Source: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule122
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 05:04:21+00:00

Document:
Note: For practice concerning pillage in general, see Rule 52.
The Detaining Power may withdraw articles of value from prisoners of war only for reasons of security: when such articles are withdrawn, the procedure laid down for sums of money impounded shall apply.
Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Geneva, 12 August 1949, Article 18.
Family or identity documents in the possession of internees may not be taken away without a receipt begin given. At no time shall internees be left without identity documents. If they have none, they shall be issued with special documents drawn up by the detaining authorities, which will serve as their identity papers until the end of their internment.
Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Geneva, 12 August 1949, Article 97.
Article 4(2)(g) of the 1977 Additional Protocol II provides for the prohibition of acts of pillage against “all persons who do not take a direct part or who have ceased to take part in hostilities”.
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), Geneva, 8 June 1977, Article 4(2)(g). Article 4 was adopted by consensus. CDDH, Official Records, Vol. VII, CDDH/SR.50, 3 June 1977, p. 90.
Section 7.2 of the 1999 UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin states that pillage of persons hors de combat is prohibited.
Concerning captured enemy military objects, the military material obtained from the captured persons must be seized and becomes war booty, with the exception of identity documents and effects used for clothing, food and personal protection.
Burundi, Règlement n° 98 sur le droit international humanitaire, Ministère de la Défense Nationale et des Anciens Combattants, Projet “Moralisation” (BDI/B-05), August 2007, Part I bis, pp. 105–106; see also Part I bis, pp. 56 and 85, and Part I, p. 15.
- Clothing, food and drink, and other personal effects.
- Effects for personal protection (helmet, protection mask).
Cameroon, Droit des conflits armés et droit international humanitaire, Manuel de l’instructeur en vigueur dans les forces de défense, Ministère de la Défense, Présidence de la République, Etat-major des Armées, 2006, p. 231, § 122; see also p. 165, § 463.
PW [prisoners of war] may retain all personal articles and effects which will not assist in any escape attempt, including articles of regulation military equipment issued for personnel protection (helmets, body armour, gas masks etc.). Items of substantial value may be removed, by order of an officer, if considered a security risk. Such items are to be documented and a receipt in triplicate prepared. The original of the receipt is to be given to the PW, one copy is to be stored with the property and the third is to be retained with the PW documents.
Canada, Prisoner of War Handling, Detainees, Interrogation and Tactical Questioning in International Operations, B-GJ-005-110/FP-020, National Defence Headquarters, 1 August 2004, p. 3D-3, § D002.1.
In accordance with [the 1949 Geneva Convention III], CF [Canadian Forces] members who are PWs [prisoners of war] must be allowed to retain all of their personal property, except vehicles, arms, and other military equipment or documents. Protective equipment (helmets, gas masks, flak jackets, etc.), clothing or articles used for feeding must also be left in their possession, as must badges of nationality or rank, and decorations. They must also be allowed to maintain articles of sentimental value.
Canada, The Code of Conduct After Capture for the Canadian Forces, B-GJ-005-110/FP-010, National Defence Headquarters, 28 October 2004, § 310.1.
c. items of personal protection (i.e., helmet, gas mask, flak jacket, etc.).
Canada, Code of Conduct for CF Personnel, Office of the Judge Advocate General, 2005, Rule 5, § 5.
PWs and detainees will be allowed to retain all personal effects and articles, as well as their metal helmets, gas masks, feeding utensils and articles of personal protection. Their weapons, other military equipment, military documents, etc. can be removed. Only an officer may order the removal of sums of money and valuables for safekeeping. If such action is taken, a receipt must be issued and the details recorded in a special register.
Canada, Code of Conduct for CF Personnel, Office of the Judge Advocate General, 2005, Rule 6, § 5.
- handed over to superiors.
- items of personal protection (helmet, gas mask).
Côte d’Ivoire, Droit de la guerre, Manuel d’instruction, Livre I: Instruction de base, Ministère de la Défense, Forces Armées Nationales, November 2007, p. 23.
