Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act, 1998

Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act, 1998 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.ie) Translations (Houses of the Oireachtas) Government Publications for Sale EU Law (EUR-Lex) FAQ Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Search Baile Reachtaíocht Achtanna an Oireachtais Ionstraimí Reachtúla Reachtaíocht Réamh-1922 Bunreacht Acmhainní Seachtracha Billí (Tithe an Oireachtais) Iris Oifigiúil Achtanna Athbhreithnithe (CAD) (An Coimisiún um Athchóiriú an Dlí) Liosta Rangaithe Reachtaíochta Aistriúcháin (achtanna.ie) Aistriúcháin (Tithe an Oireachtais) Foilseacháin Rialtais ar Díol Dlí AE (EUR-Lex) CCanna (Ceisteanna Coitianta) Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach Cuardach TitleTeideal Year(s) or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 1998 Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act, 1998 Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act, 1998 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Open PDFOscail PDF Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 35 of 1998 GENEVA CONVENTIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1998 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section 1. Definition. 2. Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act. 3. Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act. 4. Amendment of section 4 of Principal Act. 5. Substitution of section 5 of Principal Act. 6. Judicial notice of report of International Fact-Finding Commission. 7. Additional Schedules to Principal Act. 8. Certification by order of any reservation or declaration to Protocol I or Protocol II. 9. Restriction of use of civil defence international distinctive sign and other distinctive signals. 10. Regulations. 11. Identity cards for journalists. 12. Information cards for evacuated children. 13. Amendment of Red Cross Acts, 1938 to 1954. 14. Amendment of Prisoners of War and Enemy Aliens Act, 1956. 15. Restriction of application of section 12 of Extradition Act, 1965 (military offences). 16. Contributions to International Fact-Finding Commission. 17. Expenses. 18. Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement. SCHEDULE Schedules to be Inserted into the Principal Act Acts Referred to Criminal Justice Act, 1964 1964, No. 5 Extradition Act, 1965 1965, No. 17 Geneva Conventions Act, 1962 1962, No. 11 Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 14 & 15 Vict., c. 93 Prisoners of War and Enemy Aliens Act, 1956 1956, No. 27 Red Cross Act, 1938 1938, No. 32 Red Cross Act, 1954 1954, No. 28 Red Cross Acts, 1938 to 1954 Number 35 of 1998 GENEVA CONVENTIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1998 AN ACT TO ENABLE EFFECT TO BE GIVEN TO THE PROTOCOLS ADDITIONAL TO THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS OF 1949 ADOPTED AT GENEVA ON 8 JUNE 1977 AND FOR THAT PURPOSE TO AMEND THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS ACT, 1962 , THE RED CROSS ACTS, 1938 TO 1954, AND SECTION 1 OF THE PRISONERS OF WAR AND ENEMY ALIENS ACT, 1956 , AND TO PROVIDE FOR CONNECTED MATTERS. [13th July, 1998] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS: Definition. 1.—In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Geneva Conventions Act, 1962 . Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act. 2.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for section 2 of the following section: “Interpretation. 2.— In this Act— ‘court’ does not include a court-martial; ‘International Fact-Finding Commission’ means the International Fact-Finding Commission established under Article 90 of Protocol I; ‘the Minister’ means the Minister for Foreign Affairs; ‘protected internee’ means a person protected by the Convention set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act and Protocol I and interned in the State; ‘protected prisoner of war’ means a person protected by the Convention set out in the Third Schedule to this Act (including a person protected as a prisoner of war under Protocol I) or a person entitled under Protocol I to the same protection as a prisoner of war; ‘the protecting power’, in relation to a protected prisoner of war or a protected internee, means the power or organisation which is carrying out, in the interests of the power of which he or she is a national, or of whose forces he or she is, or was at any material time, a member, the duties assigned to protecting powers under the Convention set out in the Third Schedule to this Act, the Convention set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act or Protocol I; ‘Protocol I’ means the Protocol, additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) adopted at Geneva on 8 June 1977, the text of which is set out in the Fifth Schedule to this Act; ‘Protocol II’ means the Protocol, additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II) adopted at Geneva on 8 June 1977, the text of which is set out in the Sixth Schedule to this Act; ‘the Scheduled Conventions’ means the Conventions set out in the Schedules to this Act.”. Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act. 3.— Section 3 (which relates to grave breaches of the Scheduled Conventions) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) (as amended by section 10 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1964 ), of the following subsections: “(1) Any person, whatever his or her nationality, who, whether in or outside the State, commits or aids, abets or procures the commission by any other person of a grave breach of any of the Scheduled Conventions or Protocol I shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction on indictment— (a) in the case of a grave breach involving the wilful killing of a person protected by the Convention or Protocol in question, shall be liable to imprisonment for life or any less term, (b) in the case of any other grave breach, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years. (1A) Any person, whatever his or her nationality, who, whether in or outside the State, fails to act, when under a duty to do so, to prevent the commission by another person of a grave breach of any of the Scheduled Conventions or Protocol I shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction on indictment shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years. (1B) For the purposes of this section— (a) a grave breach of any of the Scheduled Conventions is anything referred to as a grave breach of the Convention in the relevant Article, that is to say— (i) in the case of the Convention set out in the First Schedule to this Act, Article 50, (ii) in the case of the Convention set out in the Second Schedule to this Act, Article 51, (iii) in the case of the Convention set out in the Third Schedule to this Act, Article 130, (iv) in the case of the Convention set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act, Article 147, and (b) a grave breach of Protocol I is anything referred to as a grave breach of the Protocol in paragraph 4 of Article 11, or paragraph 2, 3 or 4 of Article 85, of the Protocol.”. Amendment of section 4 of Principal Act. 4.