Section 25p. 25

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME II

No prisoner of war shall be assigned to labour which

would be looked upon as humiliating for a member of the

Detaining Power's own forces.

The

removal

of

mines

or

similar

devices

shall

be

considered as dangerous labour.

Art 53. The duration of the daily labour of prisoners of war,

including the time of the journey to and fro, shall not be

excessive, and must in no case exceed that permitted for

civilian workers in the district, who are nationals of the

Detaining Power and employed on the same work.

Prisoners of war must be allowed, in the middle of the

day's work, a rest of not less than one hour. This rest will

be the same as that to which workers of the Detaining

Power are entitled, if the latter is of longer duration. They

shall

be

allowed

in

addition

a

rest

of

twenty-four

consecutive hours every week, preferably on Sunday or

the day of rest in their country of origin. Furthermore,

every prisoner who has worked for one year shall be

granted a rest of eight consecutive days, during which his

working pay shall be paid him.

If methods of labour such as piece work are employed,

the length of the working period shall not be rendered

excessive thereby.

Art 54. The working pay due to prisoners of war shall be

fixed in accordance with the provisions of Article 62 of the

present Convention.

Prisoners of war who sustain accidents in connection

with work, or who contract a disease in the course, or in

consequence of their work, shall receive all the care their

condition

may

require.

The

Detaining

Power

shall

furthermore deliver to such prisoners of war a medical

certificate enabling them to submit their claims to the

Power on which they depend, and shall send a duplicate

to the Central Prisoners of War Agency provided for in

Article 123.

Art 55. The fitness of prisoners of war for work shall be

periodically verified by medical examinations at least

once a month. The examinations shall have particular

regard to the nature of the work which prisoners of war

are required to do.

If any prisoner of war considers himself incapable of

working, he shall be permitted to appear before the

medical authorities of his camp. Physicians or surgeons

may recommend that the prisoners who are, in their

opinion, unfit for work, be exempted therefrom.

Art 56. The organization and administration of labour

detachments shall be similar to those of prisoner of war

camps.

Every labour detachment shall remain under the control

of and administratively part of a prisoner of war camp.

The military authorities and the commander of the said

camp shall be responsible, under the direction of their

government, for the observance of the provisions of the

present Convention in labour detachments.

The camp commander shall keep an up-to-date record of

the labour detachments dependent on his camp, and

shall communicate it to the delegates of the Protecting

Power, of the International Committee of the Red Cross,

or of other agencies giving relief to prisoners of war, who

may visit the camp.

Art 57. The treatment of prisoners of war who work for

private persons, even if the latter are responsible for

guarding and protecting them, shall not be inferior to

that which is provided for by the present Convention. The

Detaining

Power,

the

military

authorities

and

the

commander of the camp to which such prisoners belong

shall be entirely responsible for the maintenance, care,

treatment, and payment of the working pay of such

prisoners of war.

Such prisoners of war shall have the right to remain in

communication with the prisoners' representatives in the

camps on which they depend.

Section IV. Financial Resources of Prisoners of War

Art 58. Upon the outbreak of hostilities, and pending an

arrangement on this matter with the Protecting Power,

the

Detaining Power may determine the maximum

amount of money in cash or in any similar form, that

prisoners may have in their possession. Any amount in

excess, which was properly in their possession and which

has been taken or withheld from them, shall be placed to

their account, together with any monies deposited by

them, and shall not be converted into any other currency

without their consent.

If prisoners of war are permitted to purchase services or

commodities outside the camp against payment in cash,

such payments shall be made by the prisoner himself or

by the camp administration who will charge them to the

accounts

of the prisoners concerned. The Detaining

Power will establish the necessary rules in this respect.

Art 59. Cash which was taken from prisoners of war, in

accordance with Article 18, at the time of their capture,

and which is in the currency of the Detaining Power, shall

be placed to their separate accounts, in accordance with

the provisions of Article 64 of the present Section.

The amounts, in the currency of the Detaining Power, due

to the conversion of sums in other currencies that are

taken from the prisoners of war at the same time, shall

also be credited to their separate accounts.

Art 60. The Detaining Power shall grant all prisoners of

war a monthly advance of pay, the amount of which shall

be fixed by conversion, into the currency of the said

Power, of the following amounts:

Category I : Prisoners ranking below sergeants: eight

Swiss francs.

Category II : Sergeants and other non-commissioned

officers, or prisoners of equivalent rank: twelve Swiss

francs.

Category III: Warrant officers and commissioned officers

below the rank of major or prisoners of equivalent rank:

fifty Swiss francs.

Category

IV : Majors, lieutenant-colonels, colonels or

prisoners of equivalent rank: sixty Swiss francs.

Category V : General officers or prisoners of war of

equivalent rank: seventy-five Swiss francs.

However, the Parties to the conflict concerned may by

special agreement modify the amount of advances of pay

due to prisoners of the preceding categories.

Furthermore,

if

the

amounts

indicated

in

the

first

paragraph above would be unduly high compared with

the pay of the Detaining Power's armed forces or would,

for any reason, seriously embarrass the Detaining Power,

then, pending the conclusion of a special agreement with

the Power on which the prisoners depend to vary the

amounts indicated above, the Detaining Power:

(a) shall continue to credit the accounts of the prisoners

with the amounts indicated in the first paragraph above;

(b) may temporarily limit the amount made available

from these advances of pay to prisoners of war for their

own use, to sums which are reasonable, but which, for

Category I, shall never be inferior to the amount that the

Detaining Power gives to the members of its own armed

forces.

The reasons for any limitations will be given without delay

to the Protecting Power.

Art 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

© Compiled by RGL

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