All prisoners must be disarmed and submitted to a thorough search. It is advisable to do this in a manner which does not violate the prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment, and which respects the special protection accorded to women and child soldiers. The following objects can be confiscated: ammunition, military documents such as topographical maps, orders, note-books containing military information, transmission networks, codes and any other military equipment which is not intended specifically for personal protection, such as straps intended for the transport of ammunition cases, etc.
Military clothes and protection equipment must be left with the prisoners, such as boots, helmets, bullet-proof vests, gas masks, etc. They are not yet out of danger and could need these clothes and protection equipment. Furthermore, the prisoners must be allowed to keep their badges of rank, utensils used for their feeding, rations and water bottles. They must also be allowed to keep their identity cards and tags. They can also keep their personal effects, such as spectacles, watches and objects which have a sentimental value, such as photographs of their family members. Sums of money carried by prisoners of war may not be taken away from them except by order of an officer, after the amounts have been recorded in a special register and an itemized receipt has been given. Sums in the currency of the Detaining Power, or which are changed into such currency at the prisoner’s request, shall be placed to the credit of the prisoner’s account.
The Detaining Power may withdraw articles of value from prisoners of war only for reasons of security; when such articles are withdrawn, the procedure laid down for sums of money impounded shall apply. Such objects, likewise the sums taken away shall be returned to prisoners of war at the end of their captivity. In practice, all these details and this bookkeeping can appear difficult to realize in the heat of action. If the situation and time do not allow all these procedures, the minimum of the basic demands must be respected, by leaving with the prisoners all objects which clearly are means of identification and of personal protection, as well as food and water. All the rest can be put into an appropriate receptacle, like the prisoner’s munitions case, clearly marked with his name, and be sent to the rear, where information officials or administrators can examine the articles and ultimately send back the personal effects to the prisoners of war.
Côte d’Ivoire, Droit de la guerre, Manuel d’instruction, Livre III, Tome 1: Instruction de l’élève officier d’active de 1ère année, Manuel de l’élève, Ministère de la Défense, Forces Armées Nationales, November 2007, pp. 43 and 45.
All goods, other than those belonging to POWs, are regarded as booty. Booty belongs to the government or State, and not to the unit or person carrying out the capture.
All prisoners must be disarmed and submitted to a thorough search. It is advisable to do this in a manner which does not violate the prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment, and which respects the special protection accorded to women and child soldiers. Only war booty can be confiscated …, all other objects must be left with the POWs.
Côte d’Ivoire, Droit de la guerre, Manuel d’instruction, Livre IV: Instruction du chef de section et du commandant de compagnie, Manuel de l’élève, Ministère de la Défense, Forces Armées Nationales, November 2007, pp. 63 and 64.
Central to the issue [of the ban on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment] is that detainees are treated well and humanely.
Were the detainee’s possessions disposed of or destroyed without a legitimate reason?
Denmark, Forbud Mod Tortur og Anden Grusom, Umenneskelig Eller Nedværdigende Behandling Eller Straf, FKODIR 005-01, Forsvarskommandoen, September 2008, pp. 4–5.
Djibouti, Décret no. 82-028/PR/DEF du 5 mai 1982 portant règlement de la discipline générale dans les Forces armées, Article 31(1).
Disarming comprises the search for and the taking of material and documents of military importance. The following objects remain with the captured person: personal identification documents, clothing, foodstuffs and articles of personal use, articles for personal protection.
France, Manuel de droit des conflits armés, Ministère de la Défense, Direction des Affaires Juridiques, Sous-Direction du droit international humanitaire et du droit européen, Bureau du droit des conflits armés, 2001, p. 48.
Disarming comprises the search for and the taking of material and documents of military importance (excluding: articles for individual protection, identification documents, clothing, foodstuffs and articles of personal use). This material becomes war booty.
Greece, Hellenic Territorial Army Regulation of Internal Service Code, Presidential Decree 130/1984 (Military Regulation 20-1), as amended, Article 16.
Greece, Hellenic Navy Regulations (Part A), Presidential Decree 210/1993, as amended, Article 1408.
