Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 118
L.N.T.S. 343,
Part I - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Article 4
PART II - CAPTURE
Article 5
Article 6
PART III - CAPTIVITY
SECTION I - EVACUATION OF PRISONERS OF WAR
Article 7
Article 8
SECTION II - PRISONERS OF WAR CAMPS
Article 9
CHAPTER 1 - Installation of camps
Article 10
CHAPTER 2 - Food and clothing of prisoners of war
Article 11
Article 12
CHAPTER 3 - Hygiene in camps
Article 13
Article 14
Article 15
CHAPTER 4 - Intellectual and moral needs of prisoners of war
Article 16
Article 17
CHAPTER 5 - Internal discipline of camps
Article 18
Article 19
Article 20
CHAPTER 6 - Special provisions concerning officers and persons of equivalent status
Article 21
Article 22
CHAPTER 7 - Pecuniary resources of prisoners of war
Article 23
Article 24
CHAPTER 8 - Transfer of prisoners of war
Article 25
Article 26
SECTION III - WORK OF PRISONERS OF WAR
CHAPTER 1 - General
Article 27
CHAPTER 2 - Organization of work
Article 28
Article 29
Article 30
CHAPTER 3 - Prohibited work
Article 31
Article 32
CHAPTER 4 - Labour detachments
Article 33
CHAPTER 5 - Pay
Article 34
PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. (back to the top)
The present Convention shall apply without prejudice to the stipulations of
Part VII:
(1) To all persons referred to in Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Regulations
annexed to the Hague Convention (IV) of 18 October 1907, concerning the Laws
and Customs of War on Land, who are captured by the enemy. (2) To all persons
belonging to the armed forces of belligerents who are captured by the enemy in
the course of operations of maritime or aerial war, subject to such exceptions
(derogations) as the conditions of such capture render inevitable.
Nevertheless these exceptions shall not infringe the fundamental principles of
the present Convention; they shall cease from the moment when the captured
persons shall have reached a prisoners of war camp.
Article 2. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war are in the power of the hostile Government, but not of the
individuals or formation which captured them.
They shall at all times be humanely treated and protected, particularly
against acts of violence, from insults and from public curiosity.
Measures of reprisal against them are forbidden.
Article 3. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war are entitled to respect for their persons and honour.
Women shall be treated with all consideration due to their sex.
Prisoners retain their full civil capacity.
Article 4. (back to the top)
The detaining Power is required to provide for the maintenance of prisoners
of war in its charge. Differences of treatment between prisoners are
permissible only if such differences are based on the military rank, the state
of physical or mental health, the professional abilities, or the sex of those
who benefit from them.
PART II
CAPTURE
Article 5. (back to the top)
Every prisoner of war is required to declare, if he is interrogated on the
subject, his true names and rank, or his regimental number.
If he infringes this rule, he exposes himself to a restriction of the
privileges accorded to prisoners of his category.
No pressure shall be exercised on prisoners to obtain information regarding
the situation in their armed forces or their country. Prisoners who refuse to
reply may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to unpleasantness or
disadvantages of any kind whatsoever.
If, by reason of his physical or mental condition, a prisoner is incapable
of stating his identity, he shall be handed over to the Medical Service.
Article 6. (back to the top)
All personal effects and articles in personal use -- except arms, horses,
military equipment and military papers -- shall remain in the possession of
prisoners of war, as well as their metal helmets and gas-masks.
Sums of money carried by prisoners may only be taken from them on the order
of an officer and after the amount has been recorded. A receipt shall be given
for them. Sums thus impounded shall be placed to the account of each prisoner.
Their identity tokens, badges of rank, decorations and articles of value
may not be taken from prisoners.
PART III
CAPTIVITY
SECTION I - EVACUATION OF PRISONERS OF WAR
Article 7. (back to the top)
As soon as possible after their capture, prisoners of war shall be
evacuated to depots sufficiently removed from the fighting zone for them to be
out of danger.
Only prisoners who, by reason of their wounds or maladies, would run
greater risks by being evacuated than by remaining may be kept temporarily in
a dangerous zone. Prisoners shall not be unnecessarily exposed to danger while
awaiting evacuation from a fighting zone. The evacuation of prisoners on foot
shall in normal circumstances be effected by stages of not more than 20
kilometres per day, unless the necessity for reaching water and food depôts
requires longer stages.
Article 8. (back to the top)
Belligerents are required to notify each other of all captures of prisoners
as soon as possible, through the intermediary of the Information Bureaux
organised in accordance with Article 77. They are likewise required to inform
each other of the official addresses to which letter from the prisoners'
families may be addressed to the prisoners of war.
As soon as possible, every prisoner shall be enabled to correspond
personally with his family, in accordance with the conditions prescribed in
Article 36 and the following Articles.
As regards prisoners captured at sea, the provisions of the present article
shall be observed as soon as possible after arrival in port.
SECTION II - PRISONERS OF WAR CAMPS
Article 9. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war may be interned in a town, fortress or other place, and
may be required not to go beyond certain fixed limits. They may also be
interned in fenced camps; they shall not be confined or imprisoned except as a
measure indispensable for safety or health, and only so long as circumstances
exist which necessitate such a measure.
Prisoners captured in districts which are unhealthy or whose climate is
deleterious to persons coming from temperate climates shall be removed as soon
as possible to a more favourable climate.
Belligerents shall as far as possible avoid bringing together in the same
camp prisoners of different races or nationalities.
No prisoner may at any time be sent to an area where he would be exposed to
the fire of the fighting zone, or be employed to render by his presence
certain points or areas immune from bombardment.
CHAPTER 1 - Installation of camps
Article 10. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war shall be lodged in buildings or huts which afford all
possible safeguards as regards hygiene and salubrity.
The premises must be entirely free from damp, and adequately heated and
lighted. All precautions shall be taken against the danger of fire.
As regards dormitories, their total area, minimum cubic air space, fittings
and bedding material, the conditions shall be the same as for the depot troops
of the detaining Power.
CHAPTER 2 - Food and clothing of prisoners of war
Article 11. (back to the top)
The food ration of prisoners of war shall be equivalent in quantity and
quality to that of the depot troops.
Prisoners shall also be afforded the means of preparing for themselves such
additional articles of food as they may possess.
Sufficient drinking water shall be supplied to them. The use of tobacco
shall be authorized. Prisoners may be employed in the kitchens.
