Bare Acts

GENEVA CONVENTION RELATIVE TO THE PROTECTION OF CIVILIAN PERSONS
IN TIME OF WAR OF AUGUST 12, 1949
The undersigned Plenipotentiaries of the Government represented at the Diplomatic Conference held
at Geneva from April 21 to August12, 1949, for the purpose establishing a Convention for the Protection
of Civilian persons in Time of War, have agreed as follows:
PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Respect for the Convention.—The High contracting parties undertake to respect and to ensure
respect for the present Convention in all circumstances.
Article 2
Application of the Convention.—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 further more be bound by
the Convention in relation to the said Power, if the latter accepts and applies the provisions thereof.
Article 3
Conflicts not of an international character.—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, color,
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 judgement
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 endeavor to bring into force, by means of special
agreements, all or Part of the other provisions of the present Convention.
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The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parties
to the conflict.
Article 4
Definition of protected persons.—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-belli-gerent
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 August 12, 1949, or by the Geneva Convention for the
Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of
August 12, 1949, or by the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August
12, 1949, shall not be considered as protected persons within the meaning of the present Convention.
Article 5
Derogations.—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 rower, as the case may be.
Article 6
Beginning and end of application.—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.
Article 7
Special agreements.—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
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shall adversely affect the situation of protected persons, as defined by the present Convention, nor 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.
Article 8
Non-renunciation of rights.—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.
Article 9
Protecting Powers.—The present Convention shall be applied with the co-operation 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.
Article 10
Activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross.—The provision 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.
Article 11
Substitutes for Protecting Power.—The High Contracting Parties may at any time agree to entrust
to an 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.
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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.
Article 12
Conciliation Procedure.—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
Article 13
Field of application of Part II.—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.
Article 14
Hospital and safety zones and localities.—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 effect 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.
Article 15
Neutralized zones.—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.
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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.
Article 16
Wounded and sick. I Genera protection.—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.
Article 17
II. Evacuation.—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.
Article 18
III. Protection of Hospitals.—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 August 12, 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.
Article 19
IV. Discontinuance of protection of hospitals.—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.
Article 20
V. Hospital staff.—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 recognisable 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
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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 August 12, 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.
Article 21
VI. Land and sea transport.—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 August 12, 1949.
Article 22
VII. Air transport.—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 August 12, 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.
Article 23
Consignment of medical supplies, food and clothing.—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 part 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.
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Article 24
Measures relating to child welfare.—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 safeguard 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.
Article 25
Family news.—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 co-operation 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.
Article 26
Dispersed families.—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 organisations 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
Article 27
Treatment I. General observations.—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.
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Article 28
II. Danger zones.—The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or
areas immune from military operations.
Article 29
III. Responsibilities.—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.
Article 30
Application to Protecting Powers and relief organisations.—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 organisations that might assist them.
These several organisations 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 organisations whose object is to give
spiritual aid or material relief to such persons.
Article 31
Prohibition of coercion.—No physical or moral coercion shall be exercised against protected
persons, in particular to obtain information from them or from third parties.
Article 32
Prohibition of corporal punishment, torture, etc.—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 punishment, 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.
Article 33
Individual responsibility, collective penalties, pillage, reprisals.—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.
Article 34
Hostages.—The taking of hostages is prohibited.
SECTION II
ALIENS IN THE TERRITORY OF A PARTY TO THE CONFLICT
Article 35
Right to leave the territory.—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
interest 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.
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If any such person is refused permission to leave the territory, he shall be entitled to have such 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.
Article 36
Method of repatriation.—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 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.
Article 37
Persons in confinement.—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.
Article 38
Non-repatriated persons. I. General observations.—With the exception of special measures
authorised by the present Convention, in particular by Articles 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 authorised 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.
Article 39
II. Means of existence.—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.
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Article 40
III. Employment.—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 land 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.
Article 41
IV. Assigned residence Internment.—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 many 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 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.
Article 42
V. Grounds for internment or assigned residence.—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.
Voluntary internment.—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.
Article 43
VI. Procedure.—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 cage, 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.
Article 44
VII. Refugees.—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.
Article 45
VIII. Transfer to another Power.—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.
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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.
Article 46
Cancellation of restrictive measures.—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
Article 47
Inviolability of rights.—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.
Article 48
Special cases of repatriation.—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 according to the procedure which the Occupying Power shall
establish in accordance with the said Article.
Article 49
Deportations, transfers, evacuations.—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.
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Article 50
Children.—The Occupying Power shall, with the co-operation 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.
Article 51
Enlistment Labour.—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.
Article 52
Protection of workers.—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.
Article 53
Prohibited destruction.—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 co-operative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely
necessary by military operations.
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Article 54
Judges and public officials.—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.
Article 55
Food and medical supplies for the population.—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.
Article 56
Hygiene and public health.—To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power
has the duty of ensuring and maintaining, with the co-operation 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.
Article 57
Requisition of hospitals.—The Occupying Power may requisition civilian hospitals only temporarily
and only in cases of urgent necessity for the care of military wounded and sick, and then an 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.
Article 58
Spiritual assistance.—The Occupying Power shall permit ministers of religion to give. spiritual
assistance for 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,
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.
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The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory
it occupies.
Article 59
Relief I. Collective relief.—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.
Article 60
II. Responsibilities of the Occupying Power.—Relief consignments shall in no way relieve the
Occupying Power of any of its responsibilities under Articles 55, 56 and 59. The Occupying Powers 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.