- badges of rank, nationality and decorations in addition to identity documents.
Money and other articles of value in possession of a PW may not be taken from him except by order of an officer and upon issuance of a receipt.
It is forbidden to confiscate the personal possessions of a prisoner-of-war, especially not their identity cards and their means of protection (excluding weapons) issued to them by their army (such as gas masks, plastic ground-sheets and steel helmets).
The manual further states that the 1949 Geneva Convention III “reminds that … [the] personal belongings [of prisoners of war] must be returned to them”.
Prisoners cannot be deprived of effects and objects of strictly personal use, documents, indication of rank, decorations and personal objects of value, just as they may keep the helmet and gas mask they have with them.
The manual further states that “prisoners are authorized to carry with them their personal effects, valuables, money, correspondence and parcels”.
Mexico, Cartilla de Derecho Internacional Humanitario, Ministry of National Defence, 2009, § 14(t).
The Military Manual (1993) of the Netherlands provides that the appropriation of personal property of prisoners of war is an ordinary breach of IHL.
Prisoners of war must be left in possession of items for their personal use, helmets and other items for their personal protection.
- identity documents (these may, of course, be inspected, but must be returned).
Netherlands, Humanitair Oorlogsrecht: Handleiding, Voorschift No. 27-412, Koninklijke Landmacht, Militair Juridische Dienst, 2005, § 0720.
Military materiel (for example, weapons, ammunition, horses, military equipment and military documents) taken from captured prisoners of war during evacuation becomes war booty and passes into the logistic channels. Personal effects and items for personal use, however, must remain with the captured prisoners of war.
Peru, Manual de Derecho Internacional Humanitario y Derechos Humanos para las Fuerzas Armadas, Resolución Ministerial No. 049-2010/DE/VPD, Lima, 21 May 2010, § 100(d), p. 297.
Poland, Norma Obronna NO-02-A020:2000, Procedury postępowania z jeńcami wojennymi, enacted by decision No. 134/MON related to the Approval and Enforcement of Regulatory Instruments in Respect of State Defence and Security, 21 April 2009, published in the Official Gazette of the Ministry of National Defence, No. 8, Item 99, April 2009, Section 2.1.
Prisoners of war may be permitted to keep items of mainly personal or emotional value. Personal effects retained by prisoners of war may be subject to controls, as defined by the capturing power.
Prisoners of war evacuated from combat zones shall be permitted to possess military equipment necessary to ensure their safety (namely gas masks, respirators, protective clothing and helmets). Weapons, and items which could be used as weapons, shall be confiscated.
Poland, Norma Obronna NO-02-A020:2000, Procedury postępowania z jeńcami wojennymi, enacted by decision No. 134/MON related to the Approval and Enforcement of Regulatory Instruments in Respect of State Defence and Security, 21 April 2009, published in the Official Gazette of the Ministry of National Defence, No. 8, Item 99, April 2009, Sections 3.2–3.3.
Military items which are not the prisoners’ personal property shall be confiscated, archived and stored securely in an appropriate place.
The capturing power may decide what should be done with confiscated items.
Money confiscated from a prisoner of war shall be transferred onto the prisoner’s account.
Poland, Norma Obronna NO-02-A020:2000, Procedury postępowania z jeńcami wojennymi, enacted by decision No. 134/MON related to the Approval and Enforcement of Regulatory Instruments in Respect of State Defence and Security, 21 April 2009, published in the Official Gazette of the Ministry of National Defence, No. 8, Item 99, April 2009, Section 3.6.
Personal protection means all effects and items of personal use (except arms and ammunition, military equipment and military documents), badges of rank and nationality, sums of money and articles having a personal value may not be taken from the prisoners of war. Articles used for their clothing or feeding shall likewise remain in their possession. Articles of value may be withdrawn from the prisoner of war only for reasons of security. It can be done only by order of an officer in charge of the maintenance of the prisoners of war and after the money amount and particulars of the owner have been recorded in a special register and an itemised receipt has been given, legibly inscribed with the position, rank, family name, first name and the patronimic of the person issuing the said receipt. Such objects, likewise the sums taken away shall be returned in their initial shape to prisoners of war at the end of captivity.
