Switzerland’s Aide-Memoire on the Ten Basic Rules of the Law of Armed Conflict (2005) states: “I respect civilian property. Pillaging and robbing, even of wounded or dead persons, are strictly prohibited.”
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 6.
Both during combat and after the accomplishment of the combat mission the commander of a large or small unit (command) shall take all measures to search for and collect the wounded, sick … and shipwrecked (persons who have suffered an aircraft crash) … regardless of their identity [and] to protect them from pillage.
The UK Military Manual (1958) states that the wounded and sick must be protected against pillage and ill-treatment.
United Kingdom, The Law of War on Land being Part III of the Manual of Military Law, The War Office, HMSO, 1958, § 342.
a special class of war crime that is sometimes known as “marauding”. This consists of ranging over battlefields and following advancing or retreating armies in quest of loot, robbing, maltreating and killing stragglers and wounded and plundering the dead – all acts done not as a means of carrying on the war but for private gain. Nevertheless, such acts are treated as violations of the law of war. Those who commit them, whether civilians who have never been lawful combatants, or persons who have belonged to a military unit, an organised resistance movement or a