Article 61
III. Distributions.—The distribution of the relief consignments referred to in the foregoing Articles
shall be carried out with the co-operation 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.
Article 62
IV. Individual relief.—Subject to imperative reasons of security, protected persons in occupied
territories shall be permitted to receive the individual relief consignments sent to them.
Article 63
National Red Cross and other relief societies.—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.
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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.
Article 64
Penal legislation. I. General observations.—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 fulfill 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 communications used by them.
Article 65
II. Publication.—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.
Article 66
III. Competent Courts.—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.
Article 67
IV. Applicable provisions.—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 proportional to the offence. They shall take into consideration the
fact that the accused is not a national of the Occupying Power.
Article 68
V. Penalties Death penalty.—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 against 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.
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In any case, the death penalty may not be pronounced against a protected person who was under
eighteen years of age at the time of the offence.
Article 69
VI. Deduction from sentence of period spent under arrest.—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 awarded.
Article 70
VII. Offences committed before occupation.—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.
Article 71
Penal procedure. I. General observations.—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.
Article 72
II. Right of defence.—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.
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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 the right at any time to
object to the interpreter and to ask for his replacement.
Article 73
III. Right of appeal.—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.
Article 74
IV. Assistance by the protecting Power.—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 judgment 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 judgments 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 judgment has been received by the
Protecting Power.
Article 75
V. Death sentence.—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 at 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 here in 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.
Article 76
Treatment of detainees.—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.
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Such persons shall have the right to receive at least one relief parcel monthly.
Article 77
Handing over of detainees at the close of occupation.—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.
Article 78
Security measures. Internment and assigned residence. 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.
Right of appeal.—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
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 79
Cases of internment and applicable provisions.—The Parties to the conflict shall not intern
protected persons, except in accordance with the provisions of Articles 41, 42, 43, 68 and 78.
Article 80
Civil capacity.—Internees shall retain their full civil capacity and shall exercise such attendant rights
as may be compatible with their status.
Article 81
Maintenance.—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.
Article 82
Grouping of Internees.—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.
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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
Article 83
Location of places of internment Marking of camps.—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.
Article 84
Separate internment.—Internees shall be accommodated and administered separately from prisoners
of war and from persons deprived of liberty for any other reason.
Article 85
Accommodation, hygiene.—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.
Article 86
Premises for religious services.—The Detaining Power shall place at the disposal of interned
persons, of whatever denomination, premises suitable for the holding of their religious services.
Article 87
Canteens.—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.
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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.
Article 88
Air raid shelters. Protective measures.—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 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
Article 89
Food.—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.
Article 90
Clothing.—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
Article 91
Medical attention.—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.
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Maternity cases and internees suffering from serious diseases, or whose conditions require 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.
Article 92
Medical inspections.—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 general 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
Article 93
Religious duties.—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 religions 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.
Article 94
Recreation, study, sports and games.—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 exercise 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.
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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.
Article 95
Working conditions.—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 Article 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, due
regard being paid to the obligation of the Detaining Power to provide for the 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.
Article 96
Labour detachments.—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 organisations who may visit the places of internment.
CHAPTER VI
PERSONAL PROPERTY AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Article 97
Valuables and personal effects.—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.
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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 an articles or amounts withheld by the Detaining Power
by virtue of its legislation in force. If the property of an internee is so with held, 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.
Article 98
Financial resources and individual accounts.—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 organisations 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 owe 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 dependents. 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
Article 99
Camp administration. Posting of the Convention and of orders.—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
instructed in the provisions of the present Convention and of the administrative measures adopted to
ensure its application.
The text of the present Convention and the texts of special agreements concluded under the said
Convention shall be posted inside the place of internment, in a language which the internees understand,
or shall be in the possession of the Internee Committee.
Regulations, orders, notices and publications of every kind shall be communicated to the internees
and posted inside the places of internment, in a language which they understand.
Every order and command addressed to internees individually must. likewise be given in a language
which they understand.
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Article 100
General discipline.—The disciplinary regime in places of internment shall be consistent with
humanitarian principles, and shall in no circumstances include regulations imposing on internees any
physical exertion dangerous to their health or involving physical or moral victimization. Identification by
tatooing or imprinting signs or markings on the body, is prohibited.
In particular, prolonged standing and roll-calls, punishment drill, military drill and manoeuvres, or the
reduction of food rations, are prohibited.
Article 101
Complaints and petitions—Internees shall have the right to present to the authorities in whose
power they are, any petition with regard to the conditions of internment to which they are subjected.
They shall also have the right to apply without restriction through the Internee Committee or, if they
consider It necessary, direct to the representatives of the Protecting Power, in order to indicate to them
any points on which they may have complaints to make with regard to the conditions of internment.
Such petitions and complaints shall be transmitted forthwith and without alteration, and even if the
latter are recognized to be unfounded they may not occasion any punishment.
Periodic reports on the situation in places of internment and as to the needs of the internees may be
sent by the Internee Committees to the representatives of the Protecting Powers.
Article 102
Internee committee. I. Election of members.—In every Place of internment, the internees shall
freely elect by secret ballot every six months, the members of a Committee empowered to represent them
before the Detaining and the Protecting Powers, the International Committee of the Red Cross and any
other organization which may assist them. The members of the Committee shall be eligible for
re-election.
Internees so elected shall enter upon their duties after their election has been approved by the
detaining authorities. The reasons for any refusals or dismissals shall be communicated to the Protecting
Powers concerned.
