circumstances as private individuals on occupied territory be made prisoners of war. But they are nevertheless, for the time they are on board the captured vessel, under the discipline of the captor. All restrictive measures against them which are necessary are therefore lawful, as are also punishments, in case they do not comply with lawful orders of the commanding officer. If they are enemy officials in important positions,2 they can be made prisoners of war. Adapta tion of Geneva Conven tion to Sea Warfare. V TREATMENT OF WOUNDED AND SHIPWRECKED. Perels, § 37-Pillet, pp. 188-191-Bonfils, No. 1280-U.S. Naval War Code, articles 21-29-Ferguson, "The Red Cross Alliance at Sea" (1871)-Houette, "De l'extension des principes de la Convention de Genève aux victimes des guerres maritimes" (1892)—Cauwès, "L'extension des principes de la Convention de Genève aux guerres maritimes" (1899)—Holls, "The Peace Conference at the Hague " (1900), pp. 120-132-Fauchille in R.G., VI. (1899), pp. 291–302— Bayer, in R.G., VIII. (1901), pp. 225-230. See also the literature quoted above at the commencement of § 118. § 204. Soon after the Geneva Convention the necessity of adapting its principles to naval warfare was generally recognised, and among the non-ratified additional articles to the Geneva Convention signed at the Congress convened in 1868 at Geneva were nine which undertook such an adaptation. But it was not until the Hague Peace Conference in 1899 that an adaptation came into legal existence. This adaptation is contained in the "Convention,3 for the 1 See U.S. Naval War Code, article II, and above, § 116. 2 See above, § 117. 3 Martens, N.R.G., 2nd ser. XXVI. p. 979. Adaptation to Maritime Warfare of the Principles of the Geneva Convention of August 22, 1864." This Convention contains fourteen articles, which not only provide rules regarding the treatment of wounded, sick, and shipwrecked sailors and marines, but, in the interest of such wounded, sick, and shipwrecked individuals, provide also rules regarding (1) hospital ships, (2) neutral ships taking or having on board belligerents' wounded, sick, or shipwrecked, (3) further, the religious, medical, and hospital staff of captured ships. The original Convention contained also, in its tenth article, the following stipulation:" The shipwrecked, wounded, or sick, who are landed at a neutral port with the consent of the local authorities, must, failing a contrary arrangement between the neutral State and the belligerents, be guarded by the neutral State, so that they cannot again take part in the military operations. The expenses of entertainment and internment shall be borne by the State to which the shipwrecked, wounded, or sick belong." But as Great Britain, Germany, the United States, and Turkey in signing the Convention reserved special liberty of action with regard to this tenth article, all the parties agreed upon the suggestion of Russia to ratify the Convention with exclusion of article 10, by inserting in the act of ratification a copy of the Convention in which the text of article 10 is replaced by the word Exclu.1 Thus article 10 was dropped, but the original numbering of the articles remains. Wounded, § 205. Enemy sailors and soldiers who are taken The on board when sick or wounded must be protected sick, and and tended by the captors (article 8). All enemy Ship shipwrecked, wounded, or sick, who fall into the 1 1 See above, vol. I. § 517, note 4, and Holls, l.c., p. 128. wrecked. Hospital hands of a belligerent are prisoners of war. It is left to the captor to determine whether they are to be kept on board or to be sent to a port of his own country, or neutral port, or even a hostile port; and in the last case such repatriated prisoners must be prevented by their Government from again serving in the war (article 9). § 206. Articles 1 to 5 deal with so-called hospital ships, of which three different kinds are distinguished -namely (1) military hospital ships, (2) hospital ships equipped by private individuals or relief societies of the belligerents, and (3) hospital ships equipped by private neutral individuals and neutral relief societies. Military hospital ships are ships constructed or assigned by States specially and solely for the purpose of assisting the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked. Their names must be communicated to the belligerents at the commencement of or during hostilities, and in any case before they are employed. must be respected by the belligerents, they cannot be captured while hostilities last, and they are not on the same footing as men-of-war during their stay in a neutral port. They Hospital ships equipped wholly or in part at the cost of private individuals or officially recognised relief societies of the belligerents must be respected by either belligerent, and are exempt from capture, provided their home State has given them an official commission and has notified their names to the other belligerent at the commencement of or during hostilities, and in any case before they are employed. They must, further, be furnished with a certificate from the competent authorities declaring that they had been under the latter's control while fitting out and on final departure. Hospital ships equipped wholly or in part at the cost of private individuals or officially recognised relief societies of neutral States must likewise be respected, and are exempt from capture, provided their home State has given them an official commission and notified their names to the belligerents at the commencement of or during hostilities, and in any case before they are employed. All military and other hospital ships must afford relief and assistance to the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked of either belligerent. The respective Governments are prohibited from using these ships for any military purpose. The commanders of these vessels must not in any way hamper the movements of the combatants, and during and after an engagement they act at their own risk and peril. Both belligerents have a right to control and visit all military and other hospital ships, to refuse their assistance, to order them off, to make them take a certain course, to put a commissioner on board, and, lastly, to detain them temporarily, if important circumstances require this. In case a hospital ship' receives orders from a belligerent, these orders must, as far as possible, be inscribed in the ship papers. For the purpose of defining the status of hospital ships when entering neutral ports an International Conference met at the Hague in 1904, where Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, China, Korea, Denmark, Spain, the United States of America, France, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Mexico, Holland, Persia, Portugal, Roumania, Russia, Servia, and Siam were represented. Great Britain, however, did not take part. The following is the text of the six articles of the Convention signed by all the representatives : Article 1.-Hospital ships fulfilling the conditions prescribed in articles 1, 2, and 3 of the Convention concluded at the Hague on July 27, 1899, for the adaptation of the principles of the Geneva Convention of August 22, 1864, to naval warfare shall in time of war be exempt in the ports of the contracting parties from all dues and taxes. imposed on vessels for the benefit of the State. Article 2. The provision contained in the preceding article shall not prevent the exercise of the right of search and other formalities demanded by the fiscal and other laws in force in the said ports. Article 3.-The regulation laid down in article is binding only upon the contracting Powers in case of war between two or more of themselves. The said rule shall cease to be obligatory as soon as in a war between any of the contracting Powers a non-contracting Power shall join one of the belligerents. Article 4. The present Convention, which bears date of this day and may be signed up to October 1, 1905, by any Power which shall have expressed a wish to do so, shall be ratified as speedily as possible. The ratifications shall be deposited at the Hague. On the deposit of the ratifications, a procès-verbal shall be drawn up, of which a certified copy shall be conveyed by diplomatic channels, after the deposit of each ratification, to all the contracting Powers. Article 5.-Non-signatory Powers will be allowed to adhere to the present convention after October 1, 1905. For that purpose they will have to make known the fact of their adhesion to the contracting Powers by means of a written notification addressed to the Government of the Netherlands, which will be communicated by that Government to all the other contracting Powers. Article 6. In the event of any of the high contracting parties denouncing the present Convention, the denunciation shall only take effect after notification has been made in writing to the Government of the Netherlands and communicated by that Government at once to all the other contracting Powers. Such denunciation shall be |