All collective disciplinary measures affecting food are prohibited.
Article 12. (back to the top)
Clothing, underwear and footwear shall be supplied to prisoners of war by
the detaining Power. The regular replacement and repair of such articles shall
be assured. Workers shall also receive working kit wherever the nature of the
work requires it.
In all camps, canteens shall be installed at which prisoners shall be able
to procure, at the local market price, food commodities and ordinary articles.
The profits accruing to the administrations of the camps from the canteens
shall be utilised for the benefit of the prisoners.
CHAPTER 3 - Hygiene in camps
Article 13. (back to the top)
Belligerents shall be required to take all necessary hygienic measures to
ensure the cleanliness and salubrity of camps and to prevent epidemics.
Prisoners of war shall have for their use, day and night, conveniences
which conform to the rules of hygiene and are maintained in a constant state
of cleanliness. In addition and without prejudice to the provision as far as
possible of baths and shower-baths in the camps, the prisoners shall be
provided with a sufficient quantity of water for their bodily cleanliness.
They shall have facilities for engaging in physical exercises and obtaining
the benefit of being out of doors.
Article 14. (back to the top)
Each camp shall possess an infirmary, where prisoners of war shall receive
attention of any kind of which they may be in need. If necessary, isolation
establishments shall be reserved for patients suffering from infectious and
contagious diseases.
The expenses of treatment, including those of temporary remedial apparatus,
shall be borne by the detaining Power.
Belligerents shall be required to issue, on demand, to any prisoner
treated, and official statement indicating the nature and duration of his
illness and of the treatment received.
It shall be permissible for belligerents mutually to authorize each other,
by means of special agreements, to retain in the camps doctors and medical
orderlies for the purpose of caring for their prisoner compatriots. Prisoners
who have contracted a serious malady, or whose condition necessitates
important surgical treatment, shall be admitted, at the expense of the
detaining Power, to any military or civil institution qualified to treat them.
Article 15. (back to the top)
Medical inspections of prisoners of war shall be arranged at least once a
month. Their object shall be the supervision of the general state of health
and cleanliness, and the detection of infectious and contagious diseases.,
particularly tuberculosis and venereal complaints.
CHAPTER 4 - Intellectual and moral needs of prisoners of war
Article 16. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war shall be permitted complete freedom in the performance of
their religious duties, including attendance at the services of their faith,
on the sole condition that they comply with the routine and police regulations
prescribed by the military authorities. Ministers of religion, who are
prisoners of war, whatever may be their denomination, shall be allowed freely
to minister to their co-religionists.
Article 17. (back to the top)
belligerents shall encourage as much as possible the organization of
intellectual and sporting pursuits by the prisoners of war.
CHAPTER 5 - Internal discipline of camps
Article 18. (back to the top)
Each prisoners of war camp shall be placed under the authority of a
responsible officer.
In addition to external marks of respect required by the regulations in
force in their own armed forces with regard to their nationals, prisoners of
war shall be required to salute all officers of the detaining Power. Officer
prisoners of war shall be required to salute only officers of that Power who
are their superiors or equals in rank.
Article 19. (back to the top)
The wearing of badges of rank and decorations shall be permitted.
Article 20. (back to the top)
Regulations, orders, announcements and publications of any kind shall be
communicated to prisoners of war in a language which they understand. The same
principle shall be applied to questions.
CHAPTER 6 - Special provisions concerning officers and persons of equivalent status
Article 21. (back to the top)
At the commencement of hostilities, belligerents shall be required
reciprocally to inform each other of the titles and ranks in use in their
respective armed forces, with the view of ensuring equality of treatment
between the corresponding ranks of officers and persons of equivalent status.
Officers and persons of equivalent status who are prisoners of war shall be
treated with due regard to their rank and age.
Article 22. (back to the top)
In order to ensure the service of officers' camps, soldier prisoners of war
of the same armed forces, and as far as possible speaking the same language,
shall be detached for service therein in sufficient number, having regard to
the rank of the officers and persons of equivalent status.
Officers and persons of equivalent status shall procure their food and
clothing from the pay to be paid to them by the detaining Power. The
management of a mess by officers themselves shall be facilitated in every way.
CHAPTER 7 - Pecuniary resources of prisoners of war
Article 23. (back to the top)
Subject to any special arrangements made between the belligerent Powers,
and particularly those contemplated in Article 24, officers and persons of
equivalent status who are prisoners of war shall receive from the detaining
Power the same pay as officers of corresponding rank in the armed forces of
that Power, provided, however, that such pay does not exceed that to which
they are entitled in the armed forces of the country in whose service they
have been. This pay shall be paid to them in full, once a month if possible,
and no deduction therefrom shall be made for expenditure devolving upon the
detaining Power, even if such expenditure is incurred on their behalf.
An agreement between the belligerents shall prescribe the rate of exchange
applicable to this payment; in default of such agreement, the rate of exchange
adopted shall be that in force at the moment of the commencement of
hostilities.
All advances made to prisoners of war by way of pay shall be reimbursed, at
the end of hostilities, by the Power in whose service they were.
Article 24. (back to the top)
At the commencement of hostilities, belligerents shall determine by common
accord the maximum amount of cash which prisoners of war of various ranks and
categories shall be permitted to retain in their possession. Any excess
withdrawn or withheld from a prisoner, and any deposit of money effected by
him, shall be carried to his account, and may not be converted into another
currency without his consent.
The credit balances of their accounts shall be paid to the prisoners of war
at the end of their captivity. During the continuance of the latter,
facilities shall be accorded to them for the transfer of these amounts, wholly
or in part, to banks or private individuals in their country of origin.
CHAPTER 8 - Transfer of prisoners of war
Article 25. (back to the top)
Unless the course of military operations demands it, sick and wounded
prisoners of war shall not be transferred if their recovery might be
prejudiced by the journey.
Article 26. (back to the top)
In the event of transfer, prisoners of war shall be officially informed in
advance of their new destination; they shall be authorized to take with them
their personal effects, their correspondence and parcels which have arrived
for them.
All necessary arrangements shall be made so that correspondence and parcels
addressed to their former camp shall be sent on to them without delay.
The sums credited to the account of transferred prisoners shall be
transmitted to the competent authority of their new place of residence.
Expenses incurred by the transfers shall be borne by the detaining Power.
