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Prisoners of War (Germany) Case

International Law Reports Cited in Precedent Map Related
Vincent
Date04 Abril 1922
Docket NumberCase No. 299
CourtObsolete Court (Germany)
Germany, Reichsgericht in Criminal Matters.
Case No. 299
Prisoners of War (Germany) Case.

Rules of Warfare — Binding Force of — Hague Conventions.

Prisoners of War — Legal Position of — Subjection to the Law of the Captor — Continuance of the Status of Soldier — Germany and the Hague Conventions.

The Facts.—The accused was a German non-commissioned officer. He was taken prisoner by the French army. The French authorities then appointed him a camp non-commissioned officer. In this capacity he beat some German prisoners of war. He was now prosecuted on the ground of § 122 of the German Military Criminal Code, which punishes corporal punishment of subordinates. He was convicted.

Held, on final appeal on a point of law: That the conviction must stand. According to the view adopted in international law, the fact of capture terminates the relation of subordination to the national military authorities, which remains suspended for the duration of the status of prisoner of war. As, according to Article 8 of Hague Convention No. IV, prisoners of war are “subject to the laws, regulations, and orders in force in the army of the State in whose power they are,” the captor State is entitled to place new authorities over them. Thus a prisoner of war may himself be placed in a position of authority over other prisoners of war. Within the frame of the new military organisation created as the result of captivity prisoners of war are to be regarded as soldiers, and persons placed in command over them are to be regarded as military commanders. Accordingly the maltreatment of other prisoners of war by the accused must be regarded as maltreatment by a...

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