Section 35p. 35

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME II

Art 129. The High Contracting Parties undertake to enact

any

legislation

necessary

to

provide

effective

penal

sanctions for persons committing, or ordering to be

committed, any of the grave breaches of the present

Convention defined in the following Article.

Each

High

Contracting

Party

shall

be

under

the

obligation

to

search

for

persons

alleged

to

have

committed. or to have ordered to be committed, such

grave breaches, and shall bring such persons, regardless

of their nationality, before its own courts. It may also, if it

prefers, and in accordance with the provisions of its own

legislation, hand such persons over for trial to another

High Contracting Party concerned, provided such High

Contracting Party has made out a prima facie case.

Each

High

Contracting

Party

shall

take

measures

necessary for the suppression of all acts contrary to the

provisions of the present Convention other than the grave

breaches defined in the following Article.

In all circumstances, the accused persons shall benefit by

safeguards of proper trial and defence, which shall not be

less favourable than those provided by Article 105 and

those following of the present Convention.

Art 130. Grave breaches to which the preceding Article

relates shall be those involving any of the following acts, if

committed against persons or property protected by the

Convention: wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment,

including biological experiments, wilfully causing great

suffering or serious injury to body or health, compelling a

prisoner of war to serve in the forces of the hostile Power,

or wilfully depriving a prisoner of war of the rights of fair

and regular trial prescribed in this Convention.

Art 131. No High Contracting Party shall be allowed to

absolve itself or any other High Contracting Party of any

liability incurred by itself or by another High Contracting

Party in respect of breaches referred to in the preceding

Article.

Art 132. At the request of a Party to the conflict, an enquiry

shall be instituted, in a manner to be decided between

the interested Parties, concerning any alleged violation of

the Convention.

If agreement has not been reached concerning the

procedure for the enquiry, the Parties should agree on

the choice of an umpire who will decide upon the

procedure to be followed.

Once the violation has been established, the Parties to

the conflict shall put an end to it and shall repress it with

the least possible delay.

Section II. Final Provisions

Art 133. The present Convention is established in English

and in French. Both texts are equally authentic.

The

Swiss

Federal

Council

shall

arrange

for

official

translations of the Convention to be made in the Russian

and Spanish languages.

Art 134. The present Convention replaces the Convention

of July 27, 1929, in relations between the High Contracting

Parties.

Art 135. In the relations between the Powers which are

bound by the Hague Convention respecting the Laws

and Customs of War on Land, whether that of July 29,

1899, or that of October 18, 1907, and which are parties to

the present Convention, this last Convention shall be

complementary to Chapter II of the Regulations annexed

to th above-mentioned Conventions of the Hague.

Art 136. The present Convention, which bears the date of

this day, is open to signature until February 12, 1950, in the

name of the Powers represented at the Conference which

opened at Geneva on April 21, 1949; furthermore, by

Powers not represented at that Conference, but which

are parties to the Convention of July 27, 1929.

Art 137. The present Convention shall be ratified as soon

as possible and the ratifications shall be deposited at

Berne.

A record shall be drawn up of the deposit of each

instrument of ratification and certified copies of this

record shall be transmitted by the Swiss Federal Council

to all the Powers in whose name the Convention has

been signed, or whose accession has been notified.

Art 138. The present Convention shall come into force six

months after not less than two instruments of ratification

have been deposited.

Thereafter,

it

shall

come

into

force

for

each

High

Contracting Party six months after the deposit of the

instrument of ratification.

Art 139. From the date of its coming into force, it shall be

open

to

any

Power

in

whose

name

the

present

Convention has not been signed, to accede to this

Convention.

Art 140. Accessions shall be notified in writing to the Swiss

Federal Council, and shall take effect six months after the

date on which they are received.

The

Swiss

Federal

Council

shall

communicate

the

accessions

to

all

the

Powers

in

whose

name

the

Convention has been signed, or whose accession has

been notified.

Art 141. The situations provided for in Articles 2 and 3 shall

give immediate effect to ratifications deposited and

accessions notified by the Parties to the conflict before or

after the beginning of hostilities or occupation. The Swiss

Federal

Council

shall

communicate

by the quickest

method any ratifications or accessions received from

Parties to the conflict.

Art 142. Each of the High Contracting Parties shall be at

liberty to denounce the present Convention.

The denunciation shall be notified in writing to the Swiss

Federal

Council,

which

shall

transmit

it

to

the

Governments of all the High Contracting Parties.

The denunciation shall take effect one year after the

notification thereof has been made to the Swiss Federal

Council. However, a denunciation of which notification

has been made at a time when the denouncing Power is

involved in a conflict shall not take effect until peace has

been concluded, and until after operations connected

with release and repatriation of the persons protected by

the present Convention have been terminated.

The denunciation shall have effect only in respect of the

denouncing

Power.

It

shall

in

no

way

impair

the

obligations which the Parties to the conflict shall remain

bound to fulfil by virtue of the principles of the law of

nations,

as they result from the usages established

among civilized peoples, from the laws of humanity and

the dictates of the public conscience.

Art 143. The Swiss Federal Council shall register the

present Convention with the Secretariat of the United

Nations. The Swiss Federal Council shall also inform the

Secretariat of the United Nations of all ratifications,

accessions and denunciations received by it with respect

to the present Convention.

IN

WITNESS

WHEREOF

the

undersigned,

having

deposited their respective full powers, have signed the

present Convention.

DONE at Geneva this twelfth day of August 1949, in the

English and French languages. The original shall be

deposited in the Archives of the Swiss Confederation. The

Swiss

Federal Council shall transmit certified copies

thereof to each of the signatory and acceding States.

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