—(1) Section 4 (which relates to minor breaches of the Scheduled Conventions) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by— (a) in subsection (1), the insertion after “Scheduled Conventions” of “or of Protocol I or Protocol II”, (b) the insertion after subsection (1) of the following subsection: “(1A) Any person, whatever his or her nationality, who, in the State, fails to act, when under a duty to do so, to prevent the commission by another person of a minor breach of any of the Scheduled Conventions or Protocol I or Protocol II shall be guilty of an offence.”, (c) in subsection (2), the insertion after “Scheduled Conventions” of “or of Protocol I or Protocol II”, (d) the insertion after subsection (2) of the following subsection: “(2A) Any citizen of Ireland who, outside the State, fails to act, when under a duty to do so, to prevent the commission by another person of a minor breach of any of the Scheduled Conventions or Protocol I or Protocol II shall be guilty of an offence.”, (e) in paragraph (a) of subsection (3), the substitution for “six” of “12” and for “fifty pounds” of “£1,500”, (f) in paragraph (b) of subsection (3), the substitution for “three hundred pounds” of “£15,000”, and (g) the substitution for subsection (4) of the following: “(4) In this section ‘minor breach’ means— (a) contravention of a provision of any of the Scheduled Conventions or of Protocol I which is not any such grave breach of that Convention or that Protocol as is mentioned in the relevant Article thereof referred to in section 3 of this Act, or (b) a contravention of Protocol II.”. (2) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 , summary proceedings for an offence under section 4 of the Principal Act may be instituted within two years from the date of the offence. Substitution of section 5 of Principal Act. 5.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for section 5 of the following section: “Proof of application of any Scheduled Convention or Protocol. 5.— If, in any proceedings under this Act in respect of any breach of any of the Scheduled Conventions or of Protocol I or Protocol II, a question arises under Article 2 or 3 of any of the Scheduled Conventions or Article 1 or 3 of Protocol I or Article 1 of Protocol II (which relate to the circumstances in which the Conventions and Protocols apply), that question shall be determined by the Minister and a certificate purporting to set out any such determination and to be signed by or on behalf of the Minister shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be so signed, without further proof, unless the contrary is shown.”. Judicial notice of report of International Fact-Finding Commission. 6.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after section 5 of the following section: “Judicial notice of report of International Fact-Finding Commission. 5A. In any proceedings under this Act, judicial notice shall be taken of a report of the International Fact-Finding Commission, submitted under paragraph 5 of Article 90 of Protocol I.”. Additional Schedules to Principal Act. 7.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after the Fourth Schedule thereto of the Schedules set out in the Schedule to this Act as the Fifth and Sixth Schedules to the Principal Act. Certification by order of any reservation or declaration to Protocol I or Protocol II. 8.—(1) If the ratification by the State of Protocol I or Protocol II is subject to any reservation or accompanied by a declaration— (a) the Minister may by order certify that such a reservation or declaration has been made and the terms in which it was made, and (b) the Protocol shall for the purposes of this Act be construed subject to and in accordance with any reservation or declaration so certified. (2) If such a reservation or declaration is withdrawn (in whole or in part) the Minister may by order certify that fact and revoke or amend any order made under subsection (1) of this section containing the terms of that reservation or declaration. Restriction of use of civil defence international distinctive sign and other distinctive signals. 9.—(1) It shall not be lawful for any person— (a) other than a person involved in civil defence, to use or display the sign of an equilateral blue triangle on, and completely surrounded by, an orange ground, being the international distinctive sign of civil defence, (b) other than a person involved in the protection of works and installations containing dangerous forces (within the meaning of Article 56 of Protocol I), to use or display the sign consisting of a group of three bright orange circles of equal size, placed on the same axis, the distance between each circle being one radius, being the international special sign for works and installations containing dangerous forces, as provided for in paragraph 7 of that Article, or (c) other than a person attached to a medical unit or transport, to use any of the distinctive signals specified in Articles 8 and 9 of Chapter III of Annex I to Protocol I, being the signals of identification for medical units and transports. (2) It shall not be lawful for any person to use for the purpose of trade or business or any other purpose whatsoever, without the consent of the Minister for Defence— (a) any design so nearly resembling the sign referred to in subsection (1)(a) of this section as to be capable of being mistaken for that sign, (b) any design so nearly resembling the sign referred to in subsection (1)(b) of this section as to be capable of being mistaken for that sign, or (c) any signal so nearly resembling any of the signals referred to in subsection (1)(c) of this section as to be capable of being mistaken for one of those signals. (3) The restriction effected by subsection (1)(a) or (b) or (2)(a) or (b) of this section does not apply where a sign is used pursuant to a right acquired through the use of that sign prior to the commencement of this Act. (4) The Minister for Defence may make regulations to supervise the display of the international distinctive sign of civil defence or of the international special sign for works and installations containing dangerous forces. (5) A person who contravenes this section or regulations made under subsection (4) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500. (6) On conviction for an offence under this section the Court may order the forfeiture of any sign used in the commission of the offence or anything on which the sign is displayed. (7) Where any sign is forfeited under this section such sign shall be disposed of in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Defence and any moneys arising from any such disposition shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct. (8) Where an offence under this section is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in such capacity, that person shall, as well as the body corporate, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence. (9) In a prosecution for an offence under this section it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that the Minister for Defence did not consent to the use for the purpose of trade or business or any other purpose whatsoever of the sign, design or signal in question. Regulations. 