Section 48p. 48

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME II

Chapter IV. Hygiene and Medical Attention

Art. 91. Every place of internment shall have an adequate

infirmary, under the direction of a qualified doctor, where

internees may have the attention they require, as well as

an appropriate diet. Isolation wards shall be set aside for

cases of contagious or mental diseases.

Maternity cases and internees suffering from serious

diseases, or whose condition requires special treatment, a

surgical operation or hospital care, must be admitted to

any institution where adequate treatment can be given

and shall receive care not inferior to that provided for the

general population.

Internees shall, for preference, have the attention of

medical personnel of their own nationality.

Internees

may

not

be

prevented

from

presenting

themselves to the medical authorities for examination.

The medical authorities of the Detaining Power shall,

upon request, issue to every internee who has undergone

treatment an official certificate showing the nature of his

illness or injury, and the duration and nature of the

treatment given. A duplicate of this certificate shall be

forwarded to the Central Agency provided for in Article

140.

Treatment,

including the provision of any apparatus

necessary for the maintenance of internees in good

health,

particularly

dentures

and

other

artificial

appliances and spectacles, shall be free of charge to the

internee.

Art. 92. Medical inspections of internees shall be made at

least once a month. Their purpose shall be, in particular,

to supervise the general state of health, nutrition and

cleanliness

of

internees,

and

to

detect

contagious

diseases, especially tuberculosis, malaria, and venereal

diseases. Such inspections shall include, in particular, the

checking of weight of each internee and, at least once a

year, radioscopic examination.

Chapter V. Religious, Intellectual and Physical Activities

Art. 93. Internees shall enjoy complete latitude in the

exercise of their religious duties, including attendance at

the services of their faith, on condition that they comply

with the disciplinary routine prescribed by the detaining

authorities.

Ministers of religion who are interned shall be allowed to

minister freely to the members of their community. For

this purpose the Detaining Power shall ensure their

equitable

allocation

amongst

the

various

places

of

internment in which there are internees speaking the

same language and belonging to the same religion.

Should

such

ministers

be

too

few

in

number,

the

Detaining Power shall provide them with the necessary

facilities, including means of transport, for moving from

one place to another, and they shall be authorized to visit

any internees who are in hospital. Ministers of religion

shall be at liberty to correspond on matters concerning

their ministry with the religious authorities in the country

of detention and, as far as possible, with the international

religious

organizations

of

their

faith.

Such

correspondence shall not be considered as forming a part

of the quota mentioned in Article 107. It shall, however, be

subject to the provisions of Article 112.

When

internees

do

not

have

at

their

disposal the

assistance of ministers of their faith, or should these latter

be too few in number, the local religious authorities of the

same faith may appoint, in agreement with the Detaining

Power, a minister of the internees' faith or, if such a

course is feasible from a denominational point of view, a

minister of similar religion or a qualified layman. The

latter shall enjoy the facilities granted to the ministry he

has assumed. Persons so appointed shall comply with all

regulations laid down by the Detaining Power in the

interests of discipline and security.

Art. 94. The Detaining Power shall encourage intellectual,

educational and recreational pursuits, sports and games

amongst internees, whilst leaving them free to take part

in them or not. It shall take all practicable measures to

ensure the exercice thereof, in particular by providing

suitable premises.

All possible facilities shall be granted to internees to

continue their studies or to take up new subjects. The

education of children and young people shall be ensured;

they shall be allowed to attend schools either within the

place of internment or outside.

Internees

shall

be

given

opportunities

for

physical

exercise, sports and outdoor games. For this purpose,

sufficient open spaces shall be set aside in all places of

internment. Special playgrounds shall be reserved for

children and young people.

Art. 95. The Detaining Power shall not employ internees

as workers, unless they so desire. Employment which, if

undertaken under compulsion by a protected person not

in internment, would involve a breach of Articles 40 or 51

of the present Convention, and employment on work

which is of a degrading or humiliating character are in

any case prohibited.

After a working period of six weeks, internees shall be free

to give up work at any moment, subject to eight days'

notice.

These provisions constitute no obstacle to the right of the

Detaining Power to employ interned doctors, dentists

and

other

medical

personnel

in

their

professional

capacity on behalf of their fellow internees, or to employ

internees for administrative and maintenance work in

places of internment and to detail such persons for work

in the kitchens or for other domestic tasks, or to require

such persons to undertake duties connected with the

protection of internees against aerial bombardment or

other war risks. No internee may, however, be required to

perform tasks for which he is, in the opinion of a medical

officer, physically unsuited.

The Detaining Power shall take entire responsibility for all

working

conditions,

for

medical

attention,

for

the

payment of wages, and for ensuring that all employed

internees

receive

compensation

for

occupational

accidents and diseases. The standards prescribed for the

said working conditions and for compensation shall be in

accordance with the national laws and regulations, and

with the existing practice; they shall in no case be inferior

to those obtaining for work of the same nature in the

same district. Wages for work done shall be determined

on an equitable basis by special agreements between the

internees, the Detaining Power, and, if the case arises,

employers other than the Detaining Power to provide for

free

maintenance

of

internees and for the medical

attention

which

their

state

of

health

may

require.

Internees permanently detailed for categories of work

mentioned in the third paragraph of this Article, shall be

paid fair wages by the Detaining Power. The working

conditions

and

the

scale

of

compensation

for

occupational accidents and diseases to internees, thus

detailed, shall not be inferior to those applicable to work

of the same nature in the same district.

Art.96. All labour detachments shall remain part of and

dependent upon a place of internment. The competent

authorities of the Detaining Power and the commandant

of a place of internment shall be responsible for the

observance in a labour detachment of the provisions of

the present Convention. The commandant shall keep an

up-to-date list of the labour detachments subordinate to

him and shall communicate it to the delegates of the

Protecting Power, of the International Committee of the

Red Cross and of other humanitarian organizations who

may visit the places of internment.

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