the conflict a meeting of their representatives,
and in particular of the authorities responsible for protected
persons, possibly on neutral territory suitably chosen. The
Parties to the conflict shall be bound to give effect to the
proposals made to them for this purpose. The Protecting Powers
may, if necessary, propose for approval by the Parties to
the conflict a person belonging to a neutral Power, or delegated
by the International Committee of the Red Cross, who shall
be invited to take part in such a meeting.
Part II. General Protection of Populations Against Certain
Consequences of War
Art. 13. The provisions of Part II cover the whole of the
populations of the countries in conflict, without any adverse
distinction based, in particular, on race, nationality, religion
or political opinion, and are intended to alleviate the sufferings
caused by war.
Art. 14. In time of peace, the High Contracting Parties and,
after the outbreak of hostilities, the Parties thereto, may
establish in their own territory and, if the need arises,
in occupied areas, hospital and safety zones and localities
so organized as to protect from the effects of war, wounded,
sick and aged persons, children under fifteen, expectant mothers
and mothers of children under seven.
Upon the outbreak and during the course of hostilities, the
Parties concerned may conclude agreements on mutual recognition
of the zones and localities they have created. They may for
this purpose implement the provisions of the Draft Agreement
annexed to the present Convention, with such amendments as
they may consider necessary.
The Protecting Powers and the International Committee of
the Red Cross are invited to lend their good offices in order
to facilitate the institution and recognition of these hospital
and safety zones and localities.
Art. 15. Any Party to the conflict may, either direct or
through a neutral State or some humanitarian organization,
propose to the adverse Party to establish, in the regions
where fighting is taking place, neutralized zones intended
to shelter from the effects of war the following persons,
without
distinction:
(a) wounded and sick combatants or non-combatants;
(b) civilian persons who take no part in hostilities, and
who, while they reside in the zones, perform no work of
a military character.
When the Parties concerned have agreed upon the geographical
position, administration, food supply and supervision of the
proposed neutralized zone, a written agreement shall be concluded
and signed by the representatives of the Parties to the conflict.
The agreement shall fix the beginning and the duration of
the neutralization of the zone.
Art. 16. The wounded and sick, as well as the infirm, and
expectant mothers, shall be the object of particular protection
and respect.
As far as military considerations allow, each Party to the
conflict shall facilitate the steps taken to search for the
killed and wounded, to assist the shipwrecked and other persons
exposed to grave danger, and to protect them against pillage
and ill-treatment.
Art. 17. The Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to conclude
local agreements for the removal from besieged or encircled
areas, of wounded, sick, infirm, and aged persons, children
and maternity cases, and for the passage of ministers of all
religions, medical personnel and medical equipment on their
way to such areas.
Art. 18. Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the
wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no
circumstances be the object of attack but shall at all times
be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.
States which are Parties to a conflict shall provide all
civilian hospitals with certificates showing that they are
civilian hospitals and that the buildings which they occupy
are not used for any purpose which would deprive these hospitals
of protection in accordance with Article 19.
Civilian hospitals shall be marked by means of the emblem
provided for in Article 38 of the Geneva Convention for the
Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed
Forces in the Field of 12 August 1949, but only if so authorized
by the State.
The Parties to the conflict shall, in so far as military
considerations permit, take the necessary steps to make the
distinctive emblems indicating civilian hospitals clearly
visible to the enemy land, air and naval forces in order to
obviate the possibility of any hostile action.
In view of the dangers to which hospitals may be exposed
by being close to military objectives, it is recommended that
such hospitals be situated as far as possible from such objectives.
Art. 19. The protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled
shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their
humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection
may, however, cease only after due warning has been given,
naming, in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit
and after such warning has remained unheeded. The fact that
sick or wounded members of the armed forces are nursed in
these hospitals, or the presence of small arms and ammunition
taken from such combatants which have not yet been handed
to the proper service, shall not be considered to be acts
harmful to the enemy.
Art. 20. Persons regularly and solely engaged in the operation
and administration of civilian hospitals, including the personnel
engaged in the search for, removal and transporting of and
caring for wounded and sick civilians, the infirm and maternity
cases shall be respected and protected.
In occupied territory and in zones of military operations,
the above personnel shall be recognizable by means of an identity
card certifying their status, bearing the photograph of the
holder and embossed with the stamp of the responsible authority,
and also by means of a stamped, water-resistant armlet which
they shall wear on the left arm while carrying out their duties.
This armlet shall be issued by the State and shall bear the
emblem provided for in Article 38 of the Geneva Convention
for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick
in Armed Forces in the Field of 12 August 1949.
Other personnel who are engaged in the operation and administration
of civilian hospitals shall be entitled to respect and protection
and to wear the armlet, as provided in and under the conditions
prescribed in this Article, while they are employed on such
duties. The identity card shall state the duties on which
they are employed.
The management of each hospital shall at all times hold at
the disposal of the competent national or occupying authorities
an up-to-date list of such personnel.
Art. 21. Convoys of vehicles or hospital trains on land or
specially provided vessels on sea, conveying wounded and sick
civilians, the infirm and maternity cases, shall be respected
and protected in the same manner as the hospitals provided
for in Article 18, and shall be marked, with the consent of
the State, by the display of the distinctive emblem provided
for in Article 38 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration
of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in
the Field of 12 August 1949.
Art.22. Aircraft exclusively employed for the removal of
wounded and sick civilians, the infirm and maternity cases
or for the transport of medical personnel and equipment, shall
not be attacked, but shall be respected while flying at heights,
times and on routes specifically agreed upon between all the
Parties to the conflict concerned.
They may be marked with the distinctive emblem provided for
in Article 38 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration
of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in
the Field of 12 August 1949.
Unless agreed otherwise, flights over enemy or enemy occupied
territory are prohibited.
Such aircraft shall obey every summons to land. In the event
of a landing thus imposed, the aircraft with its occupants
may continue its flight after examination, if any.
Art. 23. Each High Contracting Party shall allow the free
passage of all consignments of medical and hospital stores
and objects necessary for religious worship intended only
for civilians of another High Contracting Party, even if the
latter is its adversary. It shall likewise permit the free
passage of all consignments of essential foodstuffs, clothing
and tonics intended for children under fifteen, expectant
mothers and maternity cases.