10.—(1) The Minister for Defence may, without prejudice to his or her power under section 4 (as amended by section 8 of the Red Cross Act, 1954 ) of the Red Cross Act, 1938 , make regulations, in accordance with the provisions of any of the Scheduled Conventions, Protocol I or Protocol II, as the case may be, as he or she considers necessary for any or all of the following: (a) prescribing the form of flags, emblems, signs, signals, designations, designs, wordings, uniforms or insignia for use for the purposes of giving effect to any of the Scheduled Conventions, Protocol I or Protocol II and regulating their use, (b) prescribing the form of identity cards for use for the purposes of giving effect to any of the Scheduled Conventions or Chapter I or V of Annex I to Protocol I and regulating their use, (c) prohibiting, restricting or directing the use of such flags, emblems, signs, signals, uniforms or insignia as specified in the regulations, for the purposes of giving effect to Article 38 or 39 of Protocol I or Article 12 of Protocol II. (2) A person who contravenes or fails to comply with any regulation made under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500. (3) Every regulation made by the Minister for Defence under this section or section 9 (4) of this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder. (4) Every regulation made under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister for Defence to be necessary. Identity cards for journalists. 11.—(1) The Minister may, on behalf of the Government, issue, for the purposes of Article 79 of Protocol I, an identity card, similar to the model in Annex II to Protocol I, to a journalist, referred to in that Article, whom the Minister considers to be engaged or likely to be engaged as such in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict. (2) An identity card issued under this section to a journalist may be issued to the journalist subject to such terms or conditions as the Minister decides. (3) The Minister may, from time to time, specify in regulations a fee to be paid by a person for the issue of an identity card under this section. Information cards for evacuated children. 12.—The Minister may establish a card in respect of a child evacuated under Article 78 of Protocol I, containing a photograph of the child and the information required under paragraph 3 of that Article, which shall be sent to the Central Tracing Agency of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Amendment of Red Cross Acts, 1938 to 1954. 13.—(1) Section 6 (1) of the Red Cross Act, 1938 , is hereby amended by the substitution for “ten pounds” of “£1,500”. (2) The Red Cross Act, 1954 , is hereby amended— (a) in section 3 , after the definition of “the Civilians Convention” by the insertion of the following definitions: “‘Protocol I’ means the Protocol, additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) adopted at Geneva on 8 June 1977; ‘Protocol II’ means the Protocol, additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II) adopted at Geneva on 8 June 1977;”, (b) in section 4(2)(a)(i), after “Wounded and Sick Convention” by the insertion of “, Part II of Protocol I and Part III of Protocol II”, (c) in section 4(2)(a)(ii), after “Maritime Convention” by the insertion of “, Part II of Protocol I and Part III of Protocol II”, (d) in section 4(2)(b), after “Prisoners of War Convention” by the insertion of “and Part III of Protocol I”, (e) in section 4(2)(c), by the insertion after “Civilians Convention” of “, Part IV of Protocol I and Part IV of Protocol II”, (f) in section 7(1)— (i) by the deletion in paragraph (b) after “Convention,” of “and”, (ii) by the substitution in paragraph (c) for “Convention.” of “Convention, and”, and (iii) by the insertion after paragraph (c) of the following paragraph: “(d) the authorisations or assignments referred to in Articles 8 and 61 of Protocol I, or the facilities referred to in Article 81 of Protocol I”, and (g) in section 7(2), by the substitution for “or commission” of “, commission, assignment or facility”. Amendment of Prisoners of War and Enemy Aliens Act, 1956 . 14.— Section 1 of the Prisoners of War and Enemy Aliens Act, 1956 , is hereby amended— (a) in subsection (1), by the insertion after the definition of “the Civilians Convention” of the following definition: “‘Protocol I’ means the Protocol, additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) adopted at Geneva on 8 June 1977;”, and (b) by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following subsections: “(2) Any reference in this Act to prisoners of war is, primarily, to— (a) persons who, in relation to the State and a war or armed conflict in which the State is a participant, are prisoners of war within the meaning of Paragraph A of Article 4 of the Prisoners of War Convention or paragraph 1 of Article 44 of Protocol I or who are entitled under paragraph 4 of the said Article to protections equivalent in all respects to those accorded to prisoners of war or armed conflict by the said Convention and Protocol, and (b) persons who, in relation to the State and a war in which the State is not a participant, are, by reference to subparagraph (2) of Paragraph B of Article 4 of the Prisoners of War Convention, to be treated as prisoners of war under that Convention, but any such reference shall also be construed as including a reference to the persons who in relation to the State and a war or armed conflict in which the State is a participant, having— (i) committed a belligerent act, are, pursuant to Article 5 of the Prisoners of War Convention, to enjoy the status of prisoners of war under that Convention, or (ii) taken part in hostilities, are, pursuant to Article 45 of Protocol I, to be presumed to be prisoners of war, until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal. (2A) Any reference in this Act to prisoners of war includes a reference to mercenaries (within the meaning of Article 47 of Protocol I) who as such have fallen into the power of, or been received on the territory of, the State.”. Restriction of application of section 12 of Extradition Act, 1965 (military offences). 15.—The restriction on granting extradition contained in section 12 of the Extradition Act, 1965 , does not apply in the case of an offence involving a grave or minor breach of any of the Scheduled Conventions or Protocol I or a minor breach of Protocol II. Contributions to International Fact-Finding Commission. 16.—There may be paid by the Minister to the International Fact-Finding Commission, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, contributions, towards the administrative expenses of the Commission, of such amounts as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may sanction. Expenses. 17.—The expenses incurred by the Minister or the Minister for Defence in the administration of this Act or anything relating thereto shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement. 18.