Russian Federation, Regulations on the Application of International Humanitarian Law by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Moscow, 8 August 2001, § 159.
c. Search them and take away only documents and equipment of military value (arms and ammunitions, orders, maps, and notebooks containing military information etc).
d. Leave with them military clothing and protective equipment (such as combat helmets, body armour), decorations, insignia, badges of rank, eating equipments, ration packs and water bottles, personal possession including things like spectacles and articles of sentimental value like family photographs.
Sierra Leone, The Law of Armed Conflict. Instructor Manual for the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), Armed Forces Education Centre, September 2007, p. 41.
South Africa’s Revised Civic Education Manual (2004) states that prisoners of war are “entitled to protection” and that this protection includes “[r]etention of personal (non-lethal) belongings”.
I treat people that fall into my hands humanely. I disarm them and hand them over to my superior. … I respect their possessions. Only military objects that are not required for their clothing, nourishment, medical support or protection are taken away from them. At the same time, I always take my own safety and that of my comrades into account.
Switzerland, The Ten Basic Rules of the Law of Armed Conflict, Aide-memoire 51.007/IIIe, Swiss Army, issued based on Article 10 of the Ordinance for Organization of the Federal Department for Defence, Civil Protection and Sports dated 7 March 2003, entry into force on 1 July 2005, Rule 5.
194 When searching captured persons, military items other than clothing, food, medicines or protection equipment (e.g. protective mask or helmet) are confiscated. Confiscated items are registered and securely stored according to the superior’s instructions.
195 Personal effects remain in the possession of prisoners. Valuables and large amounts of money may, however, be kept in a safe place, for reasons of security, against receipt. They must be handed over to the superior, together with a description, and returned to the owners at the end of their captivity or upon repatriation.
Switzerland, Bases légales du comportement à l’engagement (BCE), Règlement 51.007/IVf, Swiss Army, issued based on Article 10 of the Ordinance on the Organization of the Federal Department for Defence, Civil Protection and Sports of 7 March 2003, entry into force on 1 July 2005, §§ 194–195. The German language version of the third sentence of § 195 notes: “… together with a description of the owner mit Bezeichnung des Eigentümers …”.
Internees must be permitted to keep articles of personal use, especially those of a personal or sentimental value. They may also keep a certain amount of money in the form of cash or coupons to enable them to make purchases. Money, other valuables and identity documents may only be taken away in accordance with established procedures, detailed receipts being given.
United Kingdom, The Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, Ministry of Defence, 1 July 2004, § 9.43.
f. Personal property may only be removed for security reasons; this would include articles which could be used as weapons, such as razor blades and sharp knives, or which could affect security, such as cameras.
h. Articles of value may be taken for safe custody only. A record must be made and a receipt given. The articles must be returned intact at the end of captivity.
United Kingdom, The Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, Ministry of Defence, 1 July 2004, § 8.25.
The US Instructor’s Guide (1985) states: “In addition to the grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, the following acts are further examples of war crimes: … taking and keeping a captured enemy soldier’s personal property”.
Property Safekeeping and Confiscation Accountability. DODD [Department of Defense Directive] 2310.01E, Department of Defense Detainee Program, states, “Detainees and their property shall be accounted for and records maintained according to applicable law, regulation, policy or other issuances.” All personal effects and articles of personal use (except arms, military equipment, personal documents with intelligence value, and military documents) will remain in the possession of detainees, including effects and articles used for their clothing or feeding, unless the detaining force considers continued possession to cause a risk for the detaining force or other detainees, or the item is of intelligence or law enforcement value. Detainees will be permitted to retain individual protective gear and like articles issued for personal protection. This is especially important during initial detention and transportation to a more established detention facility when there is a risk that the detainees will be exposed to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosives threat. This rule does not prohibit the centralized management of such protective equipment by the DFC [detention facility commander] if such management is intended to enhance the overall protection of detainees. Badges of rank and nationality, decorations, and articles having, above all, a personal or sentimental value, may not be taken from detainees. Sums of money carried by detainees may not be taken away from them except by order of a commanding officer, after the amount and particulars of the owner have been recorded in a special register, and an itemized receipt has been given, legibly inscribed with the name, rank, and unit of the person issuing the said receipt. Sums in the currency of the detaining power, or those changed into such currency at the detainee’s request, will be placed to the credit of the detainee’s account. The detaining power may temporarily confiscate articles of value or necessity, including medications, from detainees when such action is determined to be necessary for reasons of security (including intelligence evaluations for the purpose of the security of the force). Procedures for such confiscation should be established by SOP [standard operating procedure] and should follow the rules applicable for the impoundment of money noted above. All personal property taken from detainees shall be kept in the custody of the detaining power and, if feasible, shall be returned in its initial condition to the detainees at the end of their detention.