The obligation of a High Contracting Party to allow the free
passage of the consignments indicated in the preceding paragraph
is subject to the condition that this Party is satisfied that
there are no serious reasons
for fearing:
(a) that the consignments may be diverted from their destination,
(b) that the control may not be effective, or
(c) that a definite advantage may accrue to the military
efforts or economy of the enemy through the substitution
of the above-mentioned consignments for goods which would
otherwise be provided or produced by the enemy or through
the release of such material, services or facilities as
would otherwise be required for the production of such goods.
The Power which allows the passage of the consignments indicated
in the first paragraph of this Article may make such permission
conditional on the distribution to the persons benefited thereby
being made under the local supervision of the Protecting Powers.
Such consignments shall be forwarded as rapidly as possible,
and the Power which permits their free passage shall have
the right to prescribe the technical arrangements under which
such passage is allowed.
Art.24. The Parties to the conflict shall take the necessary
measures to ensure that children under fifteen, who are orphaned
or are separated from their families as a result of the war,
are not left to their own resources, and that their maintenance,
the exercise of their religion and their education are facilitated
in all circumstances. Their education shall, as far as possible,
be entrusted to persons of a similar cultural tradition.
The Parties to the conflict shall facilitate the reception
of such children in a neutral country for the duration of
the conflict with the consent of the Protecting Power, if
any, and under due safeguards for the observance of the principles
stated in the first paragraph.
They shall, furthermore, endeavour to arrange for all children
under twelve to be identified by the wearing of identity discs,
or by some other means.
Art. 25. All persons in the territory of a Party to the conflict,
or in a territory occupied by it, shall be enabled to give
news of a strictly personal nature to members of their families,
wherever they may be, and to receive news from them. This
correspondence shall be forwarded speedily and without undue
delay.
If, as a result of circumstances, it becomes difficult or
impossible to exchange family correspondence by the ordinary
post, the Parties to the conflict concerned shall apply to
a neutral intermediary, such as the Central Agency provided
for in Article 140, and shall decide in consultation with
it how to ensure the fulfilment of their obligations under
the best possible conditions, in particular with the cooperation
of the National Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun)
Societies.
If the Parties to the conflict deem it necessary to restrict
family correspondence, such restrictions shall be confined
to the compulsory use of standard forms containing twenty-five
freely chosen words, and to the limitation of the number of
these forms despatched to one each month.
Art. 26. Each Party to the conflict shall facilitate enquiries
made by members of families dispersed owing to the war, with
the object of renewing contact with one another and of meeting,
if possible. It shall encourage, in particular, the work of
organizations engaged on this task provided they are acceptable
to it and conform to its security regulations.
Part III. Status and Treatment of Protected Persons
Section I. Provisions common to the territories of the
parties to the conflict and to occupied territories
Art. 27. Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances,
to respect for their persons, their honour, their family rights,
their religious convictions and practices, and their manners
and customs. They shall at all times be humanely treated,
and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence
or threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity.
Women shall be especially protected against any attack on
their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitutiOn,
or any form of indecent assault.
Without prejudice to the provisions relating to their state
of health, age and sex, all protected persons shall be treated
with the same consideration by the Party to the conflict in
whose power they are, without any adverse distinction based,
in particular, on race, religion or political opinion.
However, the Parties to the conflict may take such measures
of control and security in regard to protected persons as
may be necessary as a result of the war.
Art. 28. The presence of a protected person may not be used
to render certain points or areas immune from military operations.
Art. 29. The Party to the conflict in whose hands protected
persons may be, is responsible for the treatment accorded
to them by its agents, irrespective of any individual responsibility
which may be incurred.
Art. 30. Protected persons shall have every facility for
making application to the Protecting Powers, the International
Committee of the Red Cross, the National Red Cross (Red Crescent,
Red Lion and Sun) Society of the country where they may be,
as well as to any organization that might assist them.
These several organizations shall be granted all facilities
for that purpose by the authorities, within the bounds set
by military or security considerations.
Apart from the visits of the delegates of the Protecting
Powers and of the International Committee of the Red Cross,
provided for by Article 143, the Detaining or Occupying Powers
shall facilitate, as much as possible, visits to protected
persons by the representatives of other organizations whose
object is to give spiritual aid or material relief to such
persons.
Art. 31. No physical or moral coercion shall be exercised
against protected persons, in particular to obtain information
from them or from third parties.
Art. 32. The High Contracting Parties specifically agree
that each of them is prohibited from taking any measure of
such a character as to cause the physical suffering or extermination
of protected persons in their hands. This prohibition applies
not only to murder, torture, corporal punishments, mutilation
and medical or scientific experiments not necessitated by
the medical treatment of a protected person, but also to any
other measures of brutality whether applied by civilian or
military agents.
Art. 33. No protected person may be punished for an offence
he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties
and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism
are prohibited.
Pillage is prohibited.
Reprisals against protected persons and their property are
prohibited.
Art. 34. The taking of hostages is prohibited.
Section II. Aliens in the territory of a party to the
conflict
Art. 35. All protected persons who may desire to leave the
territory at the outset of, or during a conflict, shall be
entitled to do so, unless their departure is contrary to the
national interests of the State. The applications of such
persons to leave shall be decided in accordance with regularly
established procedures and the decision shall be taken as
rapidly as possible. Those persons permitted to leave may
provide themselves with the necessary funds for their journey
and take with them a reasonable amount of their effects and
articles of personal use.
If any such person is refused permission to leave the territory,
he shall be entitled to have refusal reconsidered, as soon
as possible by an appropriate court or administrative board
designated by the Detaining Power for that purpose.
Upon request, representatives of the Protecting Power shall,
unless reasons of security prevent it, or the persons concerned
object, be furnished with the reasons for refusal of any request
for permission to leave the territory and be given, as expeditiously
as possible, the names of all persons who have been denied
permission to leave.
Art. 36. Departures permitted under the foregoing Article
shall be carried out in satisfactory conditions as regards
safety, hygiene, sanitation and food. All costs in connection
therewith, from the point of exit in the territory of the
Detaining Power, shall be borne by the country of destination,
or, in the case of accommodation in a neutral country, by
the Power whose nationals are benefited. The practical details
of such movements may, if necessary, be settled by special
agreements between the Powers concerned.
The foregoing shall not prejudice such special agreements
as may be concluded between Parties to the conflict concerning
the exchange and repatriation of their nationals in enemy
hands.
