Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act, 1998
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

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paragraphs: —In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Geneva Conventions Act, 1962 .
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paragraphs: —The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for section 2 of the following section:
“Interpretation.
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paragraphs: — 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;
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paragraphs: — 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:
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paragraphs: —(1) Section 4 (which relates to minor breaches of the Scheduled Conventions) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—
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paragraphs: —The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for section 5 of the following section:
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paragraphs: —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.”.
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paragraphs: —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.
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paragraphs: —(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.
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paragraphs: —(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.
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paragraphs: —(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:
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paragraphs: —(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.
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paragraphs: —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.
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paragraphs: —(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”.
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paragraphs: — 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.”.
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paragraphs: —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.
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paragraphs: —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.
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paragraphs: —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.
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paragraphs: —(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.