Section 29p. 29

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME II

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.

Art 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.

Art 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.

Art 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.

Art 86. No prisoner of war may be punished more than

once for the same act or on the same charge.

Art 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.

Art 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

Art

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.

Art 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.

Art 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.

Art 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.

Art 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

© Compiled by RGL

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