SECTION III - WORK OF PRISONERS OF WAR
CHAPTER 1 - General
Article 27. (back to the top)
Belligerents may employ as workmen prisoners of war who are physically fit,
other than officers and persons of equivalent statue, according to their rink
and their ability.
Nevertheless, if officers or persons of equivalent status ask for suitable
work, this shall be found for them as far as possible.
Non-commissioned officers who are prisoners of war may be compelled to
undertake only supervisory work, unless they expressly request remunerative
occupation. During the whole period of captivity, belligerents are required to
admit prisoners of war who are victims of accidents at work to the benefit of
provisions applicable to workmen of the same category under the legislation of
the detaining Power. As regards prisoners of war to whom these legal
provisions could not be applied by reason of the legislation of that Power,
the latter undertakes to recommend to its legislative body all proper measures
for the equitable compensation of the victims.
CHAPTER 2 - Organization of work
Article 28. (back to the top)
The detaining Power shall assume entire responsibility for the maintenance,
care, treatment and the payment of the wages of prisoners of war working for
private individuals.
Article 29. (back to the top)
No prisoner of war may be employed on work for which he is physically
unsuited.
Article 30. (back to the top)
The duration of the daily work of prisoners of war, including the time of
the journey to and from work, shall not be excessive and shall in no case
exceed that permitted for civil workers of the locality employed on the same
work. Each prisoner shall be allowed a rest of twenty-four consecutive hours
each week, preferably on Sunday.
CHAPTER 3 - Prohibited work
Article 31. (back to the top)
Work done by prisoners of war shall have no direct connection with the
operations of the war. In particular, it is forbidden to employ prisoners in
the manufacture or transport of arms or munitions of any kind, or on the
transport of material destined for combatant units.
In the event of violation of the provisions of the preceding paragraph,
prisoners are at liberty, after performing or commencing to perform the order,
to have their complaints presented through the intermediary of the prisoners'
representatives whose functions are described in Articles 43 an 44, or, in the
absence of a prisoners' representative, through the intermediary of the
representatives of the protecting Power.
Article 32. (back to the top)
It is forbidden to employ prisoners of war on unhealthy or dangerous work.
Conditions of work shall not be rendered more arduous by disciplinary
measures.
CHAPTER 4 - Labour detachments
Article 33. (back to the top)
Conditions governing labour detachments shall be similar to those of
prisoners-of-war camps, particularly as concerns hygienic conditions, food,
care in case of accidents or sickness, correspondence, and the reception of
parcels.
Every labour detachment shall be attached to a prisoners' camp. The
commander of this camp shall be responsible for the observance in the labour
detachment of the provisions of the present Convention.
CHAPTER 5 - Pay
Article 34. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war shall not receive pay for work in connection with the
administration, internal arrangement and maintenance of camps.
Prisoners employed on other work shall be entitled to a rate of pay, to be
fixed by agreements between the belligerents.
These agreements shall also specify the portion which may be retained by
the camp administration, the amount which shall belong to the prisoner of war
and the manner in which this amount shall be placed at his disposal during the
period of his captivity.
Pending the conclusion of the said agreements, remuneration of the work of
prisoners shall be fixed according to the following standards:
(a) Work done for the State shall be paid for according to the rates in
force for soldiers of the national forces doing the same work, or, if no such
rates exist, according to a tariff corresponding to the work executed.
(b) When the work is done for other public administrations or for private
individuals, the conditions shall be settled in agreement with the military
authorities.
The pay which remains to the credit of a prisoner shall be remitted to him
on the termination of his captivity. In case of death, it shall be remitted
through the diplomatic channel to the heirs of the deceased.
SECTION IV - RELATIONS OF PRISONERS OF WAR WITH THE EXTERIOR
Article 35. (back to the top)
On the commencement of hostilities, belligerents shall publish
the measures prescribed for the execution of the provisions of the present
section.
Article 36. (back to the top)
Each of the belligerents shall fix periodically the number of
letters and postcards which prisoners of war of different categories shall be
permitted to send per month, and shall notify that number to the other
belligerent. These letters and cards shall be sent by post by the shortest
route. They may not be delayed or withheld for disciplinary motives.
Not later than one week after his arrival in camp, and similarly in case of
sickness, each prisoner shall be enabled to send a postcard to his family
informing them of his capture and the state of his health. The said postcards
shall be forwarded as quickly as possible and shall not be delayed in any
manner.
As a general rule, the correspondence of prisoners shall be written in their
native language. Belligerents may authorize correspondence in other languages.
Article 37. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war shall be authorized to receive individually
postal parcels containing foodstuffs and other articles intended for consumption
or clothing. The parcels shall be delivered to the addressees and a receipt
given.
Article 38. (back to the top)
Letters and remittances of money or valuables, as well as postal
parcels addressed to prisoners of war, or despatched by them, either directly or
through the intermediary of the information bureaux mentioned in Article 77,
shall be exempt from all postal charges in the countries of origin and
destination and in the countries through which they pass.
Presents and relief in kind intended for prisoners of war shall also be
exempt from all import or other duties, as well as any charges for carriage on
railways operated by the State.
Prisoners may, in cases of recognized urgency, be authorized to send
telegrams on payment of the usual charges.
Article 39. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war shall be permitted to receive individually
consignments of books which may be subject to censorship.
Representatives of the protecting Powers and of duly recognized and
authorized relief societies may send works and collections of books to the
libraries of prisoners, camps. The transmission of such consignments to
libraries may not be delayed under pretext of difficulties of censorship.
Article 40. (back to the top)
The censoring of correspondence shall be accomplished as quickly
as possible. The examination of postal parcels shall, moreover, be effected
under such conditions as will ensure the preservation of any foodstuffs which
they may contain, and, if possible, be done in the presence of the addressee or
of a
representative duly recognized by him.
Any prohibition of correspondence ordered by the belligerents, for military
or political reasons, shall only be of a temporary character and shall also be
for as brief a time as possible.
Article 41. (back to the top)
Belligerents shall accord all facilities for the transmission of
documents destined for prisoners of war or signed by them, in particular powers
of attorney and wills.
They shall take the necessary measures to secure, in case of need, the
legalisation of signatures of prisoners.
SECTION V - RELATIONS BETWEEN PRISONERS OF WAR AND THE AUTHORITIES
CHAPTER 1 - Complaints of prisoners of war respecting the conditions of captivity
Article 42. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war shall have the right to bring to the notice of
the military authorities, in whose hands they are, their petitions concerning
the conditions of captivity to which they are subjected.
