Geneva Convention (III)

ARTICLE 115

No prisoner of war on whom a disciplinary punishment has been imposed and
who is eligible for repatriation or for accommodation in a neutral
country , may be kept back on the plea that he has not undergone his
punishment.

Prisoners of war detained in connection with a judicial prosecution or
conviction, and who are designated for repatriation or accommodation in a
neutral country , may benefit by such measures before the end of the
proceedings or the completion of the punishment, if the Detaining Power
consents.

Parties to the conflict shall communicate to each other the names of
those who will be detained until the end of the proceedings or the
completion of the punishment.

ARTICLE 116

The cost of repatriating prisoners of war or of transporting them to a
neutral country shall be borne, from the frontiers of the Detaining
Power, by the Power on which the said prisoners depend.

ARTICLE 117

No repatriated person may be employed on active military service.

SECTION II

RELEASE AND REPATRIATION OF PRISONERS OF WAR
AT THE CLOSE OF HOSTILITIES

ARTICLE 118

Prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after
the cessation of active hostilities.

In the absence of stipulations to the above effect in any agreement
concluded between the Parties to the conflict with a view to the
cessation of hostilities, or failing any such agreement, each of the
Detaining Powers shall itself establish and execute without delay a plan
of repatriation in conformity with the principle laid down in the
foregoing paragraph.

In either case, the measures adopted shall be brought to the knowledge of
the prisoners of war.

The costs of repatriation of prisoners of war shall in all cases be
equitably apportioned between the Detaining Power and the Power on which
the prisoners depend. This apportionment shall be carried out on the
following basis:

(a) If the two Powers are contiguous, the Power on which the prisoners
of war depend shall bear the costs of repatriation from the
frontiers of the Detaining Power.
(b) If the two Powers are not contiguous, the Detaining Power shall
bear the costs of transport of prisoners of war over its own
territory as far as its frontier or its port of embarkation nearest
to the territory of the Power on which the prisoners of war depend.
The Parties concerned shall agree between themselves as to the
equitable apportionment of the remaining costs of the repatriation.
The conclusion of this agreement shall in no circumstances justify
any delay in the repatriation of the prisoners of war.

ARTICLE 119

Repatriation shall be effected in conditions similar to those laid down
in Articles 46 to 48 inclusive of the present Convention for the transfer
of prisoners of war, having regard to the provisions of Article 118 and
to those of the following paragraphs.

On repatriation, any articles of value impounded from prisoners of war
under Article 18, and any foreign currency which has not been converted
into the currency of the Detaining Power, shall be restored to them.
Articles of value and foreign currency which, for any reason whatever,
are not restored to prisoners of war on repatriation, shall be despatched
to the Information Bureau set up under Article 122.

Prisoners of war shall be allowed to take with them their personal
effects, and any correspondence and parcels which have arrived for them.
The weight of such baggage may be limited, if the conditions of
repatriation so require, to what each prisoner can reasonably carry. Each
prisoner shall in all cases be authorized to carry at least twenty-five
kilograms.

The other personal effects of the repatriated prisoner shall be left in
the charge of the Detaining Power which shall have them forwarded to him
as soon as it has concluded an agreement to this effect, regulating the
conditions of transport and the payment of the costs involved, with the
Power on which the prisoner depends.

Prisoners of war against whom criminal proceedings for an indictable
offence are pending may be detained until the end of such proceedings,
and, if necessary, until the completion of the punishment. The same shall
apply to prisoners of war already convicted for an indictable offence.

Parties to the conflict shall communicate to each other the names of any
prisoners of war who are detained until the end of the proceedings or
until punishment has been completed.

By agreement between the Parties to the conflict, commissions shall be
established for the purpose of searching for dispersed prisoners of war
and of assuring their repatriation with the least possible delay.

SECTION III

DEATH OF PRISONERS OF WAR

ARTICLE 120

Wills of prisoners of war shall be drawn up so as to satisfy the
conditions of validity required by the legislation of their country of
origin, which will take steps to inform the Detaining Power of its
requirements in this respect. At the request of the prisoner of war and,
in all cases, after death, the will shall be transmitted without delay to
the Protecting Power; a certified copy shall be sent to the Central
Agency.

Death certificates, in the form annexed to the present Convention, or
lists certified by a responsible officer, of all persons who die as
prisoners of war shall be forwarded as rapidly as possible to the
Prisoner of War Information Bureau established in accordance with Article
122. The death certificates or certified lists shall show particulars of
identity as set out in the third paragraph of Article 17, and also the
date and place of death, the cause of death, the date and place of burial
and all particulars necessary to identify the graves.

The burial or cremation of a prisoner of war shall be preceded by a
medical examination of the body with a view to confirming death and
enabling a report to be made and, where necessary, establishing identity.

The detaining authorities shall ensure that prisoners of war who have
died in captivity are honourably buried, if possible according to the
rites of the religion to which they belonged, and that their graves are
respected, suitably maintained and marked so as to be found at any time.
Wherever possible, deceased prisoners of war who depended on the same
Power shall be interred in the same place.

Deceased prisoners of war 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 express wish to this
effect. In case of cremation, the fact shall be stated and the reasons
given in the death certificate of the deceased.

In order that graves may always be found, all particulars of burials and
graves shall be recorded with a Graves Registration Service established
by the Detaining Power. Lists of graves and particulars of the prisoners
of war interred in cemeteries and elsewhere shall be transmitted to the
Power on which such prisoners of war depended. Responsibility for the
care of these graves and for records of any subsequent moves of the
bodies shall rest on the Power controlling the territory, if a Party to
the present Convention. These provisions shall also apply to the ashes,
which shall be kept by the Graves Registration Service until proper
disposal thereof in accordance with the wishes of the home country.

ARTICLE 121

Every death or serious injury of a prisoner of war caused or suspected to
have been caused by a sentry, another prisoner of war, 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. Statements shall be taken from witnesses, especially
from those who are prisoners of war, and a report including such
statements shall be forwarded to the Protecting Power.

If the enquiry indicates the guilt of one or more persons, the Detaining
Power shall take all measures for the prosecution of the person or
persons responsible.

Author: international