United States, Manual on Detainee Operations, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 30 May 2008, pp. III-7–III-8.
United States, Manual on Detainee Operations, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 30 May 2008, p. V-1.
(4) Account for and prepare impounded personal property for shipment with the escorting unit or separate shipment as appropriate.
(4) Account for and prepare impounded personal property for shipment with the escorting unit.
Personal Property. Ensure that confiscated personal property (that can be released) accompanies released detainees. Conduct an inventory and identify discrepancies. Ensure that detainees sign property receipts.
United States, Manual on Detainee Operations, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 30 May 2008, pp. VII-3–VII-5.
takes any property from the body of a person … captured in those operations … is guilty of [a punishable] offence.
(c) takes any vehicle, equipment or stores captured from or abandoned by the enemy.
Australia, Defence Force Discipline Act, 1982, as amended to 2007, Division 5A, Subdivision D, § 48(1), p. 56.
Bulgaria’s Penal Code (1968), as amended 1999, provides that any “person who, on the battlefield, takes away objects from … a captive … person, with the intention to unlawfully appropriate them” commits a punishable crime.
Under Chad’s Code of Military Justice (1962), taking property from prisoners of war is a criminal offence.
Chile’s Code of Military Justice (1925) provides for a prison sentence for “anyone who plunders the clothing or other objects belonging to … a prisoner of war in order to appropriate them”.
Chile, Code of Military Justice, 1925, Article 263.
Colombia’s Penal Code (2000) imposes a sanction on “anyone who, during an armed conflict, despoils … a protected person”.
Cuba’s Military Criminal Code (1979) punishes “anyone who, in areas of military operations, for personal gain, plunders the money or other belongings of … prisoners”.
El Salvador’s Code of Military Justice (1934) provides that “a soldier who plunders the clothes or other personal effects of … a prisoner of war in order to appropriate them” commits a punishable offence.
El Salvador, Code of Military Justice, 1934, Article 70.
Under Greece’s Military Penal Code (1995), “the soldier who takes money or other belongings away from a prisoner of war” is to be punished.
Greece, Military Penal Code, 1995, Article 164.
Ireland’s Geneva Conventions Act (1962), as amended in 1998, provides that any “contravention” of the 1977 Additional Protocol II, including violations of Article 4(2)(g), is a punishable offence.
Italy’s Wartime Military Penal Code (1941) provides that the soldier who steals money or other objects from a prisoner of war, with the intent to appropriate them for himself or for others, is guilty of a punishable offence.
Italy, Wartime Military Penal Code, 1941, Article 214.
(iii) Personal articles provided by an Ordinance of the Ministry of Defense in addition to what is listed in the preceding two items.
(2) In cases of retaining the cash and articles pursuant to the provision of the preceding paragraph, a receipt shall be issued to the person who has taken delivery as prescribed in the preceding paragraph.
Japan, Law concerning the Treatment of Prisoners of War and Other Detainees in Armed Attack Situations, 2004, Article 153(1) and (2).
(a) Steals from, or with intent to steal searches, the person of anyone … captured in the course of any war or warlike operations in which New Zealand is engaged, or … detained in the course of operations undertaken by any service of the Armed Forces for the preservation of law and order or otherwise in aid of the civil power.
