Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land in United States

Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 26 January 1910

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Article

Purpose of Convention preamble

Instructions to armed forces 1

Powers bound 2

Penalty for violating regulations 3

Prior Convention replaced 4
Continuance of former Convention

Ratification 5
Deposit at The Hague
Certified copies to Powers

Adherence of non-signatory Powers 6
Notification of intent
Communication to other Powers

Effect of ratification 7

Denunciation 8
Notifying Power only affected

Register of ratifications 9
Signing
Deposit of original

ANNEX TO THE CONVENTION

Regulations respecting the laws and customs of war on land

SECTION I

On Belligerents

Chapter I – The Qualifications of belligerents

Application of laws of war to all forces 1

Levee en masse 2

Combatants and non-combatants 3

Chapter II – Prisoners of War.

Responsibility of capturing Government 4
Treatment
Personal belongings

Confinements 5

Employment at labour 6
Payment
Use of wages

Maintenance 7
General treatment

Subject to military laws, etc. 8
Insubordination
Recaptured prisoners

Restrictions for false statements 9

Parole to be observed 10

Parole to be voluntary 11

Forfeiture of parole 12

Treatment of captured reporters, sutlers, etc. 13

Bureau of information to be established 14
Receipt, etc., of property

Recognition of relief societies 15

Privileges allowed 16

Pay to officers taken prisoners 17

Religious liberty 18

Wills 19
Burials, etc.

Repatriation 20

Chapter III – The Sick and Wounded .

Geneva Convention to govern 21

SECTION II

On Hostilities

Chapter I – Means of Injuring the Enemy, Sieges, and Bombardments.

Restriction 22

Special Prohibitions 23
a) Poison
b) Treachery
c) Killing those who have surrendered
d) Quarter
e) Weapons causing unnecessary suffering
f) Abuse of flags and uniform
g) Unnecessary destruction or seizure of property
h) Rights and actions
Forced service against one’s own country

Obtaining information permitted 24

Assault on undefended towns, etc. 25

Warning of bombardments 26

Buildings etc. to be spared 27
Notification of

Pillage prohibited 28

Chapter II – Spies.

Definitions 29

Trial required 30

Subsequent capture 31

Chapter III – Flags of Truce.

Inviolability of parlementaire 32

Reception not compulsory 33

Treason of parlementaire 34

Chapter IV – Capitulations.

Military honour to be observed 35

Chapter V – Armistices.

Effect 36

General or local 37

Notification 38

Communication allowed with inhabitants 39

Effect of violation by Powers 40

Violation by private persons 41

SECTION III

Military Authority over the Territory of the Hostile State

Actual occupation 42
Extent

Preservation of order and safety 43

Forcing information from inhabitants forbidden 44

Requiring oath of allegiance forbidden 45

Rights and property to be respected 46
No confiscation

Pillage forbidden 47

Collection of taxes 48

Levies for military needs 49

General penalty for acts of individuals forbidden 50

Collection of contributions 51

Requisitions for needs of army 52

Seizure of public cash, property etc. 53

Submarine cables to neutral territory 54

Administration of public property in occupied territory 55

Municipal, religious etc. property 56
Legal proceedings for seizure etc.

SECTION IV

On the Internment of Belligerents
and the Care of the Wounded in Neutral Countries

Confinement of belligerents in neutral territory 57

Food, clothing etc. 58
Reimbursements

Transit of wounded or sick through neutral territory 59
Neutral State must furnish guard

Geneva Convention applicable 60

———**************———

CONVENTION (IV) RESPECTING THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS
OF WAR ON LAND

Signed at The Hague, 18 October 1907.

Seeing that, while seeking means to preserve peace and prevent armed
conflicts between nations, it is likewise necessary to bear in mind the
case where the appeal to arms has been brought about by events which their
care was unable to avert;

Animated by the desire to serve, even in this extreme case, the interests
of humanity and the ever progressive needs of civilization;

Thinking it important, with this object, to revise the general laws and
customs of war, either with a view to defining them with greater precision
or to confining them within such limits as would mitigate their severity as
far as possible;

Have deemed it necessary to complete and explain in certain particulars the
work of the First Peace Conference, which, following on the Brussels
Conference of 1874, and inspired by the ideas dictated by a wise and
generous forethought, adopted provisions intended to define and govern the
usages of war on land.

