Section 52p. 52

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME II

applied, in particular, in cases of escape or attempt to

escape. Recaptured internees shall be handed over to the

competent authorities as soon as possible.

In

cases

of

offences against discipline, confinement

awaiting trial shall be reduced to an absolute minimum

for all internees, and shall not exceed fourteen days. Its

duration shall in any case be deducted from any sentence

of confinement.

The provisions of Articles 124 and 125 shall apply to

internees who are in confinement awaiting trial for

offences against discipline.

Art. 123. Without prejudice to the competence of courts

and higher authorities, disciplinary punishment may be

ordered

only

by

the

commandant

of

the

place

of

internment, or by a responsible officer or official who

replaces

him,

or

to

whom

he

has

delegated

his

disciplinary powers.

Before

any

disciplinary

punishment

is awarded, the

accused

internee

shall be given precise information

regarding the offences of which he is accused, and given

an

opportunity

of

explaining

his

conduct

and

of

defending himself. He shall be permitted, in particular, to

call witnesses and to have recourse, if necessary, to the

services of a qualified interpreter. The decision shall be

announced in the presence of the accused and of a

member of the Internee Committee.

The period elapsing between the time of award of a

disciplinary

punishment

and

its

execution

shall not

exceed one month.

When

an internee 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.

A record of disciplinary punishments shall be maintained

by the commandant of the place of internment and shall

be

open

to

inspection

by

representatives

of

the

Protecting Power.

Art. 124. Internees shall not in any case be transferred to

penitentiary

establishments

(prisons,

penitentiaries,

convict prisons, etc.) to undergo disciplinary punishment

therein.

The premises in which disciplinary punishments are

undergone shall conform

to sanitary requirements: they shall in particular be

provided with adequate bedding. Internees undergoing

punishment shall be enabled to keep themselves in a

state of cleanliness.

Women internees undergoing disciplinary punishment

shall

be

confined

in

separate

quarters

from

male

internees and shall be under the immediate supervision

of women.

Art. 125. Internees awarded disciplinary punishment shall

be allowed to exercise and to stay in the open air at least

two hours daily.

They shall be allowed, if they so request, to be present at

the daily medical inspections. They shall receive the

attention which their state of health requires and, if

necessary, shall be removed to the infirmary of the place

of internment or to a hospital.

They shall have permission to read and write, likewise to

send and receive letters. Parcels and remittances of

money, however, may be withheld from them until the

completion of their punishment; such consignments shall

meanwhile be entrusted to the Internee Committee, who

will hand over to the infirmary the perishable goods

contained in the parcels.

No internee given a disciplinary punishment may be

deprived of the benefit of the provisions of Articles 107

and 143 of the present Convention.

Art. 126. The provisions of Articles 71 to 76 inclusive shall

apply, by analogy, to proceedings against internees who

are in the national territory of the Detaining Power.

Chapter X. Transfers of Internees

Art. 127. The transfer of internees shall always be effected

humanely. As a general rule, it shall be carried out by rail

or other means of transport, and under conditions at least

equal to those obtaining for the forces of the Detaining

Power in their changes of station. If, as an exceptional

measure, such removals have to be effected on foot, they

may not take place unless the internees are in a fit state

of health, and may not in any case expose them to

excessive fatigue.

The

Detaining

Power

shall

supply

internees

during

transfer

with

drinking

water

and

food

sufficient

in

quantity, quality and variety to maintain them in good

health, and also with the necessary clothing, adequate

shelter

and

the

necessary

medical

attention.

The

Detaining Power shall take all suitable precautions to

ensure their safety during transfer, and shall establish

before their departure a complete list of all internees

transferred.

Sick, wounded or infirm internees and maternity cases

shall not be transferred if the journey would be seriously

detrimental to them, unless their safety imperatively so

demands.

If the combat zone draws close to a place of internment,

the internees in the said place shall not be transferred

unless their removal can be carried out in adequate

conditions of safety, or unless they are exposed to greater

risks by remaining on the spot than by being transferred.

When

making

decisions

regarding

the

transfer

of

internees, the Detaining Power shall take their interests

into account and, in particular, shall not do anything to

increase the difficulties of repatriating them or returning

them to their own homes.

Art. 128. In the event of transfer, internees shall be

officially advised of their departure and of their new

postal address. Such notification shall be given in time for

them to pack their luggage and inform their next of kin.

They shall be allowed to take with them their personal

effects, and the correspondence and parcels which have

arrived for them. The weight of such baggage may be

limited if the conditions of transfer so require, but in no

case to less than twenty-five kilograms per internee.

Mail and parcels addressed to their former place of

internment shall be forwarded to them without delay.

The commandant of the place of internment shall take, in

agreement with the Internee Committee, any measures

needed

to

ensure

the

transport

of

the

internees'

community property and of the luggage the internees

are

unable

to

take

with

them

in

consequence

of

restrictions imposed by virtue of the second paragraph.

Chapter XI. Deaths

Art. 129. The wills of internees shall be received for

safe-keeping by the responsible authorities; and if the

event of the death of an internee his will shall be

transmitted without delay to a person whom he has

previously designated.

Deaths of internees shall be certified in every case by a

doctor,

and

a

death

certificate

shall be made out,

showing the causes of death and the conditions under

which it occurred.

An official record of the death, duly registered, shall be

drawn up in accordance with the procedure relating

thereto in force in the territory where the place of

internment is situated, and a duly certified copy of such

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