The Hague Convention,
Hague Convention II (29 July 1899)
Convention with Respect to the Laws and Customs of War on Land
Articles 1 - 60
Entry into Force: 4 September 1900
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His Majesty the Emperor of Germany, King of Prussia; [etc.]:
Considering that, while seeking means to preserve peace and prevent armed
conflicts among nations, it is likewise necessary to have regard to cases
where an appeal to arms may be caused by events which their solicitude could
not avert;
Animated by the desire to serve, even in this extreme hypothesis, the interest
of humanity and the ever increasing requirements of civilization;
Thinking it important, with this object, to revise the laws and general customs
of war, either with the view of defining them more precisely, or of laying
down certain limits for the purpose of modifying their severity as far as
possible;
Inspired by these views which are enjoined at the present day, as they were
twenty-five years ago at the time of the Brussels Conference in 1874, by
a wise and generous foresight;
Have, in this spirit, adopted a great number of provisions, the object of
which is to define and govern the usages of war on land.
In view of the High Contracting Parties, these provisions, the wording of
which has been inspired by the desire to diminish the evils of war so far
as military necessities permit, are destined to serve as general rules of
conduct for belligerents in their relations with each other and with populations
.
It has not, however, been possible to agree forthwith on provisions embracing
all the circumstances which occur in practice.
On the other hand, it could not be intended by the High Contracting Parties
that the cases not provided for should, for want of a written provision,
be left to the arbitrary judgment of the military Commanders.
Until a more complete code of the laws of war is issued, the High Contracting
Parties think it right to declare that in cases not included in the Regulations
adopted by them, populations and belligerents remain under the protection
and empire of the principles of international law, as they result from the
usages established between civilized nations, from the laws of humanity,
and the requirements of the public conscience;
They declare that it is in this sense especially that Articles 1 and 2 of
the Regulations adopted must be understood;
The High Contracting Parties, desiring to conclude a Convention to this effect
, have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries, to wit:
[Here follow the names of plenipotentiaries.]
Who, after communication of their full powers, found in good and due form
, have agreed on the following:
Article 1
The High Contracting Parties 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.
Article 2
The provisions contained in the Regulations mentioned in Article 1 are only
binding on the Contracting Powers, in case of war between two or more of
them.
These provisions shall cease to be binding from the time when, in a war between
Contracting Powers, a non-Contracting Power joins one of the belligerents
.
Article 3
The present Convention shall be ratified as speedily as possible. The ratifications
shall be deposited at the Hague.
A proc鑣-verbal shall be drawn up recording the receipt of each ratification
, and a copy, duly certified, shall be sent through the diplomatic channel
, to all the Contracting Powers.
Article 4
Non-Signatory Powers are allowed to adhere to the present Convention.
For this purpose they must make their adhesion known to the Contracting Powers
by means of a written notification, addressed to the Netherland Government
, and by it communicated to all the other Contracting Powers.
Article 5
In the event of one of the High Contracting Parties denouncing the present
Convention, such denunciation would not take effect until a year after the
written notification made to the Netherland Government, and by it at once
communicated to all the other Contracting Powers.
This denunciation shall affect only the notifying Power.
In faith of which the Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention
and affixed their seals thereto.
Done at the Hague the 29th July 1899, in a single copy, which shall be kept
in the archives of the Netherland Government, and copies of which, duly
certified, shall be delivered to the Contracting Powers through the diplomatic
channel.
[Here follow signatures.]
Annex to the Convention
REGULATIONS RESPECTING THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND
SECTION I.--ON BELLIGERENTS
CHAPTER I.--On 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."
Article 2
The population of a territory which has not been occupied who, on the enemy
's approach, spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading troops without
having time to organize themselves in accordance with Article 1, shall be
regarded a belligerent, if they respect the laws and customs of war.
Article 3
The armed forces of the belligerent parties may consist of combatants and
non-combatants. In case of capture by the enemy both have a right to be
treated as prisoners of war.
CHAPTER II.--On Prisoners of War
Article 4
Prisoners of war are in the power of the hostile Government, but not in that
of the individuals or crops who captured them.
They must be humanely treated.
All their personal belongings, except arms, horses, and military papers remain
their property.
Article 5
Prisoners of war may be interned in a town, fortress, camp, or any other
locality, and bound not to go beyond certain fixed limits; but they can only
be confined as an indispensable measure of safety.
Article 6
The State may utilize the labor of prisoners of war according to their rank
and aptitude. Their tasks shall not be excessive, and shall have nothing
to do with the military operations.
