Geneva Conventions Act, 1957 : 5 & 6 Eliz 2. Ch 52.

  • Great Britain.
Date:
1957
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Geneva Conventions Act, 1957 : 5 & 6 Eliz 2. Ch 52. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    38/142 (page 36)
    —cont. Cu. 52 Geneva Conventions Act, 1957 5 & 6 ELiz. 2 ARTICLE 22 Military hospital ships, that is to say, ships built or equipped by the Powers specially and solely with a view to assisting the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, to treating them and to transporting them, may in no circumstances be attacked or captured, but shall at all times be respected and protected, on condition that their names and descriptions have been notified to the Parties to the conflict ten days before those ships are employed. The characteristics which must appear in the notification shall include registered gross tonnage, the length from stem to stern and the number of masts and funnels. ARTICLE 23 Establishments ashore entitled to the protection of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of 12th August, 1949, shall be protected from bombardment or attack from the sea. ARTICLE 24 Hospital ships utilised by national Red Cross societies, by officially recognised relief societies or by private persons shall have the same protection as military hospital ships and shall be exempt from capture, if the Party to the conflict on which they depend has given them an official commission and in so far as the provisions of Article 22 concerning notification have been complied with. These ships must be provided with certificates of the responsible authorities, stating that the vessels have been under their control while fitting out and on departure. ARTICLE 25 Hospital ships utilised by national Red Cross societies, officially recognised relief societies, or private persons of neutral countries shall have the same protection as military hospital ships and shall be exempt from capture, on condition that they have placed them- selves under the control of one of the Parties to the conflict, with the previous consent of their own governments and with the authorisa- tion of the Party to the conflict concerned, in so far as the provisions of Article 22 concerning notification have been complied with. ARTICLE 26 The protection mentioned in Articles 22, 24 and 25 shall apply to operating. Nevertheless, to ensure the maximum comfort and security, the Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to utilise, for the transport of wounded, sick and shipwrecked over long distances and on the high seas only hospital ships of over 2,000 tons gross. ARTICLE 27 Under the same conditions as those provided for in Articles 22 and 24 small craft, employed by the State or by the officially recog- nised lifeboat institutions for coastal rescue operations, shall alsg be respected and protected, so far as operational requirements permit.