Art. 37. Protected persons who are confined pending proceedings
or subject to a sentence involving loss of liberty, shall
during their confinement be humanely treated.
As soon as they are released, they may ask to leave the territory
in conformity with the foregoing Articles.
Art. 38. With the exception of special measures authorized
by the present Convention, in particularly by Article 27 and
41 thereof, the situation of protected persons shall continue
to be regulated, in principle, by the provisions concerning
aliens in time of peace. In any case, the following
rights shall be granted to them:
(1) they shall be enabled to receive the individual or
collective relief that may be sent to them.
(2) they shall, if their state of health so requires, receive
medical attention and hospital treatment to the same extent
as the nationals of the State concerned.
(3) they shall be allowed to practise their religion and
to receive spiritual assistance from ministers of their
faith.
(4) if they reside in an area particularly exposed to the
dangers of war, they shall be authorized to move from that
area to the same extent as the nationals of the State concerned.
(5) children under fifteen years, pregnant women and mothers
of children under seven years shall benefit by any preferential
treatment to the same extent as the nationals of the State
concerned.
Art. 39. Protected persons who, as a result of the war, have
lost their gainful employment, shall be granted the opportunity
to find paid employment. That opportunity shall, subject to
security considerations and to the provisions of Article 40,
be equal to that enjoyed by the nationals of the Power in
whose territory they are.
Where a Party to the conflict applies to a protected person
methods of control which result in his being unable to support
himself, and especially if such a person is prevented for
reasons of security from finding paid employment on reasonable
conditions, the said Party shall ensure his support and that
of his dependents.
Protected persons may in any case receive allowances from
their home country, the Protecting Power, or the relief societies
referred to in Article 30.
Art. 40. Protected persons may be compelled to work only
to the same extent as nationals of the Party to the conflict
in whose territory they are.
If protected persons are of enemy nationality, they may only
be compelled to do work which is normally necessary to ensure
the feeding, sheltering, clothing, transport and health of
human beings and which is not directly related to the conduct
of military operations.
In the cases mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs, protected
persons compelled to work shall have the benefit of the same
working conditions and of the same safeguards as national
workers in particular as regards wages, hours of labour, clothing
and equipment, previous training and compensation for occupational
accidents and diseases.
If the above provisions are infringed, protected persons
shall be allowed to exercise their right of complaint in accordance
with Article 30.
Art. 41. Should the Power, in whose hands protected persons
may be, consider the measures of control mentioned in the
present Convention to be inadequate, it may not have recourse
to any other measure of control more severe than that of assigned
residence or internment, in accordance with the provisions
of Articles 42 and 43.
In applying the provisions of Article 39, second paragraph,
to the cases of persons required to leave their usual places
of residence by virtue of a decision placing them in assigned
residence, by virtue of a decision placing them in assigned
residence, elsewhere, the Detaining Power shall be guided
as closely as possible by the standards of welfare set forth
in Part III, Section IV of this Convention.
Art. 42. The internment or placing in assigned residence
of protected persons may be ordered only if the security of
the Detaining Power makes it absolutely necessary.
If any person, acting through the representatives of the
Protecting Power, voluntarily demands internment, and if his
situation renders this step necessary, he shall be interned
by the Power in whose hands he may be.
Art. 43. Any protected person who has been interned or placed
in assigned residence shall be entitled to have such action
reconsidered as soon as possible by an appropriate court or
administrative board designated by the Detaining Power for
that purpose. If the internment or placing in assigned residence
is maintained, the court or administrative board shall periodically,
and at least twice yearly, give consideration to his or her
case, with a view to the favourable amendment of the initial
decision, if circumstances permit.
Unless the protected persons concerned object, the Detaining
Power shall, as rapidly as possible, give the Protecting Power
the names of any protected persons who have been interned
or subjected to assigned residence, or who have been released
from internment or assigned residence. The decisions of the
courts or boards mentioned in the first paragraph of the present
Article shall also, subject to the same conditions, be notified
as rapidly as possible to the Protecting Power.
Art. 44. In applying the measures of control mentioned in
the present Convention, the Detaining Power shall not treat
as enemy aliens exclusively on the basis of their nationality
de jure of an enemy State, refugees who do not, in fact, enjoy
the protection of any government.
Art. 45. Protected persons shall not be transferred to a
Power which is not a party to the Convention.
This provision shall in no way constitute an obstacle to
the repatriation of protected persons, or to their return
to their country of residence after the cessation of hostilities.
Protected persons may be transferred by the Detaining Power
only to a Power which is a party to the present Convention
and after the Detaining Power has satisfied itself of the
willingness and ability of such transferee Power to apply
the present Convention. If protected persons are transferred
under such circumstances, responsibility for the application
of the present Convention rests on the Power accepting them,
while they are in its custody. Nevertheless, if that Power
fails to carry out the provisions of the present Convention
in any important respect, the Power by which the protected
persons were transferred shall, upon being so notified by
the Protecting Power, take effective measures to correct the
situation or shall request the return of the protected persons.
Such request must be complied with.
In no circumstances shall a protected person be transferred
to a country where he or she may have reason to fear persecution
for his or her political opinions or religious beliefs.
The provisions of this Article do not constitute an obstacle
to the extradition, in pursuance of extradition treaties concluded
before the outbreak of hostilities, of protected persons accused
of offences against ordinary criminal law.
Art. 46. In so far as they have not been previously withdrawn,
restrictive measures taken regarding protected persons shall
be cancelled as soon as possible after the close of hostilities.
Restrictive measures affecting their property shall be cancelled,
in accordance with the law of the Detaining Power, as soon
as possible after the close of hostilities.
Section III. Occupied territories
Art. 47. Protected persons who are in occupied territory
shall not be deprived, in any case or in any manner whatsoever,
of the benefits of the present Convention by any change introduced,
as the result of the occupation of a territory, into the institutions
or government of the said territory, nor by any agreement
concluded between the authorities of the occupied territories
and the Occupying Power, nor by any annexation by the latter
of the whole or part of the occupied territory.
Art. 48. Protected persons who are not nationals of the Power
whose territory is occupied, may avail themselves of the right
to leave the territory subject to the provisions of Article
35, and decisions thereon shall be taken in accordance with
the procedure which the Occupying Power shall establish in
accordance with the said Article.
Art. 49. Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as
deportations of protected persons from occupied territory
to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any
other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless
of their motive.
