Section 56p. 56

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME II

(d) they shall not be situated in areas which, according to

every probability, may become important for the conduct

of the war.

Art. 5. Hospital and safety zones shall be subject to the

following obligations:

(a) the lines of communication and means of transport

which they possess shall not be used for the transport of

military personnel or material, even in transit

(b) they shall in no case be defended by military means.

Art. 6. Hospital and safety zones shall be marked by

means of oblique red bands on a white ground, placed on

the buildings and outer precincts.

Zones reserved exclusively for the wounded and sick may

be marked by means of the Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red

Lion and Sun) emblem on a white ground.

They may be similarly marked at night by means of

appropriate illumination.

Art. 7. The Powers shall communicate to all the High

Contracting Parties in peacetime or on the outbreak of

hostilities, a list of the hospital and safety zones in the

territories governed by them. They shall also give notice of

any new zones set up during hostilities.

As

soon

as

the

adverse

party

has

received

the

above-mentioned notification, the zone shall be regularly

established.

If,

however,

the

adverse

party

considers

that

the

conditions of the present agreement have not been

fulfilled, it may refuse to recognize the zone by giving

immediate notice thereof to the Party responsible for the

said zone, or may make its recognition of such zone

dependent upon the institution of the control provided

for in Article 8.

Art. 8. Any Power having recognized one or several

hospital and safety zones instituted by the adverse Party

shall be entitled to demand control by one or more

Special Commissions, for the purpose of ascertaining if

the zones fulfil the conditions and obligations stipulated

in the present agreement.

For this purpose, members of the Special Commissions

shall at all times have free access to the various zones and

may even reside there permanently. They shall be given

all facilities for their duties of inspection.

Art. 9. Should the Special Commissions note any facts

which they consider contrary to the stipulations of the

present agreement, they shall at once draw the attention

of the Power governing the said zone to these facts, and

shall fix a time limit of five days within which the matter

should be rectified. They shall duly notify the Power

which has recognized the zone.

If, when the time limit has expired, the Power governing

the zone has not complied with the warning, the adverse

Party may declare that it is no longer bound by the

present agreement in respect of the said zone.

Art. 10. Any Power setting up one or more hospital and

safety zones, and the adverse Parties to whom their

existence has been notified, shall nominate or have

nominated by the Protecting Powers or by other neutral

Powers, persons eligible to be members of the Special

Commissions mentioned in Articles 8 and 9.

Art. 11. In no circumstances may hospital and safety zones

be the object of attack. They shall be protected and

respected at all times by the Parties to the conflict.

Art. 12. In the case of occupation of a territory, the hospital

and safety zones therein shall continue to be respected

and utilized as such.

Their

purpose

may,

however,

be

modified

by

the

Occupying Power, on condition that all measures are

taken to ensure the safety of the persons accommodated.

Art. 13. The present agreement shall also apply to localities

which the Powers may utilize for the same purposes as

hospital and safety zones.

Annex II. Draft Regulations concerning

Collective Relief

Article 1. The Internee Committees shall be allowed to

distribute collective relief shipments for which they are

responsible

to

all

internees who are dependent for

administration

on

the

said

Committee's

place

of

internment,

including

those

internees

who

are

in

hospitals,

or

in

prison

or

other

penitentiary

establishments.

Art. 2. The distribution of collective relief shipments shall

be effected in accordance with the instructions of the

donors and with a plan drawn up by the Internee

Committees. The issue of medical stores shall, however,

be made for preference in agreement with the senior

medical officers, and the latter may, in hospitals and

infirmaries, waive the said instructions, if the needs of

their patients so demand. Within the limits thus defined,

the distribution shall always be carried out equitably.

Art. 3. Members of Internee Committees shall be allowed

to go to the railway stations or other points of arrival of

relief supplies near their places of internment so as to

enable them to verify the quantity as well as the quality of

the goods received and to make out detailed reports

thereon for the donors.

Art. 4. Internee Committees shall be given the facilities

necessary

for

verifying

whether

the

distribution

of

collective relief in all subdivisions and annexes of their

places of internment has been carried out in accordance

with their instructions.

Art. 5. Internee Committees shall be allowed to complete,

and to cause to be completed by members of the

Internee Committees in labour detachments or by the

senior medical officers of infirmaries and hospitals, forms

or questionnaires intended for the donors, relating to

collective

relief

supplies

(distribution,

requirements,

quantities, etc.). Such forms and questionnaires, duly

completed, shall be forwarded to the donors without

delay.

Art. 6. In order to secure the regular distribution of

collective relief supplies to the internees in their place of

internment, and to meet any needs that may arise

through the arrival of fresh parties of internees, the

Internee Committees shall be allowed to create and

maintain sufficient reserve stocks of collective relief. For

this purpose, they shall have suitable warehouses at their

disposal; each warehouse shall be provided with two

locks, the Internee Committee holding the keys of one

lock, and the commandant of the place of internment the

keys of the other.

Art. 7. The High Contracting Parties, and the Detaining

Powers in particular, shall, so far as is in any way possible

and subject to the regulations governing the food supply

of the population, authorize purchases of goods to be

made in their territories for the distribution of collective

relief to the internees. They shall likewise facilitate the

transfer of funds and other financial measures of a

technical or administrative nature taken for the purpose

of making such purchases.

Art. 8. The foregoing provisions shall not constitute an

obstacle to the right of internees to receive collective

relief before their arrival in a place of internment or in the

course

of

their

transfer,

nor

to

the

possibility

of

representatives

of

the

Protecting

Power,

or

of

the

International Committee of the Red Cross or any other

humanitarian organization giving assistance to internees

and responsible for forwarding such supplies, ensuring

the distribution thereof to the recipients by any other

means they may deem suitable.

© Compiled by RGL

56 of 163