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act, 1998. (2) The Principal Act and this Act (other than sections 13 and 14 ) may be cited together as the Geneva Conventions Acts, 1962 and 1998, and shall be construed together as one. (3) The Red Cross Acts, 1938 to 1954, and section 13 of this Act may be cited together as the Red Cross Acts, 1938 to 1998. (4) The Prisoners of War and Enemy Aliens Act, 1956 , and section 14 of this Act may be cited together as the Prisoners of War and Enemy Aliens Acts, 1956 and 1998. (5) This Act shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may appoint by order. SCHEDULE Schedules to be Inserted into the Principal Act Section 7 . “FIFTH SCHEDULE PROTOCOL I Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) PREAMBLE The High Contracting Parties, Proclaiming their earnest wish to see peace prevail among peoples, Recalling that every State has the duty, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations, to refrain in its international relations from the threat or use of force against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations, Believing it necessary nevertheless to reaffirm and develop the provisions protecting the victims of armed conflicts and to supplement measures intended to reinforce their application, Expressing their conviction that nothing in this Protocol or in the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 can be construed as legitimising or authorising any act of aggression or any other use of force inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations, Reaffirming further that the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and of this Protocol must be fully applied in all circumstances to all persons who are protected by those instruments, without any adverse distinction based on the nature or origin of the armed conflict or on the causes espoused by or attributed to the Parties to the conflict, Have agreed on the following: PART I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1—General principles and scope of application 1. The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for this Protocol in all circumstances. 2. In cases not covered by this Protocol or by other international agreements, civilians and combatants remain under the protection and authority of the principles of international law derived from established custom, from the principles of humanity and from the dictates of public conscience. 3. This Protocol, which supplements the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 for the protection of war victims, shall apply in the situations referred to in Article 2 common to those Conventions. 4. The situations referred to in the preceding paragraph include armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist régimes in the exercise of their right of self-determination, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. Article 2—Definitions For the purposes of this Protocol: (a) “First Convention”, “Second Convention”, “Third Convention” and “Fourth Convention” mean, respectively, the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of 12 August 1949; the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of 12 August 1949; the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August 1949; the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949; “the Conventions” means the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 for the protection of war victims; (b) “rules of international law applicable in armed conflict” means the rules applicable in armed conflict set forth in international agreements to which the Parties to the conflict are Parties and the generally recognised principles and rules of international law which are applicable to armed conflict; (c) “Protecting Power” means a neutral or other State not a Party to the conflict which has been designated by a Party to the conflict and accepted by the adverse Party and has agreed to carry out the functions assigned to a Protecting Power under the Conventions and this Protocol; (d) “substitute” means an organisation acting in place of a Protecting Power in accordance with Article 5. Article 3—Beginning and end of application Without prejudice to the provisions which are applicable at all times: (a) the Conventions and this Protocol shall apply from the beginning of any situation referred to in Article 1 of this Protocol; (b) the application of the Conventions and of this Protocol shall cease, in the territory of Parties to the conflict, on the general close of military operations and, in the case of occupied territories, on the termination of the occupation, except, in either circumstance, for those persons whose final release, repatriation or re-establishment takes place thereafter. These persons shall continue to benefit from the relevant provisions of the Conventions and of this Protocol until their final release, repatriation or re-establishment. Article 4—Legal status of the Parties to the conflict The application of the Conventions and of this Protocol, as well as the conclusion of the agreements provided for therein, shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict. Neither the occupation of a territory nor the application of the Conventions and this Protocol shall affect the legal status of the territory in question. Article 5—Appointment of Protecting Powers and of their substitute 1. It is the duty of the Parties to a conflict from the beginning of that conflict to secure the supervision and implementation of the Conventions and of this Protocol by the application of the system of Protecting Powers, including inter alia the designation and acceptance of those Powers, in accordance with the following paragraphs. Protecting Powers shall have the duty of safeguarding the interests of the Parties to the conflict. 2. From the beginning of a situation referred to in Article 1, each Party to the conflict shall without delay designate a Protecting Power for the purpose of applying the Conventions and this Protocol and shall, likewise without delay and for the same purpose, permit the activities of a Protecting Power which has been accepted by it as such after designation by the adverse Party. 3. If a Protecting Power has not been designated or accepted from the beginning of a situation referred to in Article 1, the International Committee of the Red Cross, without prejudice to the right of any other impartial humanitarian organisation to do likewise, shall offer its good offices to the Parties to the conflict with a view to the designation without delay of a Protecting Power to which the Parties to the conflict consent. For that purpose it may, inter alia, ask each Party to provide it with a list of at least five States which that Party considers acceptable to act as Protecting Power on its behalf in relation to an adverse Party, and ask each adverse Party to provide a list of at least five States which it would accept as the Protecting Power of the first Party; these lists shall be communicated to the Committee within two weeks after the receipt of the request; it shall compare them and seek the agreement of any proposed State named on both lists. 