Article 103
II. Duties.—The Internee Committees shall further the physical, spiritual and intellectual well-being
of the internees.
In case the internees decide. in particular, to organise a system of mutual assistance amongst
themselves, this organisation would be within the competence of the Committees in addition to the
special duties entrusted to them under other provisions of the present Convention.
Article 104
III. Prerogative.—Members of Internee Committees shall not be required to perform any other work,
if the accomplishment of their duties is rendered more difficult thereby.
Members of Internee Committees may appoint from amongst the internees such assistants as they
may require. All material facilities shall be granted to them, particularly a certain freedom of movement
necessary for the accomplishment of their duties (visits to labour detachments, receipt of supplies, etc.).
All facilities shall likewise be accorded to members of Internee Committees for communication by
post and telegraph with the detaining authorities, the Protecting Powers, the International Committee of
the Red Cross and their delegates, and with the organizations which give assistance to internees.
Committee members in labour detachments shall enjoy similar facilities for communication with their
Internee Committee in the principal place of internment. Such communications shall not be limited, nor
considered as forming a part of the quota mentioned in Article 107.
Members of Internee Committees who are transferred shall be allowed a reasonable time to acquaint
their successors with current affairs.
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CHAPTER VIII
RELATIONS WITH THE EXTERIOR
Article 105
Notification of measures taken.—Immediately upon interning protected persons, the Detaining
Powers shall inform them, the Power to which they owe allegiance and their Protecting Power of the
measures taken for executing the provisions of the present Chapter. The Detaining Powers shall likewise
inform the Parties concerned of any subsequent modifications of such measures.
Article 106
Internment card.—As soon as he is interned, or at the latest not more than one week after his arrival
in a place of internment, and likewise in cases of sickness or transfer to another place of internment or to
a hospital, every internee shall be enabled to send direct to his family, on the one hand, and to the Central
Agency provided for by Article 140, on the other, an internment card similar, if possible, to the model
annexed to the present Convention, informing his relatives of his detention, address and state of health.
The said cards shall be forwarded as rapidly as possible and may not be delayed in any way.
Article 107
Correspondence.—Internees shall be allowed to send and receive letters and cards. If the Detaining
Power deems it necessary to limit the number of letters and cards sent by each internee, the said number
shall not be less than two letters and four cards monthly; these shall be, drawn up so as to conform as
closely as possible to the models annexed to the present Convention. If limitations must be placed on the
correspondence addressed to internees, they may be ordered only by the power to which such internees
owe allegiance, possibly at the request of the Detaining Power. Such letters and cards must be conveyed
with reasonable despatch; they may not be delayed or retained for disciplinary reasons.
Internees who have been a long time without news, or who find it impossible to receive news from
their relatives, or to give them news by the ordinary postal route, as well as those who are at a
considerable distance from their homes, shall be allowed to send telegrams, the charges being paid by
them in the currency at their disposal. They shall likewise benefit by this provision in cases which are
recognized to be urgent.
As a rule, internees‟ mail shall be written in their own language. The Parties to the conflict may
authorize correspondence in other languages.
Article 108
Relief shipments. I. General principles.—Internees shall be allowed to receive, by post or by any
other means, individual parcels or collective shipments containing in particular foodstuffs, clothing,
medical supplies, as well as books and objects of a devotional, educational or recreational character which
may meet their needs. Such shipments shall in no. way free the Detaining Power from-the obligations
imposed upon it by virtue of the present Convention.
Should military necessity require the quantity of such shipment‟s to be limited, due notice thereof
shall be given to the Protecting Power and to the International Committee of the Red Cross, or to any
other organization giving assistance to the internees and responsible for the forwarding of such shipments.
The conditions for the sending of individual parcels and collective shipments shall, if necessary, be
the subject of special agreements between the Powers concerned, which may in no case delay the receipt
by the internees, of relief supplies. Parcels of clothing and foodstuffs may not include books. Medical
relief supplies shall, as a rule, be sent in collective parcels.
Article 109
II. Collective relief.—In the absence of special agreements between Parties to the conflict regarding
the conditions for the receipt and distribution of collective relief shipments, the regulations concerning
collective relief which are annexed to the present Convention shall be applied.
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The special agreements provided for above shall in no case restrict the right of Internee Committees
to take possession of collective. relief shipments intended for internees, to undertake their distribution and
to dispose of them in the interests of the recipients.
Nor shall such agreements restrict the right of representatives of the Protecting Powers, the
International Committee of the Red Cross, or any other organization giving assistance to internees and
responsible for the forwarding of collective shipments, to supervise their distribution to the recipients.
Article 110
III. Exemption from postal and transport charges.—All relief shipments for internees shall be
exempt from import, customs and other dues.
All matter sent by mail, including relief parcels sent by parcel post and remittances of money,
addressed from other countries to internees or despatched by them through the post office, either direct or
through the Information Bureaux provided for in Article 136 and the Central Information Agency
provided for in Article 140, shall be exempt from all postal dues both in the countries of origin and
destination and in intermediate countries. To this end, in particular, the exemption provided by the
Universal Postal Convention of 1947 and by the agreements of the Universal Postal Union in favour of
civilians of enemy nationality detained in camps or civilian prisons, shall be extended to the other
interned persons protected by the present Convention. The countries not signatory to the above-mentioned
agreements shall be bound to grant freedom from charges in the same circumstances.