They shall also have the right to communicate with the representatives of the
protecting Powers in order to draw their attention to the points on which they
have complaints to make with regard to the conditions of captivity.
Such petitions and complaints shall be transmitted immediately.
Even though they are found to be groundless, they shall not give rise to any
punishment.
CHAPTER 2 - Representatives of prisoners of war
Article 43. (back to the top)
In any locality where there may be prisoners of war, they shall
be authorized to appoint
representatives to represent them before the military authorities and the
protecting Powers.
Such appointments shall be subject to the approval of the military
authorities.
The prisoners' representatives shall be charged with the reception and
distribution of collective consignments. Similarly, in the event of the
prisoners deciding to organize amongst themselves a system of mutual aid, such
organization shall be one of the functions of the prisoners"
representatives. On the other hand, the latter may offer their services to
prisoners to facilitate their relations with the relief societies mentioned in
Article 78.
In camps of officers and persons of equivalent status the senior officer
prisoner of the highest rank shall be recognized as intermediary between the
camp authorities and the officers and similar persons who are prisoners, for
this purpose he shall have the power to appoint an officer prisoner to assist
him as interpreter in the course of conferences with the authorities of the
camp.
Article 44. (back to the top)
When the prisoners representatives are employed as workmen, their
work as representatives of the prisoners of war shall be reckoned in the
compulsory period of labour.
All facilities shall be accorded to the prisoners' representatives for their
correspondence with the military authorities and the protecting Power. Such
correspondence shall not be subject to any limitation.
No prisoners' representative may be transferred without his having been
allowed the time necessary to acquaint his successors with the current business.
CHAPTER 3 - Penal sanctions with regard to prisoners of war
I. General provisions
Article 45. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war shall be subject to the laws, regulations and
orders in force in the armed forces of the detaining Power.
Any act of insubordination shall render them liable to the measures
prescribed by such laws, regulations, and orders, except as otherwise provided
in this Chapter.
Article 46. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war shall not be subjected by the military
authorities or the tribunals of the detaining Power to penalties other than
those which are prescribed for similar acts by members of the national forces.
Officers, non-commissioned officers or private soldiers, prisoners of war,
undergoing disciplinary punishment shall not be subjected to treatment less
favourable than that prescribed, as regards the same punishment, for similar
ranks in the armed forces of the detaining Power.
All forms of corporal punishment, confinement in premises not lighted by
daylight and, in general, all forms of cruelty whatsoever are prohibited.
Collective penalties for individual acts are also prohibited.
Article 47. (back to the top)
A statement of the facts in cases of acts constituting a breach
of discipline, and particularly an attempt to escape, shall be drawn up in
writing without delay. The period during which prisoners of war of whatever rank
are detained in custody (pending the investigation of such offences) shall be
reduced to a strict minimum.
The judicial proceedings against a prisoner of war shall be conducted as
quickly as circumstances will allow. The period during which prisoners shall be
detained in custody shall be as short as possible.
In all cases the period during which a prisoner is under arrest (awaiting
punishment or trial) shall be deducted from the sentence, whether disciplinary
or judicial, provided such deduction is permitted in the case of members of the
national forces.
Article 48. (back to the top)
After undergoing the judicial or disciplinary punishment which
has been inflicted on them, prisoners of war shall not be treated differently
from other prisoners. Nevertheless, prisoners who have been punished as the
result of an attempt to escape may be subjected to a special régime of
surveillance, but this shall not involve the suppression of any of the
safeguards accorded to prisoners by the present Convention.
Article 49. (back to the top)
No prisoner of war may be deprived of his rank by the detaining
Power.
Prisoners on whom disciplinary punishment is inflicted shall not be deprived
of the privileges attaching to their rank. In particular, officers and persons
of equivalent status who suffer penalties entailing deprivation of liberty shall
not be placed in the same premises as non-commissioned officers or private
soldiers undergoing punishment.
Article 50. (back to the top)
Escaped prisoners of war who are re-captured before they have
been able to rejoin their own armed forces or to leave the territory occupied by
the armed forces which captured them shall be liable only to disciplinary
punishment.
Prisoners who, after succeeding in rejoining their armed forces or in leaving
the territory occupied by the armed forces which captured them, are again taken
prisoner shall not be liable to any punishment for their previous escape.
Article 51. (back to the top)
Attempted escape, even if it is nut a first offence, shall not be
considered as an aggravation of the offence in the event of the prisoner of war
being brought before the courts for crimes or offences against persons or
property committed in the course of such attempt. After an attempted or
successful escape, the comrades of the escaped person who aided the escape shall
incur only disciplinary punishment therefor.
Article 52. (back to the top)
Belligerents shall ensure that the competent authorities exercize
the greatest leniency in considering the question whether an offence committed
by a prisoner of war should be punished by disciplinary or by judicial measures.
This provision shall be observed in particular in appraising facts in
connexion with escape or attempted escape.
A prisoner shall not be punished more than once for the same act or on the
same charge.
Article 53. (back to the top)
No prisoner who has been awarded any disciplinary punishment for
an offence and who fulfils the conditions laid down for repatriation shall be
retained on the ground that he has not undergone his punishment. Prisoners
qualified for repatriation against whom any prosecution for a criminal offence
has been brought may be excluded from repatriation until the termination of the
proceedings and until fulfilment of their sentence, if any; prisoners already
serving a sentence of imprisonment may be retained until the expiry of the
sentence. Belligerents shall communicate to each other lists of those who cannot
be repatriated for the reasons indicated in the preceding paragraph.
II. Disciplinary punishments
Article 54. (back to the top)
Imprisonment is the most severe disciplinary punishment which may
be inflicted on a prisoner of war. The duration of any single punishment shall
not exceed thirty days.
This maximum of thirty days shall, moreover, not be exceeded in the event of
there being several acts for which the prisoner is answerable to discipline at
the time when his case is disposed of, whether such acts are connected or not.
Where, during the course or after the termination of a period of
imprisonment, a prisoner is sentenced to a fresh disciplinary penalty, a period
of at least three days shall intervene between each of the periods of
imprisonment, if one of such periods is of ten days or over.