Nevertheless, the Occupying Power may undertake total or
partial evacuation of a given area if the security of the
population or imperative military reasons so demand. Such
evacuations may not involve the displacement of protected
persons outside the bounds of the occupied territory except
when for material reasons it is impossible to avoid such displacement.
Persons thus evacuated shall be transferred back to their
homes as soon as hostilities in the area in question have
ceased.
The Occupying Power undertaking such transfers or evacuations
shall ensure, to the greatest practicable extent, that proper
accommodation is provided to receive the protected persons,
that the removals are effected in satisfactory conditions
of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that members
of the same family are not separated.
The Protecting Power shall be informed of any transfers and
evacuations as soon as they have taken place.
The Occupying Power shall not detain protected persons in
an area particularly exposed to the dangers of war unless
the security of the population or imperative military reasons
so demand.
The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of
its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.
Art. 50. The Occupying Power shall, with the cooperation
of the national and local authorities, facilitate the proper
working of all institutions devoted to the care and education
of children.
The Occupying Power shall take all necessary steps to facilitate
the identification of children and the registration of their
parentage. It may not, in any case, change their personal
status, nor enlist them in formations or organizations subordinate
to it.
Should the local institutions be inadequate for the purpose,
the Occupying Power shall make arrangements for the maintenance
and education, if possible by persons of their own nationality,
language and religion, of children who are orphaned or separated
from their parents as a result of the war and who cannot be
adequately cared for by a near relative or friend.
A special section of the Bureau set up in accordance with
Article 136 shall be responsible for taking all necessary
steps to identify children whose identity is in doubt. Particulars
of their parents or other near relatives should always be
recorded if available.
The Occupying Power shall not hinder the application of any
preferential measures in regard to food, medical care and
protection against the effects of war which may have been
adopted prior to the occupation in favour of children under
fifteen years, expectant mothers, and mothers of children
under seven years.
Art. 51. The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons
to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. No pressure or
propaganda which aims at securing voluntary enlistment is
permitted.
The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to work
unless they are over eighteen years of age, and then only
on work which is necessary either for the needs of the army
of occupation, or for the public utility services, or for
the feeding, sheltering, clothing, transportation or health
of the population of the occupied country. Protected persons
may not be compelled to undertake any work which would involve
them in the obligation of taking part in military operations.
The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to employ
forcible means to ensure the security of the installations
where they are performing compulsory labour.
The work shall be carried out only in the occupied territory
where the persons whose services have been requisitioned are.
Every such person shall, so far as possible, be kept in his
usual place of employment. Workers shall be paid a fair wage
and the work shall be proportionate to their physical and
intellectual capacities. The legislation in force in the occupied
country concerning working conditions, and safeguards as regards,
in particular, such matters as wages, hours of work, equipment,
preliminary training and compensation for occupational accidents
and diseases, shall be applicable to the protected persons
assigned to the work referred to in this Article.
In no case shall requisition of labour lead to a mobilization
of workers in an organization of a military or semi-military
character.
Art. 52. No contract, agreement or regulation shall impair
the right of any worker, whether voluntary or not and wherever
he may be, to apply to the representatives of the Protecting
Power in order to request the said Power's intervention.
All measures aiming at creating unemployment or at restricting
the opportunities offered to workers in an occupied territory,
in order to induce them to work for the Occupying Power, are
prohibited.
Art. 53. Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or
personal property belonging individually or collectively to
private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities,
or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited,
except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary
by military operations.
Art. 54. The Occupying Power may not alter the status of
public officials or judges in the occupied territories, or
in any way apply sanctions to or take any measures of coercion
or discrimination against them, should they abstain from fulfilling
their functions for reasons of conscience.
This prohibition does not prejudice the application of the
second paragraph of Article 51. It does not affect the right
of the Occupying Power to remove public officials from their
posts.
Art. 55. To the fullest extent of the means available to
it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food
and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular,
bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other
articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate.
The Occupying Power may not requisition foodstuffs, articles
or medical supplies available in the occupied territory, except
for use by the occupation forces and administration personnel,
and then only if the requirements of the civilian population
have been taken into account. Subject to the provisions of
other international Conventions, the Occupying Power shall
make arrangements to ensure that fair value is paid for any
requisitioned goods.
The Protecting Power shall, at any time, be at liberty to
verify the state of the food and medical supplies in occupied
territories, except where temporary restrictions are made
necessary by imperative military requirements.
Art. 56. To the fullest extent of the means available to
it, the public Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring and
maintaining, with the cooperation of national and local authorities,
the medical and hospital establishments and services, public
health and hygiene in the occupied territory, with particular
reference to the adoption and application of the prophylactic
and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of
contagious diseases and epidemics. Medical personnel of all
categories shall be allowed to carry out their duties.
If new hospitals are set up in occupied territory and if
the competent organs of the occupied State are not operating
there, the occupying authorities shall, if necessary, grant
them the recognition provided for in Article 18. In similar
circumstances, the occupying authorities shall also grant
recognition to hospital personnel and transport vehicles under
the provisions of Articles 20 and 21.
In adopting measures of health and hygiene and in their implementation,
the Occupying Power shall take into consideration the moral
and ethical susceptibilities of the population of the occupied
territory.
Art. 57. The Occupying Power may requisition civilian hospitals
of hospitals only temporarily and only in cases of urgent
necessity for the care of military wounded and sick, and then
on condition that suitable arrangements are made in due time
for the care and treatment of the patients and for the needs
of the civilian population for hospital accommodation.
The material and stores of civilian hospitals cannot be requisitioned
so long as they are necessary for the needs of the civilian
population.
Art. 58. The Occupying Power shall permit ministers of religion
to give spiritual assistance to the members of their religious
communities.
The Occupying Power shall also accept consignments of books
and articles required for religious needs and shall facilitate
their distribution in occupied territory.
Art. 59. If the whole or part of the population of an occupied
territory is inadequately supplied, the Occupying Power shall
agree to relief schemes on behalf of the said population,
and shall facilitate them by all the means at its disposal.
Such schemes, which may be undertaken either by States or
by impartial humanitarian organizations such as the International
Committee of the Red Cross, shall consist, in particular,
of the provision of consignments of foodstuffs, medical supplies
and clothing.
All Contracting Parties shall permit the free passage of
these consignments and shall guarantee their protection.