The cost of transporting relief shipments which are intended for internees and which, by reason of
their weight or any other cause, cannot be sent through the post office, shall be borne by the Detaining
Power in all the territories under its control. Other Powers which are Parties to the present Convention
shall bear the cost of transport in their respective territories.
Costs connected with the transport of such shipments, which are not covered by the above paragraphs,
shall be charged to the senders.
The High Contracting Parties shall endeavour to reduce, so far as possible, the charges for telegrams
sent by internees, or addressed to them.
Article 111
Special means of transport.—Should military operations prevent the Powers concerned from
fulfilling their obligation to ensure the conveyance of the mail and relief shipments provided for in
Articles 106, 107, 108 and 113, the Protecting Powers concerned, the International Committee of the Red
Cross or any other organization duly approved by the Parties to the conflict may undertake the
conveyance of such shipments by suitable means (rail, motor vehicles, vessels or aircraft, etc.) For this
purpose, the High Contracting Parties shall endeavour to supply them with such transport, and to allow its
circulation, especially by granting the necessary safe-conducts.
Such transport may also be used to convey:—
(a) correspondence, lists and reports exchanged between the Central Information Agency referred
to in Article 140 and the National Bureaux referred to in Article 136;
(b) correspondence and reports relating to internees which the Protecting Powers, the
international Committee of the Red Cross or any other organization assisting the internees exchange
either with their own delegates or with the Parties to the conflict.
These provisions in no way detract from the right of any Party to the conflict to arrange other means
of transport if it should so prefer, nor preclude the granting of safe-conducts, under mutually agreed
conditions, to such means of transport.
The costs occasioned by the use of such means of transport shall. be borne, in proportion to the
importance of the shipments, by the Parties to the conflict whose nationals are benefited thereby.
Article 112
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Censorship and examination.—The censoring of correspondence addressed to internees or
despatched by them shall be done as quickly as possible.
The examination of consignments intended for internees shall not be carried out under conditions that
will expose the goods contained in them to deterioration. It shall be done in the presence of the addressee,
or of a fellow-internee duly delegated by him. The delivery to internees of individual or collective
consignments shall not be delayed under the pretext of difficulties of censorship.
Any prohibition of correspondence ordered by the parties to the conflict either for military or political
reasons, shall be only temporary and its duration shall be as short as possible.
Article 113
Execution and transmission of legal documents.—The Detaining Powers shall provide all
reasonable facilities for the transmission, through the Protecting Power or the Central Agency provided
for in Article 140 or as otherwise required, of wills, powers of attorney, letters of authority, or any other
document intended for internees or despatched by them.
In all cases the Detaining Powers shall facilitate the execution and authentication in due legal form of
such documents on behalf of internees, in particular by allowing them to consult a lawyer.
Article 114
Management of property.—The Detaining Power shall afford internees all facilities to enable them
to manage their property, provided this is not incompatible with the conditions of internment and the law
which is applicable. For this purpose, the said Power may give them permission to leave the place of
internment in urgent cases and if circumstances allow.
Article 115
Facilities for reparation and conduct of cases.—In all cases where an internee is a party to
proceedings in any court, the Detaining Power shall, if he so requests, cause the court to be informed of
his detention and shall, within legal limits, ensure that all necessary steps are taken to prevent him from
being in any way prejudiced, by reason of his internment, as regards the preparation and conduct of his
case or as regards the execution of any judgment of the court.
Article 116
Visits.—Every internee shall be allowed to receive visitors, especially near relatives, at regular
intervals and as frequently as possible.
As far as is possible, internees shall be permitted to visit their homes in urgent cases, particularly in
cases of death or serious illness of relatives.
CHAPTER IX
PENAL AND DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS
Article 117
General provisions. Applicable legislation.—Subject to the provisions of the present Chapter,
the laws. in force, in the territory in which they are detained will continue to apply to internees who
commit offences during internment.
If general laws, regulations or orders declare acts committed by internees to be punishable, whereas
the same acts are not punishable when committed by persons who are not internees, such acts shall entail
disciplinary punishments only.
No internee may be punished more than once for the same act, or on the same count.
Article 118
Penalties.—The courts or authorities shall in passing sentence take as far as possible into account the
fact that the defendant is not a national of the Detaining Power. They shall be free to reduce the penalty
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prescribed for the offence with which the internee is charged and shall not be obliged, to this end, to apply
the minimum sentence prescribed.
Imprisonment in premises without daylight, and, in general, all forms of cruelty without exception are
forbidden.
Internees who have served disciplinary or judicial sentences shall not be treated differently from
other internees.
The duration of preventive detention undergone by an internee shall be deducted from any
disciplinary or judicial penalty involving confinement to which he may be sentenced.
Internee Committees shall be informed of all judicial proceedings instituted against internees whom
they represent, and of their result.
Article 119
Disciplinary punishments.—The disciplinary punishments applicable to internees shall be
the following:—
(1) A fine which shall not exceed 50 per cent. of the wages which the internee would otherwise
receive under the provisions if Article 95 during a period of not more than thirty days.
(2) Discontinuance of privileges granted over and above the treatment provided for by the
present Convention.
(3) Fatigue duties, not exceeding two hours daily, In connection with the maintenance of the
place of internment.
(4) Confinement.
In no case shall disciplinary penalties be inhuman, brutal or dangerous for the health of internees.
Account shall be taken of the internee‟s age, sex and state of health.