According to the views of the High Contracting Parties, these provisions,
the wording of which has been inspired by the desire to diminish the evils
of war, as far as military requirements permit, are intended to serve as a
general rule of conduct for the belligerents in their mutual relations and
in their relations with the inhabitants.

It has not, however, been found possible at present to concert regulations
covering all the circumstances which arise in practice;

On the other hand, the High Contracting Parties clearly do not intend that
unforeseen cases should, in the absence of a written undertaking, be left
to the arbitrary judgment of military commanders.

Until a more complete code of the laws of war has been issued, the High
Contracting Parties deem it expedient to declare that, in cases not
included in the Regulations adopted by them, the inhabitants and the
belligerents remain under the protection and the rule of the principles of
the law of nations, as they result from the usages established among
civilized peoples, from the laws of humanity, and the dictates of the
public conscience.

They declare that it is in this sense especially that Articles 1 and 2 of
the Regulations adopted must be understood.

The High Contracting Parties, wishing to conclude afresh Convention to this
effect, have appointed the following as their Plenipotentiaries:

(Here follow the names of Plenipotentiaries)

Who, after having deposited their full powers, found in good and due form,
have agreed upon the following:

Article 1. The Contracting Powers shall issue instructions to their armed
land forces which shall be in conformity with the Regulations respecting
the laws and customs of war on land, annexed to the present Convention.

Art. 2. The provisions contained in the Regulations referred to in Article
1, as well as in the present Convention, do not apply except between
Contracting Powers, and then only if all the belligerents are parties to
the Convention.

Art. 3. A belligerent party which violates the provisions of the said
Regulations shall, if the case demands, be liable to pay compensation It
shall be responsible for all acts committed by persons forming part of its
armed forces.

Art. 4. The present Convention, duly ratified, shall as between the
Contracting Powers, be substituted for the Convention of 29 July 1899,
respecting the laws and customs of war on land.

The Convention of 1899 remains in force as between the Powers which signed
it, and which do not also ratify the present Convention.

Art. 5. The present Convention shall be ratified as soon as possible.
The ratifications shall be deposited at The Hague.

The first deposit of ratifications shall be recorded in a procŠs-verbal
signed by the Representatives of the Powers which take part therein and by
the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs.

The subsequent deposits of ratifications shall be made by means of a
written notification, addressed to the Netherlands Government and
accompanied by the instrument of ratification.

A duly certified copy of the procŠs-verbal relative to the first deposit of
ratifications, of the notifications mentioned in the preceding paragraph,
as well as of the instruments of ratification, shall be immediately sent by
the Netherlands Government, through the diplomatic channel, to the Powers
invited to the Second Peace Conference, as well as to the other Powers
which have adhered to the Convention. In the cases contemplated in the
preceding paragraph the said Government shall at the same time inform them
of the date on which it received the notification.

Art. 6. Non-Signatory Powers may adhere to the present Convention.

The Power which desires to adhere notifies in writing its intention to the
Netherlands Government, forwarding to it the act of adhesion, which shall
be deposited in the archives of the said Government.

This Government shall at once transmit to all the other Powers a duly
certified copy of the notification as well as of the act of adhesion,
mentioning the date on which it received the notification.

Art. 7. The present Convention shall come into force, in the case of the
Powers which were a party to the first deposit of ratifications, sixty days
after the date of the procŠs-verbal of this deposit, and, in the case of
the Powers which ratify subsequently or which adhere, sixty days after the
notification of their ratification or of their adhesion has been received
by the Netherlands Government.

Art. 8. In the event of one of the Contracting Powers wishing to denounce
the present Convention, the denunciation shall be notified in writing to
the Netherlands Government, which shall at once communicate a duly
certified copy of the notification to all the other Powers, informing them
of the date on which it was received.

