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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Here follow signatures)

Annex to the Convention

REGULATIONS RESPECTING THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS
OF WAR ON LAND

SECTION I

ON BELLIGERENTS

CHAPTER I
The Qualifications of Belligerents

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

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

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

 

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

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

CHAPTER II

Prisoners of War

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

They must be humanely treated.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Conclusion

Notes

See Also

References and Further Reading

About the Author/s and Reviewer/s

Author: international


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