The duration of any single punishment shall in no case exceed a maximum of thirty consecutive days,
even if the internee is answerable for several breaches of discipline when his case is dealt with, whether
such breaches are connected or not.
Article 120
Escapes.—Internees who are recaptured after having escaped or when attempting to escape, shall be
liable only to disciplinary punishment in respect of this act, even if it is a repeated offence,
Article 118, paragraph 3, notwithstanding, internees punished as a result of escape or attempt to
escape, may be subjected to special surveillance, on condition that such surveillance does not affect the
state of their health, that it is exercised in a place of internment and that it does not entail the abolition of
any of the safeguards granted by the present Convention.
Internees who aid and abet an escape or attempt to escape, shall be liable on this count to disciplinary
punishment only.
Article 121
Connected offences.—Escape, or attempt to escape, even if it is a repeated offence, shall not be
deemed an aggravating circumstance in cases where an internee is prosecuted for offences committed
during his escape.
The Parties to the conflict shall ensure that the competent authorities exercise leniency in deciding
whether punishment inflicted for an offence shall be of a disciplinary or judicial nature, especially in
respect of acts committed in connection with an escape, whether successful or not.
Article 122
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Investigations. Confinement awaiting hearing.—Acts which constitute offences against discipline
shall be investigated immediately. This rule shall be applied, in particular, in cases of escape or attempt to
escape. Recaptured internees shall be handed over to the competent authorities as soon as possible.
In case of offences against discipline, confinement awaiting trial shall be reduced to an absolute
minimum for all internees, and shall not exceed fourteen days. Its duration shall in any case be deducted
from any sentence of confinement. The provisions of Articles 124 and 125 shall apply to internees who
are in confinement awaiting trial for offences against discipline.
Article 123
Competent authorities, Procedure.—Without prejudice to the competence of courts and higher
authorities, disciplinary punishment may be ordered only by the command ant of the place of internment,
or by a responsible officer or official who replaces him, or to whom he has delegated his
disciplinary powers.
Before any disciplinary punishment is awarded, the accused internee shall be given precise
information regarding the offences of which he is accused, and given an opportunity of explaining his
conduct and of defending himself. He shall be permitted, in particular, to call witnesses and to have
recourse, if necessary, to the services of a qualified interpreter. The decision shall be announced in the
presence of the accused and of a member of the Internee Committee.
The period elapsing between the time of award of a disciplinary punishment and its execution shall
not exceed one month.
When an internee is awarded a further disciplinary punishment, a period of at least three days shall
elapse between the execution of any two of the punishments, if the duration of one of these Is ten
days or more.
A record of disciplinary punishments shall be maintained by the commandant of the place of
internment and shall be open to inspection by representatives of the Protecting Power.
Article 124
Premises for disciplinary punishments.—Internees shall not in any case be transferred to
penitentiary establishments (prisons, penitentiaries, convict prisons, etc.) to undergo disciplinary
punishment therein.
The premises in which disciplinary punishments are undergone shall conform to sanitary
requirements; they shall in particular be provided with adequate bedding. Internees undergoing
punishment shall be enabled to keep themselves in a state of cleanliness.
Women internees undergoing disciplinary punishment shall be confined in separate quarters from
male internees and shall be under the immediate supervision of women.
Article 125
Essential safeguards.—Internees awarded disciplinary punishment shall be allowed to exercise and
to stay in the open air at least two hours daily.
They shall be allowed if they so request, to be present at the daily medical inspections. They shall
receive the attention which their state of health requires and, if necessary, shall be removed to the
infirmary of the place of internment or to a hospital.
They shall have permission to read and write, likewise to send and receive letters. Parcels and
remittances of money, however, may be withheld from them until the completion of their punishment;
such consignments shall meanwhile be entrusted to the Internee Committee, who will hand over to the
infirmary the perishable goods contained in the parcels.
No internee given a disciplinary punishment may be deprived of the benefit of the provisions of
Articles 107 and 143 of the present Convention.
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Article 126
Provisions applicable to judicial proceedings.—The provisions of Articles 71 to 76 inclusive shall
apply, by analogy, to proceedings against internees who are in the national territory of the
Detaining Power.
CHAPTER X
TRANSFERS OF INTERNEES
Article 127
Conditions.—The transfer of internees shall always be effected humanely. As a general rule, it shall
be carried out by rail or other means of transport, and under conditions at least equal to those obtaining
for the forces of the Detaining Power in their changes of station. If as an exceptional measure such
removals have to be effected on foot, they may not take place unless the internees are in a fit state of
health, and may not in any case expose them to excessive fatigue.
The Detaining Power shall supply internees during transfer with drinking water and food sufficient in
quantity, quality and variety to maintain them in good health, and also with the necessary clothing,
adequate shelter and the necessary medical attentions. The Detaining Power shall take all suitable
precautions to ensure their safety during transfer, and shall establish before their departure a complete list
of all internees transferred.
Sick, wounded or infirm internees and maternity cases shall not be transferred if the journey would be
seriously detrimental to them, unless their safety imperatively so demands.
If the combat zone draws close to a place of internment, the internees in the said place shall not be
transferred unless their removal can be carried out in adequate conditions of safety, or unless they are
exposed to greater risks by remaining on the spot than by being transferred.
When making decisions regarding the transfer of internees, the Detaining Power shall take their
interests into account and, in particular, shall not do anything to increase the difficulties of repatriating
them or returning them to their own homes.