The denunciation shall only have effect in regard to the notifying Power,
and one year after the notification has reached the Netherlands Government.

Art. 9. A register kept by the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs
shall give the date of the deposit of ratifications made in virtue of
Article 5, paragraphs 3 and 4, as well as the date on which the
notifications of adhesion (Article 6, paragraph 2), or of denunciation
(Article 8, paragraph 1) were received.

Each Contracting Power is entitled to have access to this register and to
be supplied with duly certified extracts.

In faith whereof the Plenipotentiaries have appended their signatures to
the present Convention.

Done at The Hague 18 October 1907, in a single copy, which shall remain
deposited in the archives of the Netherlands Government, and duly certified
copies of which shall be sent, through the diplomatic channel to the Powers
which have been invited to the Second Peace Conference.

(Here follow signatures)

Annex to the Convention

REGULATIONS RESPECTING THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS
OF WAR ON LAND

SECTION I

ON BELLIGERENTS

CHAPTER I
The Qualifications of Belligerents

Article 1. The laws, rights, and duties of war apply not only to armies,
but also to militia and volunteer corps fulfilling the following
conditions:

1. To be commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
2. To have a fixed distinctive emblem recognizable at a distance;
3. To carry arms openly; and
4. To conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs
of war.

In countries where militia or volunteer corps constitute the army, or form
part of it, they are included under the denomination “army.”

Art. 2. The inhabitants of a territory which has not been occupied, who, on
the approach of the enemy, spontaneously take up arms to resist the
invading troops without having had time to organize themselves in
accordance with Article 1, shall be regarded as belligerents if they carry
arms openly and if they respect the laws and customs of war.

Art. 3. The armed forces of the belligerent parties may consist of
combatants and non-combatants. In the case of capture by the enemy, both
have a right to be treated as prisoners of war.

CHAPTER II

Prisoners of War

Art. 4. Prisoners of war are in the power of the hostile Government, but
not of the individuals or corps who capture them.

They must be humanely treated.

All their personal belongings, except arms, horses, and military papers,
remain their property.

Art. 5. Prisoners of war may be interned in a town, fortress, camp, or
other place, and bound not to go beyond certain fixed limits, but they
cannot be confined except as in indispensable measure of safety and only
while the circumstances which necessitate the measure continue to exist.

Art. 6. The State may utilize the labour of prisoners of war according to
their rank and aptitude, officers excepted. The tasks shall not be
excessive and shall have no connection with the operations of the war.

Prisoners may be authorized to work for the public service, for private
persons, or on their own account.

Work done for the State is paid for at the rates in force for work of a
similar kind done by soldiers of the national army, or, if there are none
in force, at a rate according to the work executed.

When the work is for other branches of the public service or for private
persons the conditions are settled in agreement with the military
authorities.

The wages of the prisoners shall go towards improving their position, and
the balance shall be paid them on their release, after deducting the cost
of their maintenance.

Art. 7. The Government into whose hands prisoners of war have fallen is
charged with their maintenance.

In the absence of a special agreement between the belligerents, prisoners
of war shall be treated as regards board, lodging, and clothing on the same
footing as the troops of the Government who captured them.

Art. 8. Prisoners of war shall be subject to the laws, regulations, and
orders in force in the army of the State in whose power they are. Any act
of insubordination justifies the adoption towards them of such measures of
severity as may be considered necessary.

Escaped prisoners who are retaken before being able to rejoin their own
army or before leaving the territory occupied by the army which captured
them are liable to disciplinary punishment.

Prisoners who, after succeeding in escaping, are again taken prisoners, are
not liable to any punishment on account of the previous flight.

Art. 9. Every prisoner of war is bound to give, if he is questioned on the
subject, his true name and rank, and if he infringes this rule, he is
liable to have the advantages given to prisoners of his class curtailed.

