Geneva Convention (III)

 

ARTICLE 61

The Detaining Power shall accept for distribution as supplementary pay to
prisoners of war sums which the Power on which the prisoners depend may
forward to them, on condition that the sums to be paid shall be the same
for each prisoner of the same category, shall be payable to all prisoners
of that category depending on that Power, and shall be placed in their
separate accounts, at the earliest opportunity, in accordance with the
provisions of Article 64. Such supplementary pay shall not relieve the
Detaining Power of any obligation under this Convention.

ARTICLE 62

Prisoners of war shall be paid a fair working rate of pay by the
detaining authorities direct. The rate shall be fixed by the said
authorities, but shall at no time be less than one-fourth of one Swiss
franc for a full working day. The Detaining Power shall inform prisoners
of war, as well as the Power on which they depend, through the
intermediary of the Protecting Power, of the rate of daily working pay
that it has fixed.

Working pay shall likewise be paid by the detaining authorities to
prisoners of war permanently detailed to duties or to a skilled or
semi-skilled occupation in connection with the administration,
installation or maintenance of camps, and to the prisoners who are
required to carry out spiritual or medical duties on behalf of their
comrades.

The working pay of the prisoners’ representative, of his advisers, if
any, and of his assistants, shall be paid out of the fund maintained by
canteen profits. The scale of this working pay shall be fixed by the
prisoners’ representative and approved by the camp commander. If there is
no such fund, the detaining authorities shall pay these prisoners a fair
working rate of pay.

ARTICLE 63

Prisoners of war shall be permitted to receive remittances of money
addressed to them individually or collectively.

Every prisoner of war shall have at his disposal the credit balance of
his account as provided for in the following Article, within the limits
fixed by the Detaining Power, which shall make such payments as are
requested. Subject to financial or monetary restrictions which the
Detaining Power regards as essential, prisoners of war may also have
payments made abroad. In this case payments addressed by prisoners of war
to dependents shall be given priority.

In any event, and subject to the consent of the Power on which they
depend, prisoners may have payments made in their own country , as
follows: the Detaining Power shall send to the aforesaid Power through
the Protecting Power, a notification giving all the necessary particulars
concerning the prisoners of war, the beneficiaries of the payments, and
the amount of the sums to be paid, expressed in the Detaining Power’s
currency. The said notification shall be signed by the prisoners and
countersigned by the camp commander. The Detaining Power shall debit the
prisoners’ account by a corresponding amount; the sums thus debited shall
be placed by it to the credit of the Power on which the prisoners depend.

To apply the foregoing provisions, the Detaining Power may usefully
consult the Model Regulations in Annex V of the present Convention.

ARTICLE 64

The Detaining Power shall hold an account for each prisoner of war,
showing at least the following:

(1) The amounts due to the prisoner or received by him as advances of
pay, as working pay or derived from any other source; the sums in
the currency of the Detaining Power which were taken from him; the
sums taken from him and converted at his request into the currency
of the said Power.

(2) The payments made to the prisoner in cash, or in any other similar
form; the payments made on his behalf and at his request; the sums
transferred under Article 63, third paragraph.

ARTICLE 65

Every item entered in the account of a prisoner of war shall be
countersigned or initialled by him, or by the prisoners’ representative
acting on his behalf.

Prisoners of war shall at all times be afforded reasonable facilities for
consulting and obtaining copies of their accounts, which may likewise be
inspected by the representatives of the Protecting Powers at the time of
visits to the camp.

When prisoners of war are transferred from one camp to another, their
personal accounts will follow them. In case of transfer from one
Detaining Power to another, the monies which are their property and are
not in the currency of the Detaining Power will follow them. They shall
be given certificates for any other monies standing to the credit of
their accounts.

The Parties to the conflict concerned may agree to notify to each other
at specific intervals through the Protecting Power, the amount of the
accounts of the prisoners of war.

ARTICLE 66

On the termination of captivity, through the release of a prisoner of war
or his repatriation, the Detaining Power shall give him a statement,
signed by an authorized officer of that Power, showing the credit balance
then due to him. The Detaining Power shall also send through the
Protecting Power to the government upon which the prisoner of war
depends, lists giving all appropriate particulars of all prisoners of war
whose captivity has been terminated by repatriation, release, escape,
death or any other means, and showing the amount of their credit
balances. Such lists shall be certified on each sheet by an authorized
representative of the Detaining Power.

Any of the above provisions of this Article may be varied by mutual
agreement between any two Parties to the conflict.

The Power on which the prisoner of war depends shall be responsible for
settling with him any credit balance due to him from the Detaining Power
on the termination of his captivity.