A Power granting free passage to consignments on their way
to territory occupied by an adverse Party to the conflict
shall, however, have the right to search the consignments,
to regulate their passage according to prescribed times and
routes, and to be reasonably satisfied through the Protecting
Power that these consignments are to be used for the relief
of the needy population and are not to be used for the benefit
of the Occupying Power.
Art. 60. Relief consignments shall in no way relieve the
Occupying Power of any of its responsibilities under Articles
55, 56 and 59. The Occupying Power shall in no way whatsoever
divert relief consignments from the purpose for which they
are intended, except in cases of urgent necessity, in the
interests of the population of the occupied territory and
with the consent of the Protecting Power.
Art. 61. The distribution of the relief consignments referred
to in the foregoing Articles shall be carried out with the
cooperation and under the supervision of the Protecting Power.
This duty may also be delegated, by agreement between the
Occupying Power and the Protecting Power, to a neutral Power,
to the International Committee of the Red Cross or to any
other impartial humanitarian body.
Such consignments shall be exempt in occupied territory from
all charges, taxes or customs duties unless these are necessary
in the interests of the economy of the territory. The Occupying
Power shall facilitate the rapid distribution of these consignments.
All Contracting Parties shall endeavour to permit the transit
and transport, free of charge, of such relief consignments
on their way to occupied territories.
Art. 62. Subject to imperative reasons of security, protected
persons in occupied territories shall be permitted to receive
the individual relief consignments sent to them.
Art. 63. Subject to temporary and exceptional measures imposed
for urgent
reasons of security by the Occupying Power:
(a) recognized National Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion
and Sun) Societies shall be able to pursue their activities
in accordance with Red Cross principles, as defined by the
International Red Cross Conferences. Other relief societies
shall be permitted to continue their humanitarian activities
under similar conditions;
(b) the Occupying Power may not require any changes in the
personnel or structure of these societies, which would prejudice
the aforesaid activities.
The same principles shall apply to the activities and personnel
of special organizations of a non-military character, which
already exist or which may be established, for the purpose
of ensuring the living conditions of the civilian population
by the maintenance of the essential public utility services,
by the distribution of relief and by the organization of rescues.
Art. 64. The penal laws of the occupied territory shall remain
in force, with the exception that they may be repealed or
suspended by the Occupying Power in cases where they constitute
a threat to its security or an obstacle to the application
of the present Convention.
Subject to the latter consideration and to the necessity
for ensuring the effective administration of justice, the
tribunals of the occupied territory shall continue to function
in respect of all offences covered by the said laws.
The Occupying Power may, however, subject the population
of the occupied territory to provisions which are essential
to enable the Occupying Power to fulfil its obligations under
the present Convention, to maintain the orderly government
of the territory, and to ensure the security of the Occupying
Power, of the members and property of the occupying forces
or administration, and likewise of the establishments and
lines of communication used by them.
Art. 65. The penal provisions enacted by the Occupying Power
shall not come into force before they have been published
and brought to the knowledge of the inhabitants in their own
language. The effect of these penal provisions shall not be
retroactive.
Art. 66. In case of a breach of the penal provisions promulgated
by it by virtue of the second paragraph of Article 64 the
Occupying Power may hand over the accused to its properly
constituted, non-political military courts, on condition that
the said courts sit in the occupied country. Courts of appeal
shall preferably sit in the occupied country.
Art. 67. The courts shall apply only those provisions of
law which were applicable prior to the offence, and which
are in accordance with general principles of law, in particular
the principle that the penalty shall be proportionate to the
offence. They shall take into consideration the fact the accused
is not a national of the Occupying Power.
Art. 68. Protected persons who commit an offence which is
solely intended to harm the Occupying Power, but which does
not constitute an attempt on the life or limb of members of
the occupying forces or administration, nor a grave collective
danger, nor seriously damage the property of the occupying
forces or administration or the installations used by them,
shall be liable to internment or simple imprisonment, provided
the duration of such internment or imprisonment is proportionate
to the offence committed. Furthermore, internment or imprisonment
shall, for such offences, be the only measure adopted for
depriving protected persons of liberty. The courts provided
for under Article 66 of the present Convention may at their
discretion convert a sentence of imprisonment to one of internment
for the same period.
The penal provisions promulgated by the Occupying Power in
accordance with Articles 64 and 65 may impose the death penalty
on a protected person only in cases where the person is guilty
of espionage, of serious acts of sabotage against the military
installations of the Occupying Power or of intentional offences
which have caused the death of one or more persons, provided
that such offences were punishable by death under the law
of the occupied territory in force before the occupation began.
The death penalty may not be pronounced on a protected person
unless the attention of the court has been particularly called
to the fact that since the accused is not a national of the
Occupying Power, he is not bound to it by any duty of allegiance.
In any case, the death penalty may not be pronounced on a
protected person who was under eighteen years of age at the
time of the offence.
Art. 69. In all cases the duration of the period during which
a protected person accused of an offence is under arrest awaiting
trial or punishment shall be deducted from any period of imprisonment
of awarded.
Art. 70. Protected persons shall not be arrested, prosecuted
or convicted by the Occupying Power for acts committed or
for opinions expressed before the occupation, or during a
temporary interruption thereof, with the exception of breaches
of the laws and customs of war.
Nationals of the occupying Power who, before the outbreak
of hostilities, have sought refuge in the territory of the
occupied State, shall not be arrested, prosecuted, convicted
or deported from the occupied territory, except for offences
committed after the outbreak of hostilities, or for offences
under common law committed before the outbreak of hostilities
which, according to the law of the occupied State, would have
justified extradition in time of peace.
Art. 71. No sentence shall be pronounced by the competent
courts of the Occupying Power except after a regular trial.
Accused persons who are prosecuted by the Occupying Power
shall be promptly informed, in writing, in a language which
they understand, of the particulars of the charges preferred
against them, and shall be brought to trial as rapidly as
possible. The Protecting Power shall be informed of all proceedings
instituted by the Occupying Power against protected persons
in respect of charges involving the death penalty or imprisonment
for two years or more; it shall be enabled, at any time, to
obtain information regarding the state of such proceedings.
Furthermore, the Protecting Power shall be entitled, on request,
to be furnished with all particulars of these and of any other
proceedings instituted by the Occupying Power against protected
persons.
