Geneva Convention (III)

 

CHAPTER III

PENAL AND DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS

I. General Provisions

ARTICLE 82

A prisoner of war shall be subject to the laws, regulations and orders in
force in the armed forces of the Detaining Power; the Detaining Power
shall be justified in taking judicial or disciplinary measures in respect
of any offence committed by a prisoner of war against such laws,
regulations or orders. However, no proceedings or punishments contrary to
the provisions of this Chapter shall be allowed.

If any law, regulation or order of the Detaining Power shall declare acts
committed by a prisoner of war to be punishable, whereas the same acts
would not be punishable if committed by a member of the forces of the
Detaining Power, such acts shall entail disciplinary punishments only.

ARTICLE 83

In deciding whether proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have
been committed by a prisoner of war shall be judicial or disciplinary,
the Detaining Power shall ensure that the competent authorities exercise
the greatest leniency and adopt, wherever possible, disciplinary rather
than judicial measures.

ARTICLE 84

A prisoner of war shall be tried only by a military court, unless the
existing laws of the Detaining Power expressly permit the civil courts to
try a member of the armed forces of the Detaining Power in respect of the
particular offence alleged to have been committed by the prisoner of war.

In no circumstances whatever shall a prisoner of war be tried by a court
of any kind which does not offer the essential guarantees of independence
and impartiality as generally recognized, and, in particular, the
procedure of which does not afford the accused the rights and means of
defence provided for in Article 105.

ARTICLE 85

Prisoners of war prosecuted under the laws of the Detaining Power for
acts committed prior to capture shall retain, even if convicted, the
benefits of the present Convention.

ARTICLE 86

No prisoner of war may be punished more than once for the same act or on
the same charge.

ARTICLE 87

Prisoners of war may not be sentenced by the military authorities and
courts of the Detaining Power to any penalties except those provided for
in respect of members of the armed forces of the said Power who have
committed the same acts.

When fixing the penalty, the courts or authorities of the Detaining Power
shall take into consideration, to the widest extent possible, the fact
that the accused, not being a national of the Detaining Power, is not
bound to it by any duty of allegiance, and that he is in its power as the
result of circumstances independent of his own will. The said courts or
authorities shall be at liberty to reduce the penalty provided for the
violation of which the prisoner of war is accused, and shall therefore
not be bound to apply the minimum penalty prescribed.

Collective punishment for individual acts, corporal punishment,
imprisonment in premises without daylight and, in general, any form of
torture or cruelty, are forbidden.

No prisoner of war may be deprived of his rank by the Detaining Power, or
prevented from wearing his badges.

ARTICLE 88

Officers, non-commissioned officers and men who are prisoners of war
undergoing a disciplinary or judicial punishment, shall not be subjected
to more severe treatment than that applied in respect of the same
punishment to members of the armed forces of the Detaining Power of
equivalent rank.

A woman prisoner of war shall not be awarded or sentenced to a punishment
more severe, or treated whilst undergoing punishment more severely, than
a woman member of the armed forces of the Detaining Power dealt with for
a similar offence.

In no case may a woman prisoner of war be awarded or sentenced to a
punishment more severe, or treated whilst undergoing punishment more
severely, than a male member of the armed forces of the Detaining Power
dealt with for a similar offence.

Prisoners of war who have served disciplinary or judicial sentences may
not be treated differently from other prisoners of war.

II. Disciplinary Sanctions

ARTICLE 89

The disciplinary punishments applicable to prisoners of war are the
following:

(1) A fine which shall not exceed 50 per cent of the advances of pay
and working pay which the prisoner of war would otherwise receive
under the provisions of Articles 60 and 62 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.

(4) Confinement.

The punishment referred to under (3) shall not be applied to officers.

In no case shall disciplinary punishments be inhuman, brutal or dangerous
to the health of prisoners of war.

ARTICLE 90

The duration of any single punishment shall in no case exceed thirty
days. Any period of confinement awaiting the hearing of a disciplinary
offence or the award of disciplinary punishment shall be deducted from an
award pronounced against a prisoner of war.

The maximum of thirty days provided above may not be exceeded, even if
the prisoner of war is answerable for several acts at the same time when
he is awarded punishment, whether such acts are related or not.

The period between the pronouncing of an award of disciplinary punishment
and its execution shall not exceed one month.

When a prisoner of war 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.

ARTICLE 91

The escape of a prisoner of war shall be deemed to have succeeded when:

(1) he has joined the armed forces of the Power on which he depends, or
those of an allied Power;

(2) he has left the territory under the control of the Detaining Power,
or of an ally of the said Power;

(3) he has joined a ship flying the flag of the Power on which he
depends, or of an allied Power, in the territorial waters of the
Detaining Power, the said ship not being under the control of the
last named Power.

Prisoners of war who have made good their escape in the sense of this
Article and who are recaptured, shall not be liable to any punishment in
respect of their previous escape.

ARTICLE 92

A prisoner of war who attempts to escape and is recaptured before having
made good his escape in the sense of Article 91 shall be liable only to a
disciplinary punishment in respect of this act, even if it is a repeated
offence.

A prisoner of war who is recaptured shall be handed over without delay to
the competent military authority.

Article 88, fourth paragraph, notwithstanding, prisoners of war punished
as a result of an unsuccessful escape may be subjected to special
surveillance. Such surveillance must not affect the state of their
health, must be undergone in a prisoner of war camp, and must not entail
the suppression of any of the safeguards granted them by the present
Convention.

ARTICLE 93

Escape or attempt to escape, even if it is a repeated offence, shall not
be deemed an aggravating circumstance if the prisoner of war is subjected
to trial by judicial proceedings in respect of an offence committed
during his escape or attempt to escape.

In conformity with the principle stated in Article 83, offences committed
by prisoners of war with the sole intention of facilitating their escape
and which do not entail any violence against life or limb, such as
offences against public property, theft without intention of
self-enrichment, the drawing up or use of false papers, or the wearing of
civilian clothing, shall occasion disciplinary punishment only.

Prisoners of war who aid or abet an escape or an attempt to escape shall
be liable on this count to disciplinary punishment only.

ARTICLE 94

If an escaped prisoner of war is recaptured, the Power on which he
depends shall be notified thereof in the manner defined in Article 122,
provided notification of his escape has been made.

 

Author: international