Article 55. (back to the top)
Subject to the provisions of the last paragraph of Article 11,
the restrictions in regard to food permitted in the armed forces of the
detaining Power may be applied, as an additional penalty, to prisoners of war
undergoing disciplinary punishment.
Such restrictions shall, however, only be ordered if the state of the
prisoner's health permits.
Article 56. (back to the top)
In no case shall prisoners of war be transferred to penitentiary
establishments (prisoners, penitentiaries, convict establishments, etc.) in
order to undergo disciplinary sentence there.
Establishments in which disciplinary sentences are undergone shall conform to
the requirements of hygiene. Facilities shall be afforded to prisoners
undergoing sentence to keep themselves in a state of cleanliness. Every day,
such prisoners shall have facilities for taking exercise or for remaining out of
doors for at least two hours.
Article 57. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war undergoing disciplinary punishment shall be
permitted to read and write and to send and receive letters.
On the other hand, it shall be permissible not to deliver parcels and
remittances of money to the addressees until the expiration of the sentence. If
the undelivered parcels contain perishable foodstuffs, these shall be handed
over to the infirmary or to the camp kitchen.
Article 58. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war undergoing disciplinary punishment shall be
permitted, on their request, to present themselves for daily medical inspection.
They shall receive such attention as the medical officers may consider
necessary, and, if need be, shall be evacuated to the camp infirmary or to
hospital.
Article 59. (back to the top)
Without prejudice to the competency of the courts and the
superior military authorities, disciplinary sentences may only be awarded by an
officer vested with disciplinary powers in his capacity as commander of the camp
or detachment, or by the responsible officer acting as his substitute.
III. Judicial proceedings
Article 60. (back to the top)
At the commencement of a judicial hearing against a prisoner of
war, the detaining Power shall notify the representative of the protecting Power
as soon as possible, and in any case before the date fixed for the opening of
the hearing.
The said notification shall contain the following particulars:
(a) Civil status and rank of the prisoner. (b) Place of residence or
detention.
(c) Statement of the charge or charges, and of the legal provisions
applicable.
If it is not possible in this notification to indicate particulars of the
court which will try the case, the date of the opening of the hearing and the
place where it will take place, these particulars shall be furnished to the
representative of the protecting Power at a later date, but as soon as possible
and in any case at least three weeks before the opening of the hearing.
Article 61. (back to the top)
No prisoner of war shall be sentenced without being given the
opportunity to defend himself. No prisoner shall be compelled to admit that he
is guilty of the offence of which he is accused.
Article 62. (back to the top)
The prisoner of war shall have the right to be assisted by a
qualified. advocate of his own choice and, if necessary, to have recourse to the
offices of a competent interpreter. He shall be informed of his right by the
detaining Power in good time before the hearing. Failing a choice on the part of
the prisoner, the protecting Power may procure an advocate for him. The
detaining Power shall, on the request of the protecting Power, furnish to the
latter a list of persons qualified to conduct the defence.
The representatives of the protecting Power shall have the right to attend
the hearing of the case.
The only exception to this rule is where the hearing has to be kept secret in
the interests of the safety of the State. The detaining Power would then notify
the protecting Power accordingly.
Article 63. (back to the top)
A sentence shall only be pronounced on a prisoner of war by the
same tribunals and in accordance with the same procedure as in the case of
persons belonging to the armed forces of the detaining Power.
Article 64. (back to the top)
Every prisoner of war shall have the right of appeal against any
sentence against him in the same manner as persons belonging to the armed forces
of the detaining Power.
Article 65. (back to the top)
Sentences pronounced against prisoners of war shall be
communicated immediately to the protecting Power.
Article 66. (back to the top)
If sentence of death is passed on a prisoner of war, a
communication setting forth in detail the nature and the circumstances of the
offence shall be addressed as soon as possible to the representative of the
protecting Power for transmission to the Power in whose armed forces the
prisoner served.
The sentence shall not be carried out before the expiration of a period of at
least three months from the date of the receipt of this communication by the
protecting Power.
Article 67. (back to the top)
No prisoner of war may be deprived of the benefit of the
provisions of Article 42 of the present Convention as the result of a judgment
or otherwise.
PART IV
END OF CAPTIVITY
SECTION I - DIRECT REPATRIATION AND ACCOMMODATION IN A NEUTRAL COUNTRY
Article 68.(back to the top)
Belligerents shall be required to send back to their own country,
without regard to rank or numbers, after rendering them in a fit condition for
transport, prisoners of war who are seriously ill or seriously wounded.
Agreements between the belligerents shall therefore determine, as soon as
possible, the forms of disablement or sickness requiring direct repatriation and
cases which may necessitate accommodation in a neutral country. Pending the
conclusion of such agreements, the belligerents may refer to the model draft
agreement annexed to the present Convention.
Article 69. (back to the top)
On the opening of hostilities, belligerents shall come to an
understanding as to the appointment of mixed medical commissions. These
commissions shall consist of three members, two of whom shall belong to a
neutral country and one appointed by the detaining Power; one of the medical
officers of the neutral country shall preside. These mixed medical commissions
shall proceed to the examination of sick or wounded prisoners and shall make all
appropriate decisions with regard to them. The decisions of these commissions
shall be decided by majority and shall be carried into effect as soon as
possible.
Article 70. (back to the top)
In addition to those prisoners of war selected by the medical
officer of the camp, the following shall be inspected by the mixed medical
Commission mentioned in Article 69, with a view to their direct repatriation or
accommodation in a neutral country: (a) Prisoners who make a direct request to
that effect to the medical officer of the camp;
(b) Prisoners presented by the prisoners'
representatives mentioned in Article 43, the latter acting on their own
initiative or on the request of the prisoners themselves;
(c) Prisoners nominated by the Power in whose armed forces they served or by
a relief society duly recognized and authorized by that Power.
Article 71. (back to the top)
Prisoners of war who meet with accidents at work, unless the
injury is self-inflicted, shall have the benefit of the same provisions as
regards repatriation or accommodation in a neutral country.
Article 72. (back to the top)
During the continuance of hostilities, and for humanitarian
reasons, belligerents may conclude agreements with a view to the direct
repatriation or accommodation in a neutral country of prisoners of war in good
health who have been in captivity for a long time.
Article 73. (back to the top)
The expenses of repatriation or transport to a neutral country of
prisoners of war shall be borne, as from the frontier of the detaining Power, by
the Power in whose armed forces such prisoners served.