Article 128
Method.—In the event of transfer, internees shall be officially advised of their departure and of their
new postal address. Such notification shall be given in time for them to pack their luggage and inform
their next of kin.
They shall be allowed to take with them their personal effects, and the correspondence and parcels
which have arrived for them. The weight of such baggage may be limited if the conditions of transfer so
require, but in no case to less than twenty-five kilograms per Internee.
Mail and parcels addressed to their former place of internment shall be forwarded to them
without delay.
The commandant of the place of internment shall take, in agreement with the Internee Committee,
any measures needed to ensure the transport of the internees‟ community property and of the luggage the
internees are unable to take with them in consequence of restrictions imposed by virtue of the
second paragraph.
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CHAPTER XI
DEATHS
Article 129
Wills. Death certificates.—The wills of internees shall be received for safe-keeping by the
responsible authorities; and in the event of the death of an internee his will shall be transmitted without
delay to a person whom he has previously designated.
Deaths of internees shall be certified in every case by a doctor, and a death certificate shall be made
out, showing the causes of death and the conditions under which it occurred.
An official record of the death, duly registered, shall be drawn up in accordance with the procedure
relating thereto in force in the territory where the place of internment is situated, and a duly certified copy
of such record shall be transmitted without delay to the Protecting Power as well as to the Central Agency
referred to in Article 140.
Article 130
Burial Cremation.—The detaining authorities shall ensure that internees who die while interned are
honourably buried, it possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged and that their
graves are respected, properly maintained, and marked in such a way that they can always be recognized.
Deceased internees shall be buried in individual graves unless unavoidable circumstances require the
use of collective graves. Bodies may be cremated only for imperative reasons of hygiene, on account of
the religion of the deceased or in accordance with his expressed wish to this effect. In case of cremation,
the fact shall be stated and the reasons given in the death certificate of the deceased. The ashes shall be
retained for safe-keeping by the detaining authorities and shall be transferred as soon as possible to the
next of kin on their request.
As soon as circumstances permit, and not later than the close of hostilities, the Detaining Power shall
forward lists of graves of deceased internees to the Powers on whom deceased internees depended,
through the Information Bureaux provided for in Article 136. Such lists shall include all particulars
necessary for the identification of the deceased internees, as well as the exact location of their graves.
Article 131
Internees killed or injured in special circumstances.—Every death or serious injury of an internee,
caused or suspected to have been caused by a sentry, another internee or any other person, as well as any
death the cause of which is unknown, shall be immediately followed by an official enquiry by the
Detaining Power.
A communication on this subject shall be sent immediately to the Protecting Power. The evidence of
any witnesses shall be taken, and a report including such evidence shall be prepared and forwarded to the
said Protecting Power.
If the enquiry indicates the guilt of one or more persons, the Detaining Power shall take all necessary
steps to ensure the prosecution of the person or persons responsible.
CHAPTER XII
RELEASE, REPATRIATION AND ACCOMMODATION IN NEUTRAL COUNTRIES
Article 132
During hostilities or occupation.—Each interned person shall be released by the Detaining Power as
soon as the reasons which necessitated his internment no longer exist.
The Parties to the conflict shall, moreover, endeavour during the course of hostilities, to conclude
agreements for the release, the repatriation, the return to places of residence or the accommodation in a
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neutral country of certain classes of internees, in particular children, pregnant women and mothers with
infants and young children, wounded and sick, and internees who have been detained for a long time.
Article 133
After the close of hostilities.—Internment shall cease as soon as possible after the close of hostilities.
Internees in the territory of a Party to the conflict against whom penal proceedings are pending for
offences not exclusively subject to disciplinary penalties, may be detained until the close of such
proceedings and, if circumstances require, until the completion of the penalty. The same shall apply to
internees who have been previously sentenced to a punishment depriving them of liberty.
By agreement between the Detaining Power and the Powers concerned, committees may be set up
after the close of hostilities, or of the occupation of territories, to search for dispersed internees.
Article 134
Repatriation and return to last place of residence.—The High Contracting Parties shall endeavour,
upon the close of hostilities or occupation, to ensure the return of all internees to their last place of
residence, or to facilitate their repatriation.
Article 135
Costs.—The Detaining Power shall bear the expense of returning released internees to the places
where they were residing when interned, or, if it took them into custody while they were in transit or on
the high seas, the cost of completing their journey or of their return to their point of departure.
Where a Detaining Power refuses permission to reside in its territory to a released, internee who
previously had his permanent domicile therein, such Detaining Power shall pay the cost of the said
internee‟s repatriation. If, however, the internee elects to return to his country on his own responsibility or
in obedience to the Government of the Power to which he owes allegiance, the Detaining Power need not
pay the expenses of his journey beyond the point of his departure from its territory. The Detaining Power
need not pay the cost of repatriation of an internee who was interned at his own request.
If internees are transferred in accordance with Article 45, the transferring and receiving Powers shall
agree on the portion of the above costs to be borne by each.
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.
SECTION V
INFORMATION BUREAUX AND CENTRAL AGENCY
Article 136
National Bureaux.—Upon the outbreak of a conflict and in all cases of occupation, each of the
Parties to the conflict shall establish an official Information Bureau responsible for receiving and
transmitting information in respect of the protected persons who are in its power.