4. If, despite the foregoing, there is no Protecting Power, the Parties to the conflict shall accept without delay an offer which may be made by the International Committee of the Red Cross or by any other organisation which offers all guarantees of impartiality and efficacy, after due consultations with the said Parties and taking into account the result of these consultations, to act as a substitute. The functioning of such a substitute is subject to the consent of the Parties to the conflict; every effort shall be made by the Parties to the conflict to facilitate the operations of the substitute in the performance of its tasks under the Conventions and this Protocol. 5. In accordance with Article 4, the designation and acceptance of Protecting Powers for the purpose of applying the Conventions and this Protocol shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict or of any territory, including occupied territory. 6. The maintenance of diplomatic relations between Parties to the conflict or the entrusting of the protection of a Party's interests and those of its nationals to a third State in accordance with the rules of international law relating to diplomatic relations is no obstacle to the designation of Protecting Powers for the purpose of applying the Conventions and this Protocol. 7. Any subsequent mention in this Protocol of a Protecting Power includes also a substitute. Article 6—Qualified persons 1. The High Contracting Parties shall, also in peacetime, endeavour, with the assistance of the national Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) Societies, to train qualified personnel to facilitate the application of the Conventions and of this Protocol, and in particular the activities of the Protecting Powers. 2. The recruitment and training of such personnel are within domestic jurisdiction. 3. The International Committee of the Red Cross shall hold at the disposal of the High Contracting Parties the lists of persons so trained which the High Contracting Parties may have established and may have transmitted to it for that purpose. 4. The conditions governing the employment of such personnel outside the national territory shall, in each case, be the subject of special agreements between the Parties concerned. Article 7—Meetings The depositary of this Protocol shall convene a meeting of the High Contracting Parties, at the request of one or more of the said Parties and upon the approval of the majority of the said Parties, to consider general problems concerning the application of the Conventions and of the Protocol. PART II WOUNDED, SICK AND SHIPWRECKED SECTION I—GENERAL PROTECTION Article 8—Terminology For the purposes of this Protocol: (a) “wounded” and “sick” means persons, whether military or civilian, who, because of trauma, disease or other physical or mental disorder or disability, are in need of medical assistance or care and who refrain from any act of hostility. These terms also cover maternity cases, newborn babies and other persons who may be in need of immediate medical assistance or care, such as the infirm or expectant mothers, and who refrain from any act of hostility; (b) “shipwrecked” means persons, whether military or civilian, who are in peril at sea or in other waters as a result of misfortune affecting them or the vessel or aircraft carrying them and who refrain from any act of hostility. These persons, provided that they continue to refrain from any act of hostility, shall continue to be considered shipwrecked during their rescue until they acquire another status under the Conventions or this Protocol; (c) “medical personnel” means those persons assigned, by a Party to the conflict, exclusively to the medical purposes enumerated under sub-paragraph (e) or to the administration of medical units or to the operation or administration of medical transports. Such assignments may be either permanent or temporary. The term includes: (i) medical personnel of a Party to the conflict, whether military or civilian, including those described in the First and Second Conventions, and those assigned to civil defence organisations; (ii) medical personnel of national Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) Societies and other national voluntary aid societies duly recognised and authorised by a Party to the conflict; (iii) medical personnel of medical units or medical transports described in Article 9, paragraph 2; (d) “religious personnel” means military or civilian persons, such as chaplains, who are exclusively engaged in the work of their ministry and attached: (i) to the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; (ii) to medical units or medical transports of a Party to the conflict; (iii) to medical units or medical transports described in Article 9, paragraph 2; or (iv) to civil defence organisations of a Party to the conflict. The attachment of religious personnel may be either permanent or temporary, and the relevant provisions mentioned under sub-paragraph (k) apply to them; (e) “medical units” means establishments and other units, whether military or civilian, organised for medical purposes, namely the search for, collection, transportation, diagnosis or treatment — including first-aid treatment — of the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, or for the prevention of disease. The term includes, for example, hospitals and other similar units, blood transfusion centres, preventive medicine centres and institutes, medical depots and the medical and pharmaceutical stores of such units. Medical units may be fixed or mobile, permanent or temporary; (f) “medical transportation” means the conveyance by land, water or air of the wounded, sick, shipwrecked, medical personnel, religious personnel, medical equipment or medical supplies protected by the Conventions and by this Protocol; (g) “medical transports” means any means of transportation, whether military or civilian, permanent or temporary, assigned exclusively to medical transportation and under the control of a competent authority of a Party to the conflict; (h) “medical vehicles” means any medical transports by land; (i) “medical ships and craft” means any medical transports by water; (j) “medical aircraft” means any medical transports by air; (k) “permanent medical personnel”, “permanent medical units” and “permanent medical transports” mean those assigned exclusively to medical purposes for an indeterminate period. “Temporary medical personnel”, “temporary medical units” and “temporary medical transports” mean those devoted exclusively to medical purposes for limited periods during the whole of such periods. Unless otherwise specified, the terms “medical personnel”, “medical units” and “medical transports” cover both permanent and temporary categories; (l) “distinctive emblem” means the distinctive emblem of the red cross, red crescent or red lion and sun on a white ground when used for the protection of medical units and transports, or medical and religious personnel, equipment or supplies; (m) “distinctive signal” means any signal or message specified for the identification exclusively of medical units or transports in Chapter III of Annex I to this Protocol. Article 9—Field of application 1. This Part, the provisions of which are intended to ameliorate the condition of the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, shall apply to all those affected by a situation referred to in Article 1, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, sex, language, religion or belief, political or other opinion, national or social origin, wealth, birth or other status, or on any other similar criteria. 