Prisoners may be authorized to work for the Public Service, for private persons
, or on their own account.
Work done for the State shall be paid for according to the tariffs in force
for soldiers of the national army employed on similar tasks. When the work
is for other branches of the Public Service or for private persons, the
conditions shall be 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 at the time of their release, after deducting
the cost of their maintenance.
Article 7
The Government into whose hands prisoners of war have fallen is bound to
maintain them.
Failing a special agreement between the belligerents, prisoners of war shall
be treated as regards food, quarters, and clothing, on the same footing
as the troops of the Government which has captured them.
Article 8
Prisoners of war shall be subject to the laws, regulations, and orders in
force in the army of the State into whose hands they have fallen. Any act
of insubordination warrants the adoption, as regards them, of such measures
of severity as may be necessary.
Escaped prisoners, recaptured before they have succeeded in rejoining their
army, or before quitting the territory occupied by the army that captured
them, are liable to disciplinary punishment.
Prisoners who, after succeeding in escaping are again taken prisoners, are
not liable to any punishment for the previous flight.
Article 9
Every prisoner of war, if questioned, is bound to declare his true name and
rank, and if he disregards this rule, he is liable to a curtailment of the
advantages accorded to the prisoners of war of his class.
Article 10
Prisoners of war may be set at liberty on parole if the laws of their country
authorize it, and, in such a case, they are bound, on their personal honor
, scrupulously to fulfill, both as regards their own Government and the Government
by whom they were made prisoners, the engagements they have contracted.
In such cases, their own Government shall not require of nor accept from
them any service incompatible with the parole given.
Article 11
A prisoner of war can not be forced to accept his liberty on parole; similarly
the hostile Government is not obliged to assent to the prisoner's request
to be set at liberty on parole.
Article 12
Any prisoner of war, who is liberated on parole and recaptured, bearing arms
against the Government to whom he had pledged his honor, or against the
allies of that Government, forfeits his right to be treated as a prisoner
of war, and can be brought before the Courts.
Article 13
Individuals who follow an army without directly belonging to it, such as
newspaper correspondents and reporters, sutlers, contractors, who fall into
the enemy's hands, and whom the latter think fit to detain, have a right
to be treated as prisoners of war, provided they can produce a certificate
from the military authorities of the army they were accompanying.
Article 14
A Bureau for information relative to prisoners of war is instituted, on the
commencement of hostilities, in each of the belligerent States, and, when
necessary, in the neutral countries on whose territory belligerents have
been received. This Bureau is intended to answer all inquiries about prisoners
of war, and is furnished by the various services concerned with all the
necessary information to enable it to keep an individual return for each
prisoner of war. It is kept informed of interments and changes, as well as
of admissions into hospital and deaths.
It is also the duty of the Information Bureau to receive and collect all
objects of personal use, valuables, letters, etc., found on the battlefields
or left by prisoners who have died in hospital or ambulance, and to transmit
them to those interested.
Article 15
Relief Societies for prisoners of war, which are regularly constituted in
accordance with the law of the country with the object of serving as the
intermediary for charity, shall receive from the belligerents for themselves
and their duly accredited agents every facility, within the bounds of military
requirements and Administrative Regulations, for the effective accomplishment
of their humane task. Delegates of these Societies may be admitted to the
places of interment for the distribution of relief, as also to the halting
places of repatriated prisoners, if furnished with a personal permit by
the military authorities, and on giving an engagement in writing to comply
with all their Regulations for order and police.
Article 16
The Information Bureau shall have the privilege of free postage. Letters,
money orders, and valuables, as well as postal parcels destined for the
prisoners of war or dispatched by them, shall be free of all postal duties
both in the countries of origin and destination, as well as in those they
pass through.
Gifts and relief in kind for prisoners of war shall be admitted free of all
duties of entry and others, as well as of payments for carriage by the Government
railways.
Article 17
Officers taken prisoners may receive, if necessary, the full pay allowed
them in this position by their country's regulations, the amount to be repaid
by their Government.
Article 18
Prisoners of war shall enjoy every latitude in the exercise of their religion
, including attendance at their own church services, provided only they comply
with the regulations for order and police issued by the military authorities
.
Article 19
The wills of prisoners of war are received or drawn up on the same conditions
as for soldiers of the National Army.
The same rules shall be observed regarding death certificates, as well as
for the burial of prisoners of war, due regard being paid to their grade
and rank.
Article 20
After the conclusion of peace, the repatriation of prisoners of war shall
take place as speedily as possible.