The notification to the Protecting Power, as provided for
in the second paragraph above, shall be sent immediately,
and shall in any case reach the Protecting Power three weeks
before the date of the first hearing. Unless, at the opening
of the trial, evidence is submitted that the provisions of
this Article are fully complied with, the trial shall not
proceed. The
notification shall include the following particulars:
(a) description of the accused;
(b) place of residence or detention;
(c) specification of the charge or charges (with mention of
the penal provisions under which it is brought);
(d) designation of the court which will hear the case;
(e) place and date of the first hearing.
Art. 72. Accused persons shall have the right to present evidence
necessary to their defence and may, in particular, call witnesses.
They shall have the right to be assisted by a qualified advocate
or counsel of their own choice, who shall be able to visit them
freely and shall enjoy the necessary facilities for preparing
the defence.
Failing a choice by the accused, the Protecting Power may
provide him with an advocate or counsel. When an accused person
has to meet a serious charge and the Protecting Power is not
functioning, the Occupying Power, subject to the consent of
the accused, shall provide an advocate or counsel.
Accused persons shall, unless they freely waive such assistance,
be aided by an interpreter, both during preliminary investigation
and during the hearing in court. They shall have at any time
the right to object to the interpreter and to ask for his
replacement.
Art.73. A convicted person shall have the right of appeal
provided for by the laws applied by the court. He shall be
fully informed of his right to appeal or petition and of the
time limit within which he may do so.
The penal procedure provided in the present Section shall
apply, as far as it is applicable, to appeals. Where the laws
applied by the Court make no provision for appeals, the convicted
person shall have the right to petition against the finding
and sentence to the competent authority of the Occupying Power.
Art. 74. Representatives of the Protecting Power shall have
the right to attend the trial of any protected person, unless
the hearing has, as an exceptional measure, to be held in
camera in the interests of the security of the Occupying Power,
which shall then notify the Protecting Power. A notification
in respect of the date and place of trial shall be sent to
the Protecting Power.
Any judgement involving a sentence of death, or imprisonment
for two years or more, shall be communicated, with the relevant
grounds, as rapidly as possible to the Protecting Power. The
notification shall contain a reference to the notification
made under Article 71 and, in the case of sentences of imprisonment,
the name of the place where the sentence is to be served.
A record of judgements other than those referred to above
shall be kept by the court and shall be open to inspection
by representatives of the Protecting Power. Any period allowed
for appeal in the case of sentences involving the death penalty,
or imprisonment of two years or more, shall not run until
notification of judgement has been received by the Protecting
Power.
Art. 75. In no case shall persons condemned to death be deprived
of the right of petition for pardon or reprieve.
No death sentence shall be carried out before the expiration
of a period of a least six months from the date of receipt
by the Protecting Power of the notification of the final judgment
confirming such death sentence, or of an order denying pardon
or reprieve.
The six months period of suspension of the death sentence
herein prescribed may be reduced in individual cases in circumstances
of grave emergency involving an organized threat to the security
of the Occupying Power or its forces, provided always that
the Protecting Power is notified of such reduction and is
given reasonable time and opportunity to make representations
to the competent occupying authorities in respect of such
death sentences.
Art. 76. Protected persons accused of offences shall be detained
in the occupied country, and if convicted they shall serve
their sentences therein. They shall, if possible, be separated
from other detainees and shall enjoy conditions of food and
hygiene which will be sufficient to keep them in good health,
and which will be at least equal to those obtaining in prisons
in the occupied country.
They shall receive the medical attention required by their
state of health.
They shall also have the right to receive any spiritual assistance
which they may require.
Women shall be confined in separate quarters and shall be
under the direct supervision of women.
Proper regard shall be paid to the special treatment due
to minors.
Protected persons who are detained shall have the right to
be visited by delegates of the Protecting Power and of the
International Committee of the Red Cross, in accordance with
the provisions of Article 143.
Such persons shall have the right to receive at least one
relief parcel monthly.
Art. 77. Protected persons who have been accused of offences
or convicted by the courts in occupied territory, shall be
handed over at the close of occupation, with the relevant
records, to the authorities of the liberated territory.
Art. 78. If the Occupying Power considers it necessary, for
imperative reasons of security, to take safety measures concerning
protected persons, it may, at the most, subject them to assigned
residence or to internment.
Decisions regarding such assigned residence or internment
shall be made according to a regular procedure to be prescribed
by the Occupying Power in accordance with the provisions of
the present Convention. This procedure shall include the right
of appeal for the parties concerned. Appeals shall be decided
with the least possible delay. In the event of the decision
being upheld, it shall be subject to periodical review, if
possible every six months, by a competent body set up by the
said Power.
Protected persons made subject to assigned residence and
thus required to leave their homes shall enjoy the full benefit
of Article 39 of the present Convention.
Section IV. Regulations for the treatment of internees
Chapter I. General provisions
Art. 79. The Parties to the conflict shall not intern protected
persons, except in accordance with the provisions of Articles
41, 42, 43, 68 and 78.
Art. 80. Internees shall retain their full civil capacity
and shall exercise such attendant rights as may be compatible
with their status.
Art. 81. Parties to the conflict who intern protected persons
shall be bound to provide free of charge for their maintenance,
and to grant them also the medical attention required by their
state of health.
No deduction from the allowances, salaries or credits due
to the internees shall be made for the repayment of these
costs.
The Detaining Power shall provide for the support of those
dependent on the internees, if such dependents are without
adequate means of support or are unable to earn a living.
Art.82. The Detaining Power shall, as far as possible, accommodate
the internees according to their nationality, language and
customs. Internees who are nationals of the same country shall
not be separated merely because they have different languages.
Throughout the duration of their internment, members of the
same family, and in particular parents and children, shall
be lodged together in the same place of internment, except
when separation of a temporary nature is necessitated for
reasons of employment or health or for the purposes of enforcement
of the provisions of Chapter IX of the present Section. Internees
may request that their children who are left at liberty without
parental care shall be interned with them.
Wherever possible, interned members of the same family shall
be housed in the same premises and given separate accommodation
from other internees, together with facilities for leading
a proper family life.
Chapter II. Places of Internment
Art. 83. The Detaining Power shall not set up places of internment
in areas particularly exposed to the dangers of war.
The Detaining Power shall give the enemy Powers, through
the intermediary of the Protecting Powers, all useful information
regarding the geographical location of places of internment.
Whenever military considerations permit, internment camps
shall be indicated by the letters IC, placed so as to be clearly
visible in the daytime from the air. The Powers concerned
may, however, agree upon any other system of marking. No place
other than an internment camp shall be marked as such.