2. The relevant provisions of Articles 27 and 32 of the First Convention shall apply to permanent medical units and transports (other than hospital ships, to which Article 25 of the Second Convention applies) and their personnel made available to a Party to the conflict for humanitarian purposes: (a) by a neutral or other State which is not a Party to that conflict; (b) by a recognised and authorised aid society of such a State; (c) by an impartial international humanitarian organisation. Article 10—Protection and care 1. All the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, to whichever Party they belong, shall be respected and protected. 2. In all circumstances they shall be treated humanely and shall receive, to the fullest extent practicable and with the least possible delay, the medical care and attention required by their condition. There shall be no distinction among them founded on any grounds other than medical ones. Article 11—Protection of persons 1. The physical or mental health and integrity of persons who are in the power of the adverse Party or who are interned, detained or otherwise deprived of liberty as a result of a situation referred to in Article 1 shall not be endangered by any unjustified act or omission. Accordingly, it is prohibited to subject the persons described in this Article to any medical procedure which is not indicated by the state of health of the person concerned and which is not consistent with generally accepted medical standards which would be applied under similar medical circumstances to persons who are nationals of the Party conducting the procedure and who are in no way deprived of liberty. 2. It is, in particular, prohibited to carry out on such persons, even with their consent: (a) physical mutilations; (b) medical or scientific experiments; (c) removal of tissue or organs for transplantation, except where these acts are justified in conformity with the conditions provided for in paragraph 1. 3. Exceptions to the prohibition in paragraph 2 (c) may be made only in the case of donations of blood for transfusion or of skin for grafting, provided that they are given voluntarily and without any coercion or inducement, and then only for therapeutic purposes, under conditions consistent with generally accepted medical standards and controls designed for the benefit of both the donor and the recipient. 4. Any wilful act or omission which seriously endangers the physical or mental health or integrity of any person who is in the power of a Party other than the one on which he depends and which either violates any of the prohibitions in paragraphs 1 and 2 or fails to comply with the requirements of paragraph 3 shall be a grave breach of this Protocol. 5. The persons described in paragraph 1 have the right to refuse any surgical operation. In case of refusal, medical personnel shall endeavour to obtain a written statement to that effect, signed or acknowledged by the patient. 6. Each Party to the conflict shall keep a medical record for every donation of blood for transfusion or skin for grafting by persons referred to in paragraph 1, if that donation is made under the responsibility of that Party. In addition, each Party to the conflict shall endeavour to keep a record of all medical procedures undertaken with respect to any person who is interned, detained or otherwise deprived of liberty as a result of a situation referred to in Article 1. These records shall be available at all times for inspection by the Protecting Power. Article 12—Protection of medical units 1. Medical units shall be respected and protected at all times and shall not be the object of attack. 2. Paragraph 1 shall apply to civilian medical units, provided that they: (a) belong to one of the Parties to the conflict; (b) are recognised and authorised by the competent authority of one of the Parties to the conflict; or (c) are authorised in conformity with Article 9, paragraph 2, of this Protocol or Article 27 of the First Convention. 3. The Parties to the conflict are invited to notify each other of the location of their fixed medical units. The absence of such notification shall not exempt any of the Parties from the obligation to comply with the provisions of paragraph 1. 4. Under no circumstances shall medical units be used in an attempt to shield military objectives from attack. Whenever possible, the Parties to the conflict shall ensure that medical units are so sited that attacks against military objectives do not imperil their safety. Article 13—Discontinuance of protection of civilian medical units 1. The protection to which civilian medical units are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian function, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after a warning has been given setting, whenever appropriate, a reasonable time-limit, and after such warning has remained unheeded. 2. The following shall not be considered as acts harmful to the enemy: (a) that the personnel of the unit are equipped with light individual weapons for their own defence or for that of the wounded and sick in their charge; (b) that the unit is guarded by a picket or by sentries or by an escort; (c) that small-arms and ammunition taken from the wounded and sick, and not yet handed to the proper service, are found in the units; (d) that members of the armed forces or other combatants are in the unit for medical reasons. Article 14—Limitations on requisition of civilian medical units 1. The Occupying Power has the duty to ensure that the medical needs of the civilian population in occupied territory continue to be satisfied. 2. The Occupying Power shall not, therefore, requisition civilian medical units, their equipment, their matériel or the services of their personnel, so long as these resources are necessary for the provision of adequate medical services for the civilian population and for the continuing medical care of any wounded and sick already under treatment. 3. Provided that the general rule in paragraph 2 continues to be observed, the Occupying Power may requisition the said resources, subject to the following particular conditions: (a) that the resources are necessary for the adequate and immediate medical treatment of the wounded and sick members of the armed forces of the Occupying Power or of prisoners of war; (b) that the requisition continues only while such necessity exists; and (c) that immediate arrangements are made to ensure that the medical needs of the civilian population, as well as those of any wounded and sick under treatment who are affected by the requisition, continue to be satisfied. Article 15—Protection of civilian medical and religious personnel 1. Civilian medical personnel shall be respected and protected. 2. If needed, all available help shall be afforded to civilian medical personnel in an area where civilian medical services are disrupted by reason of combat activity. 