ARTICLE 67

Advances of pay, issued to prisoners of war in conformity with Article
60, shall be considered as made on behalf of the Power on which they
depend. Such advances of pay, as well as all payments made by the said
Power under Article 63, third paragraph, and Article 68, shall form the
subject of arrangements between the Powers concerned, at the close of
hostilities.

ARTICLE 68

Any claim by a prisoner of war for compensation in respect of any injury
or other disability arising out of work shall be referred to the Power on
which he depends, through the Protecting Power. In accordance with
Article 54, the Detaining Power will, in all cases, provide the prisoner
of war concerned with a statement showing the nature of the injury or
disability, the circumstances in which it arose and particulars of
medical or hospital treatment given for it. This statement will be signed
by a responsible officer of the Detaining Power and the medical
particulars certified by a medical officer.

Any claim by a prisoner of war for compensation in respect of personal
effects monies or valuables impounded by the Detaining Power under
Article 18 and not forthcoming on his repatriation, or in respect of loss
alleged to be due to the fault of the Detaining Power or any of its
servants, shall likewise be referred to the Power on which he depends.
Nevertheless, any such personal effects required for use by the prisoners
of war whilst in captivity shall be replaced at the expense of the
Detaining Power. The Detaining Power will, in all cases, provide the
prisoner of war with a statement, signed by a responsible officer,
showing all available information regarding the reasons why such effects,
monies or valuables have not been restored to him. A copy of this
statement will be forwarded to the Power on which he depends through the
Central Prisoners of War Agency provided for in Article 123.

SECTION V

RELATIONS OF PRISONERS OF WAR WITH THE EXTERIOR

ARTICLE 69

Immediately upon prisoners of war falling into its power, the Detaining
Power shall inform them and the Powers on which they depend, through the
Protecting Power, of the measures taken to carry out the provisions of
the present Section. They shall likewise inform the parties concerned of
any subsequent modifications of such measures.

ARTICLE 70

Immediately upon capture, or not more than one week after arrival at a
camp, even if it is a transit camp, likewise in case of sickness or
transfer to hospital or to another camp, every prisoner of war shall be
enabled to write direct to his family, on the one hand, and to the
Central Prisoners of War Agency provided for in Article 123, on the other
hand, a card similar, if possible, to the model annexed to the present
Convention, informing his relatives of his capture, address and state of
health. The said cards shall be forwarded as rapidly as possible and may
not be delayed in any manner.

ARTICLE 71

Prisoners of war 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 prisoner of war, the said number shall not be less
than two letters and four cards monthly, exclusive of the capture cards
provided for in Article 70, and conforming as closely as possible to the
models annexed to the present Convention. Further limitations may be
imposed only if the Protecting Power is satisfied that it would be in the
interests of the prisoners of war concerned to do so owing to
difficulties of translation caused by the Detaining Power’s inability to
find sufficient qualified linguists to carry out the necessary
censorship. If limitations must be placed on the correspondence addressed
to prisoners of war, they may be ordered only by the Power on which the
prisoners depend, possibly at the request of the Detaining Power. Such
letters and cards must be conveyed by the most rapid method at the
disposal of the Detaining Power; they may not be delayed or retained for
disciplinary reasons.

Prisoners of war who have been without news for a long period, or who are
unable to receive news from their next of kin or to give them news by the
ordinary postal route, as well as those who are at a great distance from
their homes, shall be permitted to send telegrams, the fees being charged
against the prisoners of war’s accounts with the Detaining Power or paid
in the currency at their disposal. They shall likewise benefit by this
measure in cases of urgency.

As a general rule, the correspondence of prisoners of war shall be
written in their native language. The Parties to the conflict may allow
correspondence in other languages.

Sacks containing prisoner of war mail must be securely sealed and
labelled so as clearly to indicate their contents, and must be addressed
to offices of destination.

ARTICLE 72

Prisoners of war shall be allowed to receive by post or by any other
means individual parcels or collective shipments containing, in
particular, foodstuffs, clothing, medical supplies and articles of a
religious, educational or recreational character which may meet their
needs, including books, devotional articles, scientific equipment,
examination papers, musical instruments, sports outfits and materials
allowing prisoners of war to pursue their studies or their cultural
activities.

Such shipments shall in no way free the Detaining Power from the
obligations imposed upon it by virtue of the present Convention.

The only limits which may be placed on these shipments shall be those
proposed by the Protecting Power in the interest of the prisoners
themselves, or by the International Committee of the Red Cross or any
other organization giving assistance to the prisoners, in respect of
their own shipments only, on account of exceptional strain on transport
or communications.

The conditions for the sending of individual parcels and collective
relief shall, if necessary, be the subject of special agreements between
the Powers concerned, which may in no case delay the receipt by the
prisoners of relief supplies. Books may not be included in parcels of
clothing and foodstuffs. Medical supplies shall, as a rule, be sent in
collective parcels.

 

Author: international