Article 74. (back to the top)
No repatriated person shall be employed on active military
service.
SECTION II - LIBERATION AND REPATRIATION AT THE END OF HOSTILITIES
Article 75. (back to the top)
When belligerents conclude an armistice convention, they shall
normally cause to be included therein provisions concerning the repatriation of
prisoners of war. If it has not been possible to insert in that convention such
stipulations, the belligerents shall, nevertheless, enter into communication
with each other on the question as soon as possible. In any case, the
repatriation of prisoners shall be effected as soon as possible after the
conclusion of peace.
Prisoners of war who are subject to criminal proceedings for a crime or
offence at common law may, however, be detained until the end of the
proceedings, and, if need be, until the expiration of the sentence. The same
applies to prisoners convicted for a crime or offence at common law.
By agreement between the belligerents, commissions may be instituted for the
purpose of searching for scattered prisoners and ensuring their repatriation.
PART V
DEATHS OF PRISONERS OF WAR
Article 76.(back to the top)
The wills of prisoners of war shall be received and drawn up
under the same conditions as for soldiers of the national armed forces.
The same rules shall be followed as regards the documents relative to the
certification of the death. The belligerents shall ensure that prisoners of war
who have died in captivity are honourably buried, and that the graves bear the
necessary indications and are treated with respect and suitably maintained.
PART VI
BUREAUX OF RELIEF AND INFORMATION CONCERNING PRISONERS OF WAR
Article 77. (back to the top)
At the commencement of hostilities, each of the belligerent
Powers and the neutral Powers who have belligerents in their care, shall
institute an official bureau to give information about the prisoners of war in
their territory.
Each of the belligerent Powers shall inform its Information Bureau as soon as
possible of all captures of prisoners effected by its armed forces, furnishing
them with all particulars of identity at its disposal to enable the families
concerned to be quickly notified, and stating the official addresses to which
families may write to the prisoners.
The Information Bureau shall transmit all such information immediately to the
Powers concerned, on the one hand through the intermediary of the protecting
Powers, and on the other through the Central Agency contemplated in Article 79.
The Information Bureau, being charged with replying to all enquiries relative
to prisoners of war, shall receive from the various services concerned all
particulars respecting internments and transfers, releases on parole,
repatriations, escapes, stays in hospitals, and deaths, together with all other
particulars necessary for establishing and keeping up to date an individual
record for each prisoner of war.
The Bureau shall note in this record, as far as possible, and subject to the
provisions of Article 5, the regimental number, names and surnames, date and
place of birth, rank and unit of the prisoner, the surname of the father and
name of the mother, the address of the person to be notified in case of
accident, wounds, dates and places of capture, of internment, of wounds, of
death, together with all other important particulars. Weekly lists containing
all additional particulars capable of facilitating the identification of each
prisoner shall be transmitted to the interested Powers. The individual record of
a prisoner of war shall be sent after the conclusion of peace to the Power in
whose service he was.
The Information Bureau shall also be required to collect all personal
effects, valuables, correspondence, pay-books, identity tokens, etc., which have
been left by prisoners of war who have been repatriated or released on parole,
or who have escaped or died, and to transmit them to the countries concerned.
Article 78. (back to the top)
Societies for the relief of prisoners of war, regularly
constituted in accordance with the laws of their country, and having for their
object to serve as intermediaries for charitable purposes, shall receive from
the belligerents, for themselves and their duly accredited agents, all
facilities for the efficacious performance of their humane task within the
limits imposed by military exigencies. Representatives of these societies shall
be permitted to distribute relief in the camps and at the halting places of
repatriated prisoners under a personal permit issued by the military authority,
and on giving an undertaking in writing to comply with all routine and police
orders which the said authority shall prescribe.
Article 79. (back to the top)
A Central Agency of information regarding prisoners of war shall
be established in a neutral country. The International Red Cross Committee
shall, if they consider it necessary, propose to the Powers concerned the
organization of such an agency.
This agency shall be charged with the duty of collecting all information
regarding prisoners which they may be able to obtain through official or private
channels, and the agency shall transmit the information as rapidly as possible
to the prisoners' own country or the Power in whose service they have been.
These provisions shall not be interpreted as restricting the humanitarian
work of the International Red Cross Committee.
Article 80. (back to the top)
Information Bureaux shall enjoy exemption from fees on postal
matter as well as all the exemptions prescribed in Article
38.
PART VII
APPLICATION OF THE CONVENTION TO CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF CIVILIANS
Article 81. (back to the top)
Persons who follow the armed forces without directly belonging
thereto, such as correspondents, newspaper reporters, sutlers, or contractors,
who fall into the hands of the enemy, and whom the latter think fit to detain,
shall be entitled to be treated as prisoners of war, provided they are in
possession of an authorization from the military authorities of the armed forces
which they were following.
PART VIII
EXECUTION OF THE CONVENTION
SECTION I - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 82. (back to the top)
The provisions of the present Convention shall be respected by
the High Contracting Parties in all circumstances.
In time of war if one of the belligerents is not a party to the Convention,
its provisions shall, nevertheless, remain binding as between the belligerents
who are parties thereto.
Article 83. (back to the top)
The High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the right to
conclude special conventions on all questions relating to prisoners of war
concerning which they may consider it desirable to make special provisions.
Prisoners of war shall continue to enjoy the benefits of these agreements
until their repatriation has been effected, subject to any provisions expressly
to the contrary contained in the above-mentioned agreements or in subsequent
agreements, and subject to any more favourable measures by one or the other of
the belligerent Powers concerning the prisoners detained by that Power. In order
to ensure the application, on both sides, of the provisions of the present
Convention, and to facilitate the conclusion of the special conventions
mentioned above, the belligerents may, at the commencement of hostilities,
authorize meetings of representatives of the respective authorities charged with
the administration of prisoners of war.
Article 84. (back to the top)
The text of the present Convention and of the special conventions
mentioned in the preceding Article shall be posted, whenever possible, in the
native language of the prisoners of war, in places where it may be consulted by
all the prisoners.
The text of these conventions shall be communicated, on their request, to
prisoners who are unable to inform themselves of the text posted.
Article 85. (back to the top)
The High Contracting Parties shall communicate to each other,
through the intermediary of the Swiss Federal Council, the official translations
of the present Convention, together with such laws and regulations as they may
adopt to ensure the application of the present Convention.