CHAPTER III. -- On the Sick and Wounded
Article 21
The obligations of belligerents with regard to the sick and wounded are governed
by the Geneva Convention of the 22nd August, 1864, [FN:5 TS 377, ante] subject
to any modifications which may be introduced into it.
SECTION II. -- ON HOSTILITIES
CHAPTER I. -- On means of injuring the Enemy, Sieges, and Bombardments
Article 22
The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited
.
Article 23
Besides the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially
prohibited:--
(a.) To employ poison or poisoned arms;
(b.) To kill or wound treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile
nation or army;
(c.) To kill or wound an enemy who, having laid down arms, or having no longer
means of defence, has surrendered at discretion;
(d.) to declare that no quarter will be given;
(e.) To employ arms, projectiles, or material of a nature to cause superfluous
injury;
(f.) To make improper use of a flag of truce, the national flag, or military
ensigns and the enemy's uniform, as well as the distinctive badges of the
Geneva Convention;
(g.) To destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or
seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war.
Article 24
Ruses of war and the employment of methods necessary to obtain information
about the enemy and the country, are considered allowable.
Article 25
The attack or bombardment of towns, villages, habitations or buildings which
are not defended, is prohibited.
Article 26
The Commander of an attacking force, before commencing a bombardment, except
in the case of an assault, should do all he can to warn the authorities.
Article 27
In sieges and bombardments all necessary steps should be taken to spare as
far as possible edifices devoted to religion, art, science, and charity,
hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided
they are not used at the same time for military purposes. The besieged should
indicate these buildings or places by some particular and visible signs,
which should previously be notified to the assailants.
Article 28
The pillage of a town or place, even when taken by assault, is prohibited
.
CHAPTER II. -- On Spies
Article 29
An individual can only be considered a spy if, acting clandestinely, or on
false pretences, he obtains, or seeks to obtain information in the zone
of operations of a belligerent, with the intention of communicating it to
the hostile party.
Thus, soldiers not in disguise who have penetrated into the zone of operations
of a hostile army to obtain information are not considered spies. Similarly
, the following are not considered spies: soldiers or civilians, carrying
out their mission openly, charged with the delivery of despatches destined
either for their own army or for that of the enemy. To this class belong
likewise individuals sent in balloons to deliver despatches, and generally
to maintain communication between the various parts of an army or a territory
.
Article 30
A spy taken in the act cannot be punished without previous trial.
Article 31
A spy who, after rejoining the army to which he belongs, is subsequently
captured by the enemy, is treated as a prisoner of war, and incurs no responsibility
for his previous acts of espionage.
CHAPTER III -- On Flags of Truce
Article 32
An individual is considered a parlementaire who is authorized by one of the
belligerents to enter into communication with the other, and who carries
a white flag. He has a right to inviolability, as well as the trumpeter,
bugler, or drummer, the flag-bearer, and the interpreter who may accompany
him.
Article 33
The Chief to whom a flag of truce is sent is not obliged to receive it in
all circumstances.
He can take all steps necessary to prevent the envoy taking advantage of
his mission to obtain information.
In case of abuse, he has the right to detain the envoy temporarily.
Article 34
The envoy loses his rights of inviolability if it is proved beyond doubt
that he has taken advantage of his privileged position to provoke or commit
an act of treachery.
CHAPTER IV. -- On Capitulations
Article 35
Capitulations agreed on between the Contracting Parties must be in accordance
with the rules of military honor.
When once settled, they must be scrupulously observed by both the parties
.
CHAPTER V. -- On Armistices
Article 36
An armistice suspends military operations by mutual agreement between the
belligerent parties. If its duration is not fixed, the belligerent parties
can resume operations at any time, provided always the enemy is warned within
the time agreed upon, in accordance with the terms of the armistice.
Article 37
An armistice may be general or local. The first suspends all military operations
of the belligerent States; the second, only those between certain fractions
of the belligerent armies and in a fixed radius.
Article 38
An armistice must be notified officially, and in good time, to the competent
authorities and the troops. Hostilities are suspended immediately after
the notification, or at a fixed date.
Article 39
It is for the Contracting Parties to settle, in the terms of the armistice
, what communications may be held, on the theatre of war, with the population
and with each other.
Article 40
Any serious violation of the armistice by one of the parties gives the other
party the right to denounce it, and even, in case of urgency, to recommence
hostilities at once.
Article 41
A violation of the terms of the armistice by private individuals acting on
their own initiative, only confers the right of demanding the punishment
of the offenders, and, if necessary, indemnity for the losses sustained.
SECTION III. -- ON MILITARY AUTHORITY OVER HOSTILE TERRITORY
Article 42
Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority
of the hostile army.
The occupation applies only to the territory where such authority is established
, and in a position to assert itself.
Article 43
The authority of the legitimate power having actually passed into the hands
of the occupant, the latter shall take all steps in his power to re-establish
and insure, as far as possible, public order and safety, while respecting
, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country.
Article 44
Any compulsion of the population of occupied territory to take part in military
operations against its own country is prohibited.
Article 45
Any pressure on the population of occupied territory to take the oath to
the hostile Power is prohibited.
Article 46
Family honors and rights, individual lives and private property, as well
as religious convictions and liberty, must be respected. Private property
cannot be confiscated.
Article 47
Pillage is formally prohibited.
Article 48
If, in the territory occupied, the occupant collects the taxes, dues, and
tolls imposed for the benefit of the State, he shall do it, as far as possible
, in accordance with the rules in existence and the assessment in force,
and will in consequence be bound to defray the expenses of the administration
of the occupied territory on the same scale as that by which the legitimate
Government was bound.
Article 49
If, besides the taxes mentioned in the preceding Article, the occupant levies
other money taxes in the occupied territory, this can only be for military
necessities or the administration of such territory.
Article 50
No general penalty, pecuniary or otherwise, can be inflicted on the population
on account of the acts of individuals for which it cannot be regarded as
collectively responsible.
Article 51
No tax shall be collected except under a written order and on the responsibility
of a Commander-in-Chief.
This collection shall only take place, as far as possible, in accordance
with the rules in existence and the assessment of taxes in force.
For every payment a receipt shall be given to the taxpayer.
Article 52
Neither requisitions in kind nor services can be demanded from communes or
inhabitants except for the necessities of the army of occupation. They must
be in proportion to the resources of the country, and of such a nature as
not to involve the population in the obligation of taking part in military
operations against their country. These requisitions and services shall
only be demanded on the authority of the Commander in the locality occupied
.
The contributions in kind shall, as far as possible, be paid for in ready
money; if not, their receipt shall be acknowledged.
Article 53
An army of occupation can only take possession of the cash, funds, and property
liable to requisition belonging strictly to the State, depots of arms, means
of transport, stores and supplies, and, generally, all movable property
of the State which may be used for military operations. Railway plant, land
telegraphs, telephones, steamers, and other ships, apart from cases governed
by maritime law, as well as depots of arms and, generally, all kinds of
war material, even though belonging to Companies or to private persons, are
likewise material which may serve for military operations, but they must
be restored at the conclusion of peace, and indemnities paid for them.
Article 54
The plant of railways coming from neutral States, whether the property of
those States, or of Companies, or of private persons, shall be sent back
to them as soon as possible.
Article 55
The occupying State shall only be regarded as administrator and usufructuary
of the public buildings, real property, forests, and agricultural works
belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It
must protect the capital of these properties, and administer it according
to the rules of usufruct.
Article 56
The property of the communes, that of religious, charitable, and educational
institutions, and those of arts and science, even when State property, shall
be treated as private property.
All seizure of, and destruction, or intentional damage done to such institutions
, to historical monuments, works of art or science, is prohibited, and should
be made the subject of proceedings.
SECTION IV. -- ON THE INTERNMENT OF BELLIGERENTS AND THE CARE OF THE WOUNDED
IN NEUTRAL COUNTRIES
Article 57
A neutral State which receives in its territory troops belonging to the belligerent
armies shall intern them, as far as possible, at a distance from the theatre
of war.
It can keep them in camps, and even confine them in fortresses or locations
assigned for this purpose.
It shall decide whether officers may be left at liberty on giving their parole
that they will not leave the neutral territory without authorization.
Article 58
Failing a special Convention, the neutral State shall supply the interned
with the food, clothing, and relief required by humanity. At the conclusion
of peace, the expenses caused by the internment shall be made good.
Article 59
A neutral State may authorize the passage through its territory of wounded
or sick belonging to the belligerent armies, on condition that the trains
bringing them shall carry neither combatants nor war material. In such a
case, the neutral State is bound to adopt such measures of safety and control
as may be necessary for the purpose.
Wounded and sick brought under these conditions into neutral territory by
one of the belligerents, and belonging to the hostile party, must be guarded
by the neutral State, so as to insure their not taking part again in the
military operations. The same duty shall devolve on the neutral State with
regard to wounded or sick of the other army who may be committed to its
care.
Article 60
The Geneva Convention applies to sick and wounded interned in neutral territory
.
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