Art.84. Internees shall be accommodated and administered
separately from prisoners of war and from persons deprived
of liberty for any other reason.
Art. 85. The Detaining Power is bound to take all necessary
and possible measures to ensure that protected persons shall,
from the outset of their internment, be accommodated in buildings
or quarters which afford every possible safeguard as regards
hygiene and health, and provide efficient protection against
the rigours of the climate and the effects of the war. In
no case shall permanent places of internment be situated in
unhealthy areas or in districts, the climate of which is injurious
to the internees. In all cases where the district, in which
a protected person is temporarily interned, is an unhealthy
area or has a climate which is harmful to his health, he shall
be removed to a more suitable place of internment as rapidly
as circumstances permit.
The premises shall be fully protected from dampness, adequately
heated and lighted, in particular between dusk and lights
out. The sleeping quarters shall be sufficiently spacious
and well ventilated, and the internees shall have suitable
bedding and sufficient blankets, account being taken of the
climate, and the age, sex, and state of health of the internees.
Internees shall have for their use, day and night, sanitary
conveniences which conform to the rules of hygiene, and are
constantly maintained in a state of cleanliness. They shall
be provided with sufficient water and soap for their daily
personal toilet and for washing their personal laundry; installations
and facilities necessary for this purpose shall be granted
to them. Showers or baths shall also be available. The necessary
time shall be set aside for washing and for cleaning.
Whenever it is necessary, as an exceptional and temporary
measure, to accommodate women internees who are not members
of a family unit in the same place of internment as men, the
provision of separate sleeping quarters and sanitary conveniences
for the use of such women internees shall be obligatory.
Art. 86. The Detaining Power shall place at the disposal
of interned persons, of whatever denomination, premises suitable
for the holding of their religious services.
Art. 87. Canteens shall be installed in every place of internment,
except where other suitable facilities are available. Their
purpose shall be to enable internees to make purchases, at
prices not higher than local market prices, of foodstuffs
and articles of everyday use, including soap and tobacco,
such as would increase their personal well-being and comfort.
Profits made by canteens shall be credited to a welfare fund
to be set up for each place of internment, and administered
for the benefit of the internees attached to such place of
internment. The Internee Committee provided for in Article
102 shall have the right to check the management of the canteen
and of the said fund.
When a place of internment is closed down, the balance of
the welfare fund shall be transferred to the welfare fund
of a place of internment for internees of the same nationality,
or, if such a place does not exist, to a central welfare fund
which shall be administered for the benefit of all internees
remaining in the custody of the Detaining Power. In case of
a general release, the said profits shall be kept by the Detaining
Power, subject to any agreement to the contrary between the
Powers concerned.
Art. 88. In all places of internment exposed to air raids
and other hazards of war, shelters adequate in number and
structure to ensure the necessary protection shall be installed.
In case of alarms, the measures internees shall be free to
enter such shelters as quickly as possible, excepting those
who remain for the protection of their quarters against the
aforesaid hazards. Any protective measures taken in favour
of the population shall also apply to them.
All due precautions must be taken in places of internment
against the danger of fire.
Chapter III. Food and Clothing
Art. 89. Daily food rations for internees shall be sufficient
in quantity, quality and variety to keep internees in a good
state of health and prevent the development of nutritional
deficiencies. Account shall also be taken of the customary
diet of the internees.
Internees shall also be given the means by which they can
prepare for themselves any additional food in their possession.
Sufficient drinking water shall be supplied to internees.
The use of tobacco shall be permitted.
Internees who work shall receive additional rations in proportion
to the kind of labour which they perform.
Expectant and nursing mothers and children under fifteen
years of age, shall be given additional food, in proportion
to their physiological needs.
Art. 90. When taken into custody, internees shall be given
all facilities to provide themselves with the necessary clothing,
footwear and change of underwear, and later on, to procure
further supplies if required. Should any internees not have
sufficient clothing, account being taken of the climate, and
be unable to procure any, it shall be provided free of charge
to them by the Detaining Power.
The clothing supplied by the Detaining Power to internees
and the outward markings placed on their own clothes shall
not be ignominious nor expose them to ridicule.
Workers shall receive suitable working outfits, including
protective clothing, whenever the nature of their work so
requires.
Chapter IV. Hygiene and Medical Attention
Art. 91. Every place of internment shall have an adequate
infirmary, under the direction of a qualified doctor, where
internees may have the attention they require, as well as
appropriate diet. Isolation wards shall be set aside for cases
of contagious or mental diseases.
Maternity cases and internees suffering from serious diseases,
or whose condition requires special treatment, a surgical
operation or hospital care, must be admitted to any institution
where adequate treatment can be given and shall receive care
not inferior to that provided for the general population.
Internees shall, for preference, have the attention of medical
personnel of their own nationality.
Internees may not be prevented from presenting themselves
to the medical authorities for examination. The medical authorities
of the Detaining Power shall, upon request, issue to every
internee who has undergone treatment an official certificate
showing the nature of his illness or injury, and the duration
and nature of the treatment given. A duplicate of this certificate
shall be forwarded to the Central Agency provided for in Article
140.
Treatment, including the provision of any apparatus necessary
for the maintenance of internees in good health, particularly
dentures and other artificial appliances and spectacles, shall
be free of charge to the internee.
Art. 92. Medical inspections of internees shall be made at
least once a month. Their purpose shall be, in particular,
to supervise the general state of health, nutrition and cleanliness
of internees, and to detect contagious diseases, especially
tuberculosis, malaria, and venereal diseases. Such inspections
shall include, in particular, the checking of weight of each
internee and, at least once a year, radioscopic examination.
Chapter V. Religious, Intellectual and Physical Activities
Art. 93. Internees shall enjoy complete latitude in the exercise
of their religious duties, including attendance at the services
of their faith, on condition that they comply with the disciplinary
routine prescribed by the detaining authorities.
Ministers of religion who are interned shall be allowed to
minister freely to the members of their community. For this
purpose the Detaining Power shall ensure their equitable allocation
amongst the various places of internment in which there are
internees speaking the same language and belonging to the
same religion. Should such ministers be too few in number,
the Detaining Power shall provide them with the necessary
facilities, including means of transport, for moving from
one place to another, and they shall be authorized to visit
any internees who are in hospital. Ministers of religion shall
be at liberty to correspond on matters concerning their ministry
with the religious authorities in the country of detention
and, as far as possible, with the international religious
organizations of their faith. Such correspondence shall not
be considered as forming a part of the quota mentioned in
Article 107. It shall, however, be subject to the provisions
of Article 112.