Nicaragua’s Military Penal Law (1980) punishes “anyone who, in military operations, steals, for personal gain, the money or other belongings of … prisoners”.
Nicaragua’s Military Penal Code (1996) provides for the punishment of the soldier who, in the zone of operations, “despoils … a prisoner of war of his or her clothes or other personal effects”.
Paraguay’s Military Penal Code (1980) punishes “any soldier who has plundered … a prisoner of war”.
Paraguay, Military Penal Code, 1980, Article 293.
Peru’s Code of Military Justice (1980) provides that despoiling prisoners of war is punishable.
Peru, Code of Military Justice, 1980, Article 95(5).
(a) steals from or, with intent to steal, searches the person of anyone … captured in the course of warlike operations, or … detained in the course of operations undertaken by the Singapore Armed Forces for the preservation of law and order or otherwise in aid of the civil authorities … shall be guilty of looting and shall be liable on conviction by a subordinate military court to imprisonment.
382. Arbitrary refusal to recognize the status of a lawful belligerent. – A commander who causes serious harm to lawful enemy belligerents who have fallen into his power … by not according them the treatment prescribed by law or by international agreements … shall be punished, unless the act constitutes a more serious offence, by military confinement for not less than three years.
398. Theft of money or other objects. – A soldier who, to benefit himself or others, steals money or other objects from a prisoner of war shall be punished by confinement for up to five years, and, if the said soldier is in charge of escorting, supervising or guarding the prisoner, by military confinement for three to seven years.
Somalia, Military Criminal Code, 1963, Articles 382 and 398.
Under Spain’s Military Criminal Code (1985), “the soldier who … strips … a prisoner of war of his personal effects in the area of operations, with the intent to appropriate them,” commits a punishable offence against the laws and customs of war.
Under Spain’s Penal Code (1995), “anyone who, on the occasion of an armed conflict … strips … a prisoner of war or an interned civilian of his personal effects” commits a punishable “offence against protected persons and objects in the event of armed conflict”.
45. All money or other effects in respect whereof no order of a competent court has been made, and which may be brought into prison by any criminal prisoner or sent to the prison for his use, shall be placed in the custody of the jailer, and disposed of as may be directed by rules to be made under section 94.
(c) the disposal of the clothing and property of prisoners on admission.
Sri Lanka, Prisons Ordinance, 1878, as amended to 2005, Articles 27(e), 45 and 94(2)(c).
(11) Where any property is seized or detained under the provisions of this regulation a person effecting the seizure or detention shall issue a receipt in respect of such property to the person from whose custody such property was seized [or] detained.
Sri Lanka, Emergency Regulations, 2005, as amended to 5 August 2008, Section 20(11).
Under Turkey’s Military Penal Code (1930), stealing from prisoners of war is an offence punishable by imprisonment.
(a) steals from, or with intent to steal searches, the person of anyone … captured in the course of warlike operations, or … detained in the course of operations undertaken by Her Majesty’s forces for the preservation of law and order or otherwise in aid of the civil authorities, … shall be guilty of looting and liable, on conviction by court-martial, to imprisonment or any less punishment provided by this Act.
Under Venezuela’s Code of Military Justice (1998), as amended, it is a crime against international law to “plunder … prisoners of war”.
Venezuela, Code of Military Justice, 1998, as amended, Article 474(11).
Under Yemen’s Military Criminal Code (1998), any person who despoils a prisoner is guilty, upon conviction, of a war crime.
In 2007, in the Šimšić case, the Appellate Panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, when addressing the alleged seizure of detainees’ personal belongings by the accused, stated that “the value of the seized property … must be significant or permanent and related to a larger number of persons so as to constitute a severe violation of international humanitarian law”.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šimšić case, Judgment, 7 August 2007, p. 69.
12.16. … Pillage of the personal belongings of persons deprived of their liberty is prohibited.
United Kingdom, Ministry of Defence, Closing Submissions to the Baha Mousa Public Inquiry on Modules 1–3, 25 June 2010, §§ 12 and 12.16, pp. 28 and 32.
Violations of common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and of Article 4 of Additional Protocol II thereto committed in an armed conflict not of an international character have long been considered customary international law … Under the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), … they are recognized as war enemies.
UN Secretary-General, Report on the establishment of a Special Court for Sierra Leone, UN Doc. S/2000/915, 4 October 2000, § 14.
In the Tadić case before the ICTY in 1995, the accused was charged with participation in the plunder and destruction of personal and real property of non-Serbs and looting of valuables of non-Serbs both when they were captured and upon their arrival in camps and detention centres.
ICTY, Tadić case, Second Amended Indictment, 14 December 1995, §§ 4 and 4.2.
In its judgment in 1997, the ICTY Trial Chamber held that, in the absence of evidence, the accused could not be convicted of having taken part in the plunder and looting of valuables or personal property.
ICTY, Tadić case, Judgment, 7 May 1997, §§ 448 and 464.
In the Jelisić case before the ICTY in 1995, the accused was charged with violation of the laws and customs of war (plunder of private property).
ICTY, Jelisić case, Initial Indictment, 21 July 1995, § 42.
In its judgment in 1999, the ICTY Trial Chamber found the accused guilty of the plunder of private property under Article 3(e) of the 1993 ICTY Statute. It held that plunder was the “fraudulent appropriation of public or private funds belonging to the enemy or the opposing party perpetrated during an armed conflict and related thereto”. It further held: “The individual acts of plunder perpetrated by people motivated by greed might entail individual criminal responsibility on the part of its perpetrators.” The defendant pleaded guilty to the offence of having stolen money, watches, jewellery and other valuables from detainees on their arrival at Luka camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
ICTY, Jelisić case, Judgment, 14 December 1999, §§ 46–49.
In the Mucić case before the ICTY in 1996, the accused were charged, inter alia, with violations of the laws and customs of war (plunder of private property) for having “participated in the plunder of money, watches and other valuable property belonging to persons detained at Čelebići camp”.
ICTY, Mucić case, Initial Indictment, 21 March 1996, § 37.
However, in its judgment in 1998, the Trial Chamber eventually dismissed this count.
ICTY, Mucić case, Judgment, 16 November 1998, §§ 584–592 and 1154, and Part VI (Judgment).
[E]ven when considered in the light most favourable to the Prosecution, the evidence before the Trial Chamber fails to demonstrate that any property taken from the detainees in the Čelebići prison-camp was of sufficient monetary value for its unlawful appropriation to involve grave consequences for the victims. Accordingly, it is the Trial Chamber’s opinion that the offences, as alleged, cannot be considered to constitute such serious violations of international humanitarian law that they fall within the subject matter jurisdiction of the International Tribunal pursuant to Article 1 of the Statute. Count 49 of the Indictment is thus dismissed.
ICTY, Mucić case, Judgment, 16 November 1998, § 1154.
73. Article 18 of  Geneva Convention III requires that POWs [prisoners of war] be allowed to retain their personal property. Cash and valuables may be impounded by order of an officer, subject to detailed registration and other safeguards. If prisoners’ property is taken, it must be receipted and safely held for later return. Under Article 17, identity documents can be consulted by the Detaining Power, but must be returned to the prisoner. The Commission believes that these obligations reflect customary international law.
79. Taking of prisoners’ valuables and other property is a regrettable but recurring feature of their vulnerable state. The loss of photographs and other similar personal items is an indignity that weighs on prisoners’ morale, but the loss of property otherwise seems to have rarely affected the basic requirements for prisoners’ survival and well-being. Accordingly, while the Commission does not wish to minimize the importance of these violations, they loom less large than other matters considered elsewhere in this Award.
Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, Prisoners of War, Eritrea’s Claim, Partial Award, 1 July 2003, §§ 73 and 79.

References: § 122
 § 463
 § 310
 § 5
 § 5
 § 14
 § 0720
 § 100
 § 159
 § 195
 § 9
 § 8
 § 48
 § 14
 § 42
 § 37
 § 1154