3. The Occupying Power shall afford civilian medical personnel in occupied territories every assistance to enable them to perform, to the best of their ability, their humanitarian functions. The Occupying Power may not require that, in the performance of those functions, such personnel shall give priority to the treatment of any person except on medical grounds. They shall not be compelled to carry out tasks which are not compatible with their humanitarian mission. 4. Civilian medical personnel shall have access to any place where their services are essential, subject to such supervisory and safety measures as the relevant Party to the conflict may deem necessary. 5. Civilian religious personnel shall be respected and protected. The provisions of the Conventions and of this Protocol concerning the protection and identification of medical personnel shall apply equally to such persons. Article 16—General protection of medical duties 1. Under no circumstances shall any person be punished for carrying out medical activities compatible with medical ethics, regardless of the person benefiting therefrom. 2. Persons engaged in medical activities shall not be compelled to perform acts or to carry out work contrary to the rules of medical ethics or to other medical rules designed for the benefit of the wounded and sick or to the provisions of the Conventions or of this Protocol, or to refrain from performing acts or from carrying out work required by those rules and provisions. 3. No person engaged in medical activities shall be compelled to give to anyone belonging either to an adverse Party, or to his own Party except as required by the law of the latter Party, any information concerning the wounded and sick who are, or who have been, under his care, if such information would, in his opinion, prove harmful to the patients concerned or to their families. Regulations for the compulsory notification of communicable diseases shall, however, be respected. Article 17—Role of the civilian population and of aid societies 1. The civilian population shall respect the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, even if they belong to the adverse Party, and shall commit no act of violence against them. The civilian population and aid societies, such as national Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) Societies, shall be permitted, even on their own initiative, to collect and care for the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, even in invaded or occupied areas. No one shall be harmed, prosecuted, convicted or punished for such humanitarian acts. 2. The Parties to the conflict may appeal to the civilian population and the aid societies referred to in paragraph 1 to collect and care for the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, and to search for the dead and report their location; they shall grant both protection and the necessary facilities to those who respond to this appeal. If the adverse Party gains or regains control of the area, that Party also shall afford the same protection and facilities for so long as they are needed. Article 18—Identification 1. Each Party to the conflict shall endeavour to ensure that medical and religious personnel and medical units and transports are identifiable. 2. Each Party to the conflict shall also endeavour to adopt and to implement methods and procedures which will make it possible to recognise medical units and transports which use the distinctive emblem and distinctive signals. 3. In occupied territory and in areas where fighting is taking place or is likely to take place, civilian medical personnel and civilian religious personnel should be recognisable by the distinctive emblem and an identity card certifying their status. 4. With the consent of the competent authority, medical units and transports shall be marked by the distinctive emblem. The ships and craft referred to in Article 22 of this Protocol shall be marked in accordance with the provisions of the Second Convention. 5. In addition to the distinctive emblem, a Party to the conflict may, as provided in Chapter III of Annex I to this Protocol, authorise the use of distinctive signals to identify medical units and transports. Exceptionally, in the special cases covered in that Chapter, medical transports may use distinctive signals without displaying the distinctive emblem. 6. The application of the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 5 of this Article is governed by Chapters I to III of Annex I to this Protocol. Signals designated in Chapter III of the Annex for the exclusive use of medical units and transports shall not, except as provided therein, be used for any purpose other than to identify the medical units and transports specified in that Chapter. 7. This Article does not authorise any wider use of the distinctive emblem in peacetime than is prescribed in Article 44 of the First Convention. 8. The provisions of the Conventions and of this Protocol relating to supervision of the use of the distinctive emblem and to the prevention and repression of any misuse thereof shall be applicable to distinctive signals. Article 19—Neutral and other States not Parties to the conflict Neutral and other States not Parties to the conflict shall apply the relevant provisions of this Protocol to persons protected by this Part who may be received or interned within their territory, and to any dead of the Parties to that conflict whom they may find. Article 20—Prohibition of reprisals Reprisals against the persons and objects protected by this Part are prohibited. SECTION II — MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION Article 21—Medical vehicles Medical vehicles shall be respected and protected in the same way as mobile medical units under the Conventions and this Protocol. Article 22—Hospital ships and coastal rescue craft 1. The provisions of the Conventions relating to: (a) vessels described in Articles 22, 24, 25 and 27 of the Second Convention, (b) their lifeboats and small craft, (c) their personnel and crews, and (d) the wounded, sick and shipwrecked on board, shall also apply where these vessels carry civilian wounded, sick and shipwrecked who do not belong to any of the categories mentioned in Article 13 of the Second Convention. Such civilians shall not, however, be subject to surrender to any Party which is not their own, or to capture at sea. If they find themselves in the power of a Party to the conflict other than their own they shall be covered by the Fourth Convention and by this Protocol. 2. The protection provided by the Conventions to vessels described in Article 25 of the Second Convention shall extend to hospital ships made available for humanitarian purposes to a Party to the conflict: (a) by a neutral or other State which is not a Party to that conflict; or (b) by an impartial international humanitarian organisation, provided that, in either case, the requirements set out in that Article are complied with. 3. Small craft described in Article 27 of the Second Convention shall be protected even if the notification envisaged by that Article has not been made. The Parties to the conflict are, nevertheless, invited to inform each other of any details of such craft which will facilitate their identification and recognition. Article 23—Other medical ships and craft 1. Medical ships and craft other than those referred to in Article 22 of this Protocol and Article 38 of the Second Convention shall, whether at sea or in other waters, be respected and protected in the same way as mobile medical units under the Conventions and this Protocol. Since this protection can only be effective if they can be identified and recognised as medical ships or craft, such vessels should be marked with the distinctive emblem and as far as possible comply with the second paragraph of Article 43 of the Second Convention. 