When internees do not have at their disposal the assistance
of ministers of their faith, or should these latter be too
few in number, the local religious authorities of the same
faith may appoint, in agreement with the Detaining Power,
a minister of the internees' faith or, if such a course is
feasible from a denominational point of view, a minister of
similar religion or a qualified layman. The latter shall enjoy
the facilities granted to the ministry he has assumed. Persons
so appointed shall comply with all regulations laid down by
the Detaining Power in the interests of discipline and security.
Art. 94. The Detaining Power shall encourage intellectual,
educational and recreational pursuits, sports and games amongst
internees, whilst leaving them free to take part in them or
not. It shall take all practicable measures to ensure the
exercice thereof, in particular by providing suitable premises.
All possible facilities shall be granted to internees to
continue their studies or to take up new subjects. The education
of children and young people shall be ensured; they shall
be allowed to attend schools either within the place of internment
or outside.
Internees shall be given opportunities for physical exercise,
sports and outdoor games. For this purpose, sufficient open
spaces shall be set aside in all places of internment. Special
playgrounds shall be reserved for children and young people.
Art. 95. The Detaining Power shall not employ internees as
workers, unless they so desire. Employment which, if undertaken
under compulsion by a protected person not in internment,
would involve a breach of Articles 40 or 51 of the present
Convention, and employment on work which is of a degrading
or humiliating character are in any case prohibited.
After a working period of six weeks, internees shall be free
to give up work at any moment, subject to eight days' notice.
These provisions constitute no obstacle to the right of the
Detaining Power to employ interned doctors, dentists and other
medical personnel in their professional capacity on behalf
of their fellow internees, or to employ internees for administrative
and maintenance work in places of internment and to detail
such persons for work in the kitchens or for other domestic
tasks, or to require such persons to undertake duties connected
with the protection of internees against aerial bombardment
or other war risks. No internee may, however, be required
to perform tasks for which he is, in the opinion of a medical
officer, physically unsuited.
The Detaining Power shall take entire responsibility for
all working conditions, for medical attention, for the payment
of wages, and for ensuring that all employed internees receive
compensation for occupational accidents and diseases. The
standards prescribed for the said working conditions and for
compensation shall be in accordance with the national laws
and regulations, and with the existing practice; they shall
in no case be inferior to those obtaining for work of the
same nature in the same district. Wages for work done shall
be determined on an equitable basis by special agreements
between the internees, the Detaining Power, and, if the case
arises, employers other than the Detaining Power to provide
for free maintenance of internees and for the medical attention
which their state of health may require. Internees permanently
detailed for categories of work mentioned in the third paragraph
of this Article, shall be paid fair wages by the Detaining
Power. The working conditions and the scale of compensation
for occupational accidents and diseases to internees, thus
detailed, shall not be inferior to those applicable to work
of the same nature in the same district.
Art.96. All labour detachments shall remain part of and dependent
upon a place of internment. The competent authorities of the
Detaining Power and the commandant of a place of internment
shall be responsible for the observance in a labour detachment
of the provisions of the present Convention. The commandant
shall keep an up-to-date list of the labour detachments subordinate
to him and shall communicate it to the delegates of the Protecting
Power, of the International Committee of the Red Cross and
of other humanitarian organizations who may visit the places
of internment.
Chapter VI. Personal Property and Financial Resources
Art. 97. Internees shall be permitted to retain articles
of personal use. Monies, cheques, bonds, etc., and valuables
in their possession may not be taken from them except in accordance
with established procedure. Detailed receipts shall be given
therefor.
The amounts shall be paid into the account of every internee
as provided for in Article 98. Such amounts may not be converted
into any other currency unless legislation in force in the
territory in which the owner is interned so requires or the
internee gives his consent.
Articles which have above all a personal or sentimental value
may not be taken away.
A woman internee shall not be searched except by a woman.
On release or repatriation, internees shall be given all
articles, monies or other valuables taken from them during
internment and shall receive in currency the balance of any
credit to their accounts kept in accordance with Article 98,
with the exception of any articles or amounts withheld by
the Detaining Power by virtue of its legislation in force.
If the property of an internee is so withheld, the owner shall
receive a detailed receipt.
Family or identity documents in the possession of internees
may not be taken away without a receipt being given. At no
time shall internees be left without identity documents. If
they have none, they shall be issued with special documents
drawn up by the detaining authorities, which will serve as
their identity papers until the end of their internment.
Internees may keep on their persons a certain amount of money,
in cash or in the shape of purchase coupons, to enable them
to make purchases.
Art. 98. All internees shall receive regular allowances,
sufficient to enable them to purchase goods and articles,
such as tobacco, toilet requisites, etc. Such allowances may
take the form of credits or purchase coupons.
Furthermore, internees may receive allowances from the Power
to which they owe allegiance, the Protecting Powers, the organizations
which may assist them, or their families, as well as the income
on their property in accordance with the law of the Detaining
Power. The amount of allowances granted by the Power to which
they o~e allegiance shall be the same for each category of
internees (infirm, sick, pregnant women, etc.) but may not
be allocated by that Power or distributed by the Detaining
Power on the basis of discriminations between internees which
are prohibited by Article 27 of the present Convention.
The Detaining Power shall open a regular account for every
internee, to which shall be credited the allowances named
in the present Article, the wages earned and the remittances
received, together with such sums taken from him as may be
available under the legislation in force in the territory
in which he is interned. Internees shall be granted all facilities
consistent with the legislation in force in such territory
to make remittances to their families and to other dependants.
They may draw from their accounts the amounts necessary for
their personal expenses, within the limits fixed by the Detaining
Power. They shall at all times be afforded reasonable facilities
for consulting and obtaining copies of their accounts. A statement
of accounts shall be furnished to the Protecting Power, on
request, and shall accompany the internee in case of transfer.
Chapter VII. Administration and Discipline
Art. 99. Every place of internment shall be put under the
authority of a responsible officer, chosen from the regular
military forces or the regular civil administration of the
Detaining Power. The officer in charge of the place of internment
must have in his possession a copy of the present Convention
in the official language, or one of the official languages,
of his country and shall be responsible for its application.
The staff in control of internees shall be instructe