Each of the Parties to the conflict shall, within the shortest possible period. give its Bureau
information of any measure taken by it concerning any protected persons who are kept in custody for
more than two weeks, who are subjected to assigned residence or who are interned. It shall, furthermore,
require its various departments concerned with such matters to provide the aforesaid Bureau promptly
with information concerning all changes pertaining to these protected persons, as for example, transfers,
releases, repatriations, escapes, admittances, to hospitals, births and deaths.
Article 137
Transmission of information.—Each national Bureau shall immediately forward information
concerning protected persons by the most rapid means to the Powers of whom the aforesaid persons are
nationals, or to Powers in whose territory they resided, through the intermediary of the Protecting Powers
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and likewise through the Central Agency provided for in Article 140. The Bureaux shall also reply to all
enquiries which may be received regarding protected persons.
Information Bureaux shall transmit information concerning a protected person unless its transmission
might be detrimental to the person concerned or to his or her relatives. Even in such a case, the
information may not be withheld from the Central Agency which, upon being notified of the
circumstances, will take the necessary precautions indicated in Article 140.
All communications in writing made by any Bureau shall be authenticated by a signature or a seal.
Article 138
Particulars required.—The information received by the national Bureau and transmitted by it shall
be of such a character as to make it possible to identify the protected person exactly and to advise his next
of kin quickly. The information in respect of each person shall include at least his surname, first names,
place and date of birth, nationality, last residence and distinguishing characteristics, the first name of the
father and the maiden name of the mother, the date, place and nature of the action taken with regard to the
individual, the address at which correspondence may be sent to him and the name and address of the
person to be informed.
Likewise, information regarding the state of health of internees who are seriously ill or seriously
wounded shall be supplied regularly and if possible every week.
Article 139
Forwarding of person valuables.—Each national Information Bureau shall, furthermore, be responsible
for collecting all personal valuables left by protected persons mentioned in Article 136, in particular those
who have been repatriated or released, or who have escaped or died; it shall forward the said valuables to
those concerned, either direct, or, if necessary, through the Central Agency. Such articles shall be sent by
the Bureau in sealed packets which shall be accompanied by statements giving clear and full identity
particulars of the person to whom the articles belonged, and by a complete list of the contents of the
parcel. Detailed records shall be maintained of the receipt and despatch of all such valuables.
Article 140
Central Agency.—A Central Information Agency for protected persons, in particular for internees,
shall be created in a neutral country. The International Committee of the Red Cross shall, if it deems
necessary, propose to the Powers concerned the organization of such an Agency, which may be the same
as that provided for in Article 123 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of
War of August 12, 1949.
The function of the Agency shall be to collect all information of the type set forth in Article 136
which it may obtain through official or private channels and to transmit it as rapidly as possible to the
countries of origin or of residence of the persons concerned, except in cases where such transmissions
might be detrimental to the persons whom the said information concerns, or to their relatives. It shall
receive from the Parties to the conflict all reasonable facilities for effecting such transmissions.
The High Contracting Parties, and in particular those whose nationals benefit by the services of the
Central Agency, are requested to give the said Agency the financial aid it may require.
The foregoing provisions shall in no way be interpreted as restricting the humanitarian activities of
the International Committee of the Red Cross and of the relief societies described in Article 142.
Article 141
Exemption from charges.—The national Information Bureaux and the Central Information Agency shall
enjoy free postage for all mail, likewise the exemptions provided for in Article 110, and further, so far as
possible, exemption from telegraphic charges or, at least, greatly reduced rates
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PART IV
EXECUTION OF THE CONVENTION
SECTION I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 142
Relief societies and other organizations.—Subject to the measures which the Detaining Powers may
consider essential to ensure their security or to meet any other reasonable need, the representatives of
religious organisations, relief societies, or any other organizations assisting the protected persons, shall
receive from these Powers, for themselves or their duly accredited agents, all facilities for visiting the
protected persons, for distributing relief supplies and material from any source, intended for educational,
recreational or religious purposes, or for assisting them in organizing their leisure time within the places
of internment. Such societies or organizations may be constituted in the territory of the Detaining Power,
or in any other country, or they may have an International character.
The Detaining Power may limit the number of societies and organizations whose delegates are
allowed to carry out their activities in its territory and under its supervision, on condition, however, that
such limitation shall not hinder the supply of effective and adequate relief to all protected persons.
The special position of the International Committee of the Red Cross in this field shall be recognized
and respected at all times.
Article 143
Supervision.—Representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers shall have permission to go to
all places where protected persons are, particularly to places of internment, detention and work.
They shall have access to all premises occupied by protected persons and shall be able to interview
the latter without witnesses, personally or through an interpreter.
Such visits may not be prohibited except for reasons of imperative military necessity, and then only as
an exceptional and temporary measure. Their duration and frequency shall not be restricted.
Such representatives and delegates shall have full liberty to select the places they wish to visit. The
Detaining or Occupying Power, the Protecting Power and when occasion arises the Power of origin of the
persons to be visited, may agree that compatriots of the internees shall be permitted to participate in
the visits.
The delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross shall also enjoy the above
prerogatives. The appointment of such delegates shall be submitted to the approval of the Power
governing the territories where they will carry out their duties.
Article 144
Dissemination of the Convention.—The High Contacting Parties undertake, in time of peace as in
time of war, to disseminate the text of the present Convention as widely as possible in their respective
countries, and, in particular, to include the study thereof in their programmes of military and, if possible,
civil instruction, so that the principle thereof may become known to the entire population.
Any civilian, military, police or other authorities, who in time of war assume responsibilities in
respect of protected persons, must possess the text of the Convention and be specially instructed as to
its provisions.