2. The ships and craft referred to in paragraph 1 shall remain subject to the laws of war. Any warship on the surface able immediately to enforce its command may order them to stop, order them off, or make them take a certain course, and they shall obey every such command. Such ships and craft may not in any other way be diverted from their medical mission so long as they are needed for the wounded, sick and shipwrecked on board. 3. The protection provided in paragraph 1 shall cease only under the conditions set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Second Convention. A clear refusal to obey a command given in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be an act harmful to the enemy under Article 34 of the Second Convention. 4. A Party to the conflict may notify any adverse Party as far in advance of sailing as possible of the name, description, expected time of sailing, course and estimated speed of the medical ship or craft, particularly in the case of ships of over 2,000 gross tons, and may provide any other information which would facilitate identification and recognition. The adverse Party shall acknowledge receipt of such information. 5. The provisions of Article 37 of the Second Convention shall apply to medical and religious personnel in such ships and craft. 6. The provisions of the Second Convention shall apply to the wounded, sick and shipwrecked belonging to the categories referred to in Article 13 of the Second Convention and in Article 44 of this Protocol who may be on board such medical ships and craft. Wounded, sick and shipwrecked civilians who do not belong to any of the categories mentioned in Article 13 of the Second Convention shall not be subject, at sea, either to surrender to any Party which is not their own, or to removal from such ships or craft; if they find themselves in the power of a Party to the conflict other than their own, they shall be covered by the Fourth Convention and by this Protocol. Article 24—Protection of medical aircraft Medical aircraft shall be respected and protected, subject to the provisions of this Part. Article 25—Medical aircraft in areas not controlled by an adverse Party In and over land areas physically controlled by friendly forces, or in and over sea areas not physically controlled by an adverse Party, the respect and protection of medical aircraft of a Party to the conflict is not dependent on any agreement with an adverse Party. For greater safety, however, a Party to the conflict operating its medical aircraft in these areas may notify the adverse Party, as provided in Article 29, in particular when such aircraft are making flights bringing them within range of surface-to-air weapons systems of the adverse Party. Article 26—Medical aircraft in contact or similar zones 1. In and over those parts of the contact zone which are physically controlled by friendly forces and in and over those areas the physical control of which is not clearly established, protection for medical aircraft can be fully effective only by prior agreement between the competent military authorities of the Parties to the conflict, as provided for in article 29. Although, in the absence of such an agreement, medical aircraft operate at their own risk, they shall nevertheless be respected after they have been recognised as such. 2. “Contact zone” means any area on land where the forward elements of opposing forces are in contact with each other, especially where they are exposed to direct fire from the ground. Article 27—Medical aircraft in areas controlled by an adverse Party 1. The medical aircraft of a Party to the conflict shall continue to be protected while flying over land or sea areas physically controlled by an adverse Party, provided that prior agreement to such flights has been obtained from the competent authority of that adverse Party. 2. A medical aircraft which flies over an area physically controlled by an adverse Party without, or in deviation from the terms of, an agreement provided for in paragraph 1, either through navigational error or because of an emergency affecting the safety of the flight, shall make every effort to identify itself and to inform the adverse Party of the circumstances. As soon as such medical aircraft has been recognised by the adverse Party, that Party shall make all reasonable efforts to give the order to land or to alight on water, referred to in Article 30, paragraph 1, or to take other measures to safeguard its own interests, and in either case, to allow the aircraft time for compliance, before resorting to an attack against the aircraft. Article 28—Restrictions on operations of medical aircraft 1. The Parties to the conflict are prohibited from using their medical aircraft to attempt to acquire any military advantage over an adverse Party. The presence of medical aircraft shall not be used in an attempt to render military objectives immune from attack. 2. Medical aircraft shall not be used to collect or transmit intelligence data and shall not carry any equipment intended for such purposes. They are prohibited from carrying any persons or cargo not included within the definition in Article 8, sub-paragraph (f). The carrying on board of the personal effects of the occupants or of equipment intended solely to facilitate navigation, communication or identification shall not be considered as prohibited. 3. Medical aircraft shall not carry any armament except small-arms and ammunition taken from the wounded, sick and shipwrecked on board and not yet handed to the proper service, and such light individual weapons as may be necessary to enable the medical personnel on board to defend themselves and the wounded, sick and shipwrecked in their charge. 4. While carrying out the flights referred to in Articles 26 and 27, medical aircraft shall not, except by prior agreement with the adverse Party, be used to search for the wounded, sick and shipwrecked. Article 29—Notifications and agreements concerning medical aircraft 1. Notifications under Article 25, or requests for prior agreement under Articles 26, 27, 28 (paragraph 4), or 31 shall state the proposed number of medical aircraft, their flight plans and means of identification, and shall be understood to mean that every flight will be carried out in compliance with Article 28. 2. A Party which receives a notification given under Article 25 shall at once acknowledge receipt of such notification. 3. A Party which receives a request for prior agreement under Articles 26, 27, 28 (paragraph 4), or 31 shall, as rapidly as possible, notify the requesting Party: (a) that the request is agreed to; (b) that the request is denied …