SECTION II - ORGANIZATION OF CONTROL
Article 86. (back to the top)
The High Contracting Parties recognize that a guarantee of the
regular application of the present Convention will be found in the possibility
of collaboration between the protecting Powers charged with the protection of
the interests of the belligerents; in this connexion, the protecting Powers may,
apart from their diplomatic personnel, appoint delegates from among their own
nationals or the nationals of other neutral Powers. The appointment of these
delegates shall be subject to the approval of the belligerent with whom they are
to carry out their mission.
The representatives of the protecting Power or their recognized delegates
shall be authorized to proceed to any place, without exception, where prisoners
of war are interned. They shall have access to all premises occupied by
prisoners and may hold conversation with prisoners, as a general rule without
witnesses, either personally or through the intermediary of interpreters.
Belligerents shall facilitate as much as possible the task of the
representatives or recognized delegates of the protecting Power. The military
authorities shall be informed of their visits.
Belligerents may mutually agree to allow persons of the prisoners own
nationality to participate in the tours of inspection.
Article 87. (back to the top)
In the event of dispute between the belligerents regarding the
application of the provisions of the present Convention, the protecting Powers
shall, as far as possible, lend their good offices with the object of settling
the dispute.
To this end, each of the protecting Powers may, for instance, propose to the
belligerents concerned that a conference of representatives of the latter should
be held, on suitably chosen neutral territory. The belligerents shall be
required to give effect to proposals made to them with this object. The
protecting Power may, if necessary, submit fur the approval of the Powers in
dispute the name of a person belonging to a neutral Power or nominated by the
International Red Cross Committee, who shall be invited to take part in this
conference.
Article 88. (back to the top)
The foregoing provisions do not constitute any obstacle to the
humanitarian work which the International Red Cross Committee may perform for
the protection of prisoners of war with the consent of the belligerents
concerned.
SECTION III - FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 89. (back to the top)
In the relations between the Powers who are bound either by The
Hague Convention concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land of 29 July 1899,
or that of 18 October 1907, and are parties to the present Convention, the
latter shall be complementary to Chapter 2 of the Regulations annexed to the
above-mentioned Conventions of The Hague.
Article 90. (back to the top)
The present Convention, which shall bear this day's date, may be
signed up to 1 February 1930, on behalf of any of the countries represented at
the Conference which opened at Geneva on 1 July 1929.
Article 91. (back to the top)
The present Convention shall be ratified as soon as possible.
The ratifications shall be deposited at Berne. In respect of the deposit of
each instrument of ratification, a ' procès-verbal ' shall be drawn up, and
copy thereof, certified correct, shall be sent by the Swiss Federal Council to
the Governments of all the countries on whose behalf the Convention has been
signed or whose accession has been notified.
Article 92.(back to the top)
The present Convention shall enter into force six months after at
least two instruments of ratification have been deposited.
Thereafter it shall enter into force for each High Contracting Party six
months after the deposit of its instrument of ratification.
Article 93. (back to the top)
As from the date of its entry into force, the present Convention
shall be open to accession notified in respect of any country on whose behalf
this Convention has not been signed.
Article 94. (back to the top)
Accessions shall be notified in writing to the Swiss Federal
Council and shall take Effect six months after the date on which they have been
received. The Swiss Federal Council shall notify the accessions to the
Governments of all the countries on whose behalf the Convention has been signed
or whose accession has been notified.
Article 95. (back to the top)
A state of war shall give immediate effect to ratifications
deposited-and to accessions notified by the belligerent Powers before or after
the commencement of hostilities. The communication of ratifications or
accessions received from Powers in a state of war shall be effected by the Swiss
Federal Council by the quickest method.
Article 96. (back to the top)
Each of the High Contracting Parties shall have the right to
denounce the present Convention. The denunciation shall only take effect one
year after notification thereof has been made in writing to the Swiss Federal
Council. The latter shall communicate this notification to the Governments of
ill the High Contracting Parties.
The denunciation shall only be valid in respect of the High Contracting Party
which has made notification thereof.
Such denunciation shall, moreover, not take effect during a war in which the
denouncing Power is involved. In this case, the present Convention shall
continue binding, beyond the period of one year, until the conclusion of peace
and, in any case, until operations of repatriation shall have terminated.
Article 97. (back to the top)
A copy of the present Convention, certified to be correct, shall
be deposited by the Swiss Federal Council in the archives of the League of
Nations. Similarly, ratifications, accessions and denunciations notified to the
Swiss Federal Council shall be communicated by them to the League of Nations.
In faith whereof the above-mentioned Plenipotentiaries have signed the
present Convention.
Done at Geneva the twenty-seventh July, one thousand nine hundred and
twenty-nine, in a single copy, which shall remain deposited in the archives of
the Swiss Confederation, and of which copies, certified correct, shall be
transmitted to the Governments of all the countries invited to the Conference.
(Here follow signatures)
ANNEX TO THE CONVENTION OF 27 JULY 1929, RELATIVE TO THE TREATMENT OF
PRISONERS OF WAR
Model draft agreement concerning the direct repatriation or accommodation in
a neutral country of prisoners of war for reasons of health
I. Guiding Principles for Direct Repatriation or Accommodation in a Neutral
Country
A. ' Guiding Principles for Direct Repatriation'
The following shall be repatriated directly:
1. Sick and wounded whose recovery within one year is not probable according
to medical prognosis, whose condition requires treatment, and whose intellectual
or bodily powers appear to have undergone a considerable diminution.
2. Incurable sick and wounded whose intellectual or bodily powers appear to
have undergone a considerable diminution.
3. Convalescent sick and wounded, whose intellectual or bodily powers appear
to have undergone a considerable diminution.
B. ' Guiding Principles for Accommodation in a Neutral Country. '
The following shall be accommodated in a neutral country:
1. Sick and wounded whose recovery is presumable within the period of one
year, which it appears that such recovery would be more certain and more rapid
if the sick and wounded were given the benefit of the resources offered by the
neutral country than if their captivity, properly so called, were prolonged.
2. Prisoners of war whose intellectual or physical health appears, according
to medical opinion, to be seriously threatened by continuance in captivity,
while accommodation in a neutral country would probably diminish that risk.
C. ' Guiding Principles for the Repatriation of Prisoners in a Neutral
Country. '
Prisoners of war who have been accommodated in a neutral country, and belong
to the following categories, shall be repatriated:
1. Those whose state of health appears to be, or likely to become such that
they would fall into the categories of those to be repatriated for reasons of
health.
2. Those who are convalescent, whose intellectual or physical powers appear
to have undergone a considerable diminution.
II. Special Principles for Direct Repatriation or Accommodation in a Neutral
Country
A. ' Special Principles for Repatriation '
The following shall be repatriated:
1. All prisoners of war suffering the following effective or functional
disabilities as the result of organic injuries: loss of a limb, paralysis,
articular or other disabilities, when the defect is at least the loss of a foot
or a hand, or the equivalent of the loss of a foot or a hand. 2. All wounded or
injured prisoners of war whose condition is such as to render them invalids
whose cure within a year cannot be medically foreseen. 3. All sick prisoners
whose condition is such as to render them invalids whose cure within a year
cannot be medically foreseen.
The following in particular belong to this category:
(a) Progressive tuberculosis of any organ which, according to medical
prognosis, cannot be cured or at least considerably improved by treatment in a
neutral country;
(b) Non-tubercular affections of the respiratory organs which are presumed to
be incurable (in particular, strongly developed pulmonary emphysema, with or
without bronchitis, bronchiectasis, serious asthma, gas poisoning, etc.):
(c) Grave chronic affections of the circulatory organs (for example: valvular
affections with a tendency to compensatory troubles, relatively gave affections
of the myocardium, pericardium or the vessels, in particular, aneurism of the
larger vessels which cannot be operated on, etc.);
(d) Grave chronic affections of the digestive organs;
(e) Grave chronic affections of the urinary and sexual organs, in particular,
for example: any case of chronic nephritis, confirmed by symptoms, and
especially when cardiac and vascular deterioration already exists; the same
applies to chronic pyelitis and cystitis, etc.;
(f) Grave chronic maladies of the central and peripheral nervous system; in
particular grave neurasthenia and hysteria, any indisputable case of epilepsy,
grave Basedow's disease, etc.;
(g) Blindness of both eyes, or of one eye when the vision of the other is
less than 1 in spite of the use of corrective glasses. Diminution of visual
acuteness in cases where it is impossible to restore it by correction to an
acuteness of 1/2 in at least one eye. The other ocular affections falling within
the present category (glaucoma, iritis, choroiditis, etc.);
(h) Total bilateral deafness, and total unilateral deafness in cases where
the ear which is not completely deaf cannot hear ordinary speaking voice at a
distance of one metre;
(i) Any indisputable case of mental affection; (k) Grave cases of chronic
poisoning by metals or other causes (lead poisoning, mercury poisoning,
morphinism, cocainism, alcoholism, gas poisoning, etc.);
(l) Chronic affections of the locomotive organs (arthritis deformans, gout,
or rheumatism with impairment, which can be ascertained clinically), provided
that they are serious; (m) Malignant growths, if they are not amenable to
relatively mild operations without danger to the life of the person operated
upon; (n) All cases of malaria with appreciable organic deterioration (serious
chronic enlargement of the liver or spleen, cachexy, etc.); (o) Grave chronic
cutaneous affections, when their nature does not constitute a medical reason for
treatment in a neutral country; (p) Serious avitaminosis (beri-beri, pellagra,
chronic scurvy).
B. ' Special Principles for Accommodation in a Neutral Country. '
Prisoners of war shall be accommodated in a neutral country if they suffer
from the following affections:
1. All forms of tuberculosis of any organ, if, according to present medical
knowledge, they can be cured or their condition considerably improved by methods
applicable in a neutral country (altitude, treatment in sanatoria, etc.). 2. All
forms necessitating treatment of affections of the respiratory, circulatory,
digestive, genito-urinary, or nervous organs, of the organs of the senses, or of
the locomotive or cutaneous functions, provided that such forms of affection do
not belong to the categories necessitating direct repatriation, or that they are
not acute maladies (properly so called) susceptible of complete cure. The
affections referred to in this paragraph are such as admit, by the application
of methods of treatment available in the neutral country, of really better
chances of the patient's recovery than if he were treated in captivity. Special
consideration should be given to nervous troubles, the effective or determining
causes of which are the effects of the war or of captivity, such as
psychasthenia of prisoners of war or other analogous cases.
All duly established cases of this nature must be treated in neutral
countries when their gravity or their constitutional character does not render
them cases for direct repatriation.
Cases of psychasthenia of prisoners of war who are not cured after three
months' sojourn in a neutral country, or which after that period are not
manifestly on the way to complete recovery, shall be repatriated.
3. All cases of wounds or injuries or their consequences which offer better
prospects of cure in a neutral country than in captivity, provided that such
cases are neither such as justify direct repatriation, nor insignificant cases.
4. All duly established cases of malaria which do not show organic deterioration
clinically
ascertainable (chronic enlargement of the liver or spleen, cachexy, etc.), if
sojourn in a neutral country offers particularly favourable prospects of final
cure.
5. All cases of poisoning (in particular by gas, metals, or alkaloids) for
which the prospects of cure in a neutral country are especially favourable.
The following are excluded from accommodation in a neutral country:
1. All cases of duly established mental affections. 2. All organic or
functional nervous affections which are reputed to be incurable. (These two
categories belong to those which entitle direct
repatriation).
3. Grave chronic alcoholism.
4. All contagious affections during the period when they are transmissible
(acute infectious diseases, primary and secondary (syphilis, trachoma, leprosy,
etc.).
III. General Observations
The conditions stated above must, in a general way, be interpreted and
applied in as broad a spirit as possible. This breadth of interpretation must
especially be applied in neuropathic or psychopathic cases caused or aggravated
by the effects of war or captivity
(psychasthenia of prisoners of war), and in cases of tuberculosis in all
degrees.
It is obvious that camp doctors and mixed medical commissions may find
themselves faced with many cases not mentioned amongst the examples given under
Section II above, or with cases that cannot be assimilated to these examples.
The above-mentioned examples are only given as typical examples; a similar list
of surgical disabilities has not been drawn up because, apart from cases which
are indisputable on account of their very nature
(amputations), it is difficult to draw up a list of specified types;
experience has shown that a list of such specified cases was not without
inconvenience in practice. Cases not conforming exactly with the examples quoted
shall be determined in the spirit of the guiding principles given above.
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