Article 145
Translations. Rules of application.—The High Contracting Parties shall communicate to one
another through the Swiss Federal Council and, during hostilities, through the Protection Powers, the
official translations of the present Convention, as well as the laws and regulations which they may adopt
to ensure the application thereof.
Article 146
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Penal sanctions I. General observations.—The High contracting Parties undertake to enact any
legislation necessary to provide effective penal sanctions for persons committing, or ordering to be
committed, any of the grave breaches of the present Convention defined in the following Article.
Each High Contracting Party shall be under the obligation to search for persons alleged to have
committed, or do have, ordered to be committed, such grave breaches, and shall bring such persons,
regardless of their nationality, before its own courts. It may also, if it prefers, and in accordance with the
provisions of its own legislation, hand such persons over for trial to another High Contracting Party
concerned, provided such High Contracting Party has made out a prima facie case.
Each High Contracting Party shall take measure necessary for the suppression of all acts contrary to
the provisions of the present Convention other than the grave breaches defined in the following Article.
In all circumstance, the accused persons shall benefit by safeguards of proper trial and defence which
shall not be less favourable than those provided by Article 105 and those following of the Geneva
Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949.
Article 147
II. Grave breaches.—Grave breaches to which the preceding Article relates shall be those involving
any of the following acts, if committed against persons or property protected by the present Convention:
wilful killing torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments, wilfully causing great
suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of
a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power, or wilfully
depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed in the present Convention,
taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military
necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.
Article 148
III. Responsibilities of the Contracting Parties.—No High Contracting Party shall be allowed to
absolve itself or any other High Contracting Party of any liability incurred by itself of by another
High Contracting Party in respect of breaches referred to in the preceding Article.
Article 149
Enquiry procedure.—At the request of a Party to the conflict, an enquiry shall be instituted, in a
manner to be decided between the interested Parties concerning any alleged violation of the Convention.
If agreement has not been reached concerning the procedure for the enquiry, the Parties should agree
on the choice of an umpire who will decide upon the procedure to be followed.
Once the violation has been established, the Parties to the conflict shall put an end to it and shall
repress it with the least possible delay.
SECTION II
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 150
Languages.—The present Convention is established in English and in French. Both texts are
equally authentic.
The Swiss Federal Council shall arrange for official translations of the Convention to be made in the
Russian and Spanish languages.
Article 151
Signature.—The present Convention, which bears the date of this day, is open to signature until
February 12, 1950, in the name of the Powers represented at the Conference which opened at Geneva on
April 21,1949.
Article 152
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Ratifications.—The present Convention shall be ratified as soon as possible and the ratifications
shall be deposited at Berne.
A record shall be drawn up of the deposit of each instrument of ratification and certified copies of this
record shall be transmitted by the Swiss Federal Council to all the Powers in whose name the Convention
has been signed, or whose accession has been notified.
Article153
Coming into force.—The present Convention shall come into force six months after not less than
two instruments of ratification have been deposited.
Thereafter, it shall come into force for each High Contracting Party six months after the deposit of the
instrument of ratification.
Article 154
Relation with the Hague Conventions.—In the relations between the Powers who are bound by the
Hague Conventions respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, whether that of July 29, 1899,or
that of October 18, 1907, and who are parties to the present Convention, this last Convention shall be
supplementary to Sections II and III of the Regulations annexed to the above mentioned Conventions of
the Hague.
Article 155
Accession.—From the date of its coming into force, it shall be open to any Power whose name the
present Convention has not been signed, to accede to this Convention.
Article 156
Notification of accessions.—Accessions shall be notified in writing to the Swiss Federal Council,
and shall take effect six months after the date on which they are received.
The Swiss Federal Council shall communicate the accessions to all the Powers in whose name the
Convention has been signed, or whose accession has been notified.
Article 157
Immediate effect.—The situations provided for in Articles 2 and 3 shall give immediate effect to
ratifications deposited and accessions notified by the parties to the conflict before or after the beginning
of hostilities or occupation. The Swiss Federal Council shall communicate by the quickest method any
ratifications or accessions received from the Parties to conflict.
Article 158
Denunciation.—Each of the High Contracting Parties shall be at liberty to denounce the
present Convention.
The denunciation shall be notified in writing to the Swiss Federal Council, which shall transmit it to
the Governments of all the High Contracting Parties.
The denunciation shall take effect one year after the notification thereof has been made to the Swiss
Federal Council. However, a denunciation of which notification has been made at a time when the
denouncing Power is involved in a conflict shall not take effect until peace has been concluded, and until
after operations connected with release, repatriation and re-establishment of the persons protected by the
present Convention have been terminated.
The denunciation shall have effect only in respect of the denouncing Power. It shall in no way impair
the obligations which the Parties to the conflict shall remain bound to fulfill by virtue 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.
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Article 159
Registration with the United Nations.—The Swiss Federal Council shall register the present
Convention with the Secretariat of the United Nations.
The Swiss Federal Council shall also inform the Secretariat of the United Nations of all ratifications,
accessions and denunciations received by it with respect to the present Convention.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, having deposited their respective full powers, have signed the
present Convention.
DONE at Geneva this twelfth day of August 1949, in the English and French languages. The original
shall be deposited in the Archives of the Swiss Confederation. The Swiss Federal Council shall transmit
certified copies thereof to each of the signatory and acceding States.