International Law Part 47

+Chapter III.+ _Of the Means of injuring the Enemy; of those which are permitted or should be forbidden_

+Art. 12.+ The laws of war do not allow to belligerents an unlimited power as to the choice of means of injuring the enemy.

+Art. 13.+ According to this principle are strictly forbidden:

(_a_) The use of poison or poisoned weapons.

(_b_) Murder by treachery of individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army.

(_c_) Murder of an antagonist who, having laid down his arms, or having no longer the means of defending himself, has surrendered at discretion.

(_d_) The declaration that no quarter will be given.

(_e_) The use of arms, projectiles, or substances which may cause unnecessary suffering, as well as the use of the projectiles prohibited by the declaration of St. Petersburg in 1868.[499]

(_f_) Abuse of the flag of truce, the national flag, or the military insignia or uniform of the enemy, as well as the distinctive badges of the Geneva Convention.

(_g_) All destruction or seizure of the property of the enemy which is not imperatively required by the necessity of war.

+Art. 14.+ Stratagems and the employment of means necessary to procure intelligence respecting the enemy or the country (subject to the provisions of Art. 36), are considered as lawful means.

+Chapter IV.+ _Of Sieges and Bombardments_

+Art. 15.+ Fortified places are alone liable to be besieged. Towns, agglomerations of houses or villages, which are open and undefended, cannot be attacked or bombarded.

+Art. 16.+ But if a town or fortress, agglomeration of houses, or village be defended, the commander of the attacking forces should, before commencing a bombardment, and except in the case of surprise, do all in his power to warn the authorities.

+Art. 17.+ In the like case all necessary steps should be taken to spare, as far as possible, buildings devoted to religion, arts, sciences, and charity, hospitals and places where sick and wounded are collected, on condition that they are not used at the same time for military purposes.

It is the duty of the besieged to indicate these buildings by special visible signs to be notified beforehand by the besieged.

+Art. 18.+ A town taken by storm should not be given up to the victorious troops to plunder.

+Chapter V.+ _Of Spies_

+Art. 19.+ No one shall be considered as a spy but those who, acting secretly or under false pretenses, collect, or try to collect information in districts occupied by the enemy with the intention of communicating it to the opposing force.

+Art. 20.+ A spy, if taken in the act, shall be tried and treated according to the laws in force in the army which captures him.

+Art. 21.+ If a spy, who rejoins the army to which he belongs, is subsequently captured by the enemy, he is to be treated as a prisoner of war, and incurs no responsibility for his previous acts.

+Art. 22.+ Military men who have penetrated within the zone of operations of the enemy's army, with the intention of collecting information, are not considered as spies if it has been possible to recognize their military character.

In like manner military men (and also non-military persons carrying out their mission openly), charged with the transmission of dispatches either to their own army or to that of the enemy, shall not be considered as spies if captured by the enemy.

To this cla.s.s belong also, if captured, individuals sent in balloons to carry dispatches, and generally to keep up communications between the different parts of an army, or of a territory.

+Chapter VI.+ _Of Prisoners of War_

+Art. 23.+ Prisoners of war are lawful and disarmed enemies. They are in the power of the enemy's Government but not of the individuals or of the corps who made them prisoners.

They should be treated with humanity.

Every act of insubordination authorizes the necessary measures of severity to be taken with regard to them.

All their personal effects, except their arms, are considered to be their own property.

+Art. 24.+ Prisoners of war are liable to internment in a town, fortress, camp, or in any locality whatever, under an obligation not to go beyond certain fixed limits; but they may not be placed in confinement unless absolutely necessary as a measure of security.

+Art. 25.+ Prisoners of war may be employed on certain public works which have no immediate connection with the operations on the theater of war, provided the employment be not excessive nor humiliating to their military rank, if they belong to the army, or to their official or social position if they do not belong to it.

They may also, subject to such regulations as may be drawn up by the military authorities, undertake private work.

The pay they receive will go towards ameliorating their position, or will be put to their credit at the time of their release. In this case the cost of their maintenance may be deducted from their pay.

+Art. 26.+ Prisoners of war cannot be compelled in any way to take any part whatever in carrying on the operations of the war.

+Art. 27.+ The Government in whose power are the prisoners of war, undertakes to provide for their maintenance.

The conditions of such maintenance may be settled by a mutual understanding between the belligerents.

In default of such an understanding, and as a general principle, prisoners of war shall be treated, as regards food and clothing, on the same footing as the troops of the Government who made them prisoners.

+Art. 28.+ Prisoners of war are subject to the laws and regulations in force in the army in whose power they are.

Arms may be used, after summoning, against a prisoner attempting to escape. If retaken, he is subject to summary punishment or to a stricter surveillance.

If after having escaped he is again made prisoner, he is not liable to any punishment for his previous escape.

+Art. 29.+ Every prisoner is bound to declare, if interrogated on the point, his true names and rank; and in the case of his infringing this rule, he will incur a restriction of the advantages granted to the prisoners of the cla.s.s to which he belongs.

+Art. 30.+ The exchange of prisoners of war is regulated by mutual agreement between the belligerents.

+Art. 31.+ Prisoners of war may be released on parole if the laws of their country allow of it; and in such a case they are bound on their personal honor to fulfill scrupulously, as regards their own Government, as well as that which made them prisoners, the engagements they have undertaken.

In the same case their own Government should neither demand nor accept from them any service contrary to their parole.

+Art. 32.+ A prisoner of war cannot be forced to accept release on parole, nor is the enemy's Government obliged to comply with the request of a prisoner claiming to be released on parole.

+Art. 33.+ Every prisoner of war liberated on parole, and retaken carrying arms against the Government to which he had pledged his honor, may be deprived of the rights accorded to prisoners of war, and may be brought before the tribunals.

+Art. 34.+ Persons in the vicinity of armies, but who do not directly form part of them, such as correspondents, newspaper reporters, _vivandiers_, contractors, etc., may also be made prisoners of war.

These persons should, however, be furnished with a permit, issued by a competent authority, as well as with a certificate of ident.i.ty.