Art. 10. Prisoners of war may be set at liberty on parole if the laws of
their country allow, and, in such cases, they are bound, on their personal
honour, scrupulously to fulfil, both towards their own Government and the
Government by whom they were made prisoners, the engagements they have
contracted.

In such cases their own Government is bound neither to require of nor
accept from them any service incompatible with the parole given.

Art. 11. A prisoner of war cannot be compelled to accept his liberty on
parole; similarly the hostile Government is not obliged to accede to the
request of the prisoner to be set at liberty on parole.

Art. 12. Prisoners of war liberated on parole and recaptured bearing arms
against the Government to whom they had pledged their honour, or against
the allies of that Government, forfeit their right to be treated as
prisoners of war, and can be brought before the courts.

Art. 13. Individuals who follow an army without directly belonging to it,
such as newspaper correspondents and reporters, sutlers and contractors,
who fall into the enemy’s hands and whom the latter thinks expedient to
detain, are entitled to be treated as prisoners of war, provided they are
in possession of a certificate from the military authorities of the army
which they were accompanying.

Art. 14. An inquiry office for prisoners of war is instituted on the
commencement of hostilities in each of the belligerent States, and, when
necessary, in neutral countries which have received belligerents in their
territory. It is the function of this office to reply to all inquiries
about the prisoners. It receives from the various services concerned full
information respecting internments and transfers. releases on parole,
exchanges, escapes, admissions into hospital, deaths, as well as other
information necessary to enable it to make out and keep up to date an
individual return for each prisoner of war. The office must state in this
return the regimental number, name and surname, age, place of origin, rank,
unit, wounds, date and place of capture, internment, wounding, and death,
as well as any observations of a special character. The individual return
shall be sent to the Government of the other belligerent after the
conclusion of peace.

It is likewise the function of the inquiry office to receive and collect
all objects of personal use, valuables, letters, etc., found on the field
of battle or left by prisoners who have been released on parole, or
exchanged, or who have escaped, or died in hospitals or ambulances, and to
forward them to those concerned.

Art. 15. Relief societies for prisoners of war, which are properly
constituted in accordance with the laws of their country and with the
object of serving as the channel for charitable effort shall receive from
the belligerents, for themselves and their duly accredited agents every
facility for the efficient performance of their humane task within the
bounds imposed by military necessities and administrative regulations.
Agents of these societies may be admitted to the places of internment for
the purpose of distributing relief, as also to the halting places of
repatriated prisoners, if furnished with a personal permit by the military
authorities, and on giving an undertaking in writing to comply with all
measures of order and police which the latter may issue.

Art. 16. Inquiry offices enjoy the privilege of free postage. Letters,
money orders, and valuables, as well as parcels by post, intended for
prisoners of war, or dispatched by them, shall be exempt from all postal
duties in the countries of origin and destination, as well as in the
countries they pass through.

Presents and relief in kind for prisoners of war shall be admitted free of
all import or other duties, as well as of payments for carriage by the
State railways.

Art. 17. Officers taken prisoners shall receive the same rate of pay as of
officers of corresponding rank in the country where they are detained, the
amount to be ultimately refunded by their own Government.

Art. 18. Prisoners of war shall enjoy complete liberty in the exercise of
their religion, including attendance at the services of whatever church
they may belong to, on the sole condition that they comply with the
measures of order and police issued by the military authorities.

Art. 19. The wills of prisoners of war are received or drawn up in the same
way as for soldiers of the national army.

The same rules shall be observed regarding death certificates as well as
for the burial of prisoners of war, due regard being paid to their grade
and rank.

Art. 20. After the conclusion of peace, the repatriation of prisoners of
war shall be carried out as quickly as possible.

CHAPTER III

The Sick and Wounded

Art. 21. The obligations of belligerents with regard to the sick and
wounded are governed by the Geneva Convention.

SECTION II

HOSTILITIES

CHAPTER I

Means of Injuring the Enemy,
Sieges, and bombardments

Art. 22. The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is
not unlimited.

Art. 23. In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions,
it is especially forbidden –

(a) To employ poison or poisoned weapons;
(b) to kill or wound treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile
nation or army;
(c) To kill or wound an enemy who, having laid down his arms, or having
no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion;
(d) To declare that no quarter will be given;
(e) To employ arms, projectiles, or material calculated to cause
unnecessary suffering;
(f) To make improper use of a flag of truce, of the national flag or of
the military insignia and uniform of the enemy, as well as the
distinctive badges of the Geneva Convention;
(g) To destroy or seize the enemy’s property, unless such destruction or
seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war;
(h) To declare abolished, suspended, or inadmissible in a court of law
the rights and actions of the nationals of the hostile party. A
belligerent is likewise forbidden to compel the nationals of the
hostile party to take part in the operations of war directed against
their own country, even if they were in the belligerent’s service
before the commencement of the war.

Art. 24. Ruses of war and the employment of measures necessary for
obtaining information about the enemy and the country are considered
permissible.

Art. 25. The attack or bombardment, by whatever means, of towns, villages,
dwellings, or buildings which are undefended is prohibited.

Art. 26. The officer in command of an attacking force must, before
commencing a bombardment, except in cases of assault, do all in his power
to warn the authorities.

Art. 27. In sieges and bombardments all necessary steps must be taken to
spare, as far as possible, buildings dedicated to religion, art, science,
or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the
sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not being used at the
time for military purposes.

It is the duty of the besieged to indicate the presence of such buildings
or places by distinctive and visible signs, which shall be notified to the
enemy beforehand.

Art. 28. The pillage of a town or place, even when taken by assault, is
prohibited.

CHAPTER II

Spies

Art. 29. A person can only be considered a spy when, acting clandestinely
or on false pretences, he obtains or endeavours to obtain information in
the zone of operations of a belligerent, with the intention of
communicating it to the hostile party.

Thus, soldiers not wearing a disguise who have penetrated into the zone of
operations of the hostile army, for the purpose of obtaining information,
are not considered spies. Similarly, the following are not considered
spies: Soldiers and civilians, carrying out their mission openly, entrusted
with the delivery of despatches intended either for their own army or for
the enemy’s army. To this class belong likewise persons sent in balloons
for the purpose of carrying despatches and, generally, of maintaining
communications between the different parts of an army or a territory.

Art. 30. A spy taken in the act shall not be punished without previous
trial.

Art. 31. A spy who, after rejoining the army to which he belongs, is
subsequently captured by the enemy, is treated as a prisoner of war, and
incurs no responsibility for his previous acts of espionage.

CHAPTER III

Flags of Truce

Art. 32. A person is regarded as a parlementaire who has been authorized by
one of the belligerents to enter into communication with the other, and who
advances bearing a white flag. He has a right to inviolability, as well as
the trumpeter, bugler or drummer, the flag-bearer and interpreter who may
accompany him.

Art. 33. The commander to whom a parlementaire is sent is not in all cases
obliged to receive him.

He may take all the necessary steps to prevent the parlementaire taking
advantage of his mission to obtain information.

In case of abuse, he has the right to detain the parlementaire temporarily.

Art. 34. The parlementaire loses his rights of inviolability if it is
proved in a clear and incontestable manner that he has taken advantage of
his privileged position to provoke or commit an act of treason.

CHAPTER IV

Capitulations

Art. 35. Capitulations agreed upon between the Contracting Parties must
take into account the rules of military honour.

Once settled, they must be scrupulously observed by both parties.

CHAPTER V

Armistices

Art. 36. An armistice suspends military operations by mutual agreement
between the belligerent parties. If its duration is not defined, the
belligerent parties may resume operations at any time, provided always that
the enemy is warned within the time agreed upon, in accordance with the
terms of the armistice.

Art. 37. An armistice may be general or local. The first suspends the
military operations of the belligerent States everywhere; the second only
between certain fractions of the belligerent armies and within a fixed
radius.

Art. 38. An armistice must be notified officially and in good time to the
competent authorities and to the troops. Hostilities are suspended
immediately after the notification, or on the date fixed.

Art. 39. It rests with the Contracting Parties to settle, in the terms of
the armistice, what communications may be held in the theatre of war with
the inhabitants and between the inhabitants of one belligerent State and
those of the other.

Art. 40. Any serious violation of the armistice by one of the parties gives
the other party the right of denouncing it, and even, in cases of urgency,
of recommencing hostilities immediately.

Art. 41. A violation of the terms of the armistice by private persons
acting on their own initiative only entitles the injured party to demand
the punishment of the offenders or, if necessary, compensation for the
losses sustained.

SECTION III

MILITARY AUTHORITY OVER THE TERRITORY
OF THE HOSTILE STATE

Art. 42. Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under
the authority of the hostile army.

The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been
established and can be exercised.

Art. 43. The authority of the legitimate power having in fact passed into
the hands of the occupant, the latter shall take all the measures in his
power to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety,
while respecting, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the
country.

Art. 44. A belligerent is forbidden to force the inhabitants of territory
occupied by it to furnish information about the army of the other
belligerent, or about its means of defense.

Art. 45. It is forbidden to compel the inhabitants of occupied territory to
swear allegiance to the hostile Power.

Art. 46. Family honour and rights, the lives of persons, and private
property, as well as religious convictions and practice, must be respected.

Private property cannot be confiscated.

Art. 47. Pillage is formally forbidden.

Art. 48. If, in the territory occupied, the occupant collects the taxes,
dues, and tolls imposed for the benefit of the State, he shall do so, as
far as is possible, in accordance with the rules of assessment and
incidence in force, and shall in consequence be bound to defray the
expenses of the administration of the occupied territory to the same extent
as the legitimate Government was so bound.

Art. 49. If, in addition to the taxes mentioned in the above article, the
occupant levies other money contributions in the occupied territory, this
shall only be for the needs of the army or of the administration of the
territory in question.

Art. 50. No general penalty, pecuniary or otherwise, shall be inflicted
upon the population on account of the acts of individuals for which they
cannot be regarded as jointly and severally responsible.

Art. 51. No contribution shall be collected except under a written order,
and on the responsibility of a commander-in-chief.

The collection of the said contribution shall only be effected as far as
possible in accordance with the rules of assessment and incidence of the
taxes in force.

For every contribution a receipt shall be given to the contributors.

Art. 52. Requisitions in kind and services shall not be demanded from
municipalities or inhabitants except for the needs of the army of
occupation. They shall be in proportion to the resources of the country,
and of such a nature as not to involve the inhabitants in the obligation of
taking part in military operations against their own country.

Such requisitions and services shall only be demanded on the authority of
the commander in the locality occupied.

Contributions in kind shall as far as possible be paid for in cash; if not,
a receipt shall be given and the payment of the amount due shall be made as
soon as possible.

Art. 53. An army of occupation can only take possession of cash, funds, and
realizable securities which are strictly the property of the State, depots
of arms, means of transport, stores and supplies, and, generally, all
movable property belonging to the State which may be used for military
operations.

All appliances, whether on land, at sea, or in the air, adapted for the
transmission of news, or for the transport of persons or things, exclusive
of cases governed by naval law, depots of arms, and, generally, all kinds
of munitions of war, may be seized, even if they belong to private
individuals, but must be restored and compensation fixed when peace is
made.

Art. 54. Submarine cables connecting an occupied territory with a neutral
territory shall not be seized or destroyed except in the case of absolute
necessity. They must likewise be restored and compensation fixed when peace
is made.

Art. 55. The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator and
usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural
estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied
country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer
them in accordance with the rules of usufruct.

Art. 56. The property of municipalities, that of institutions dedicated to
religion, charity and education, the arts and sciences, even when State
property, shall be treated as private property.

All seizure of, destruction or wilful damage done to institutions of this
character, historic monuments, works of art and science, is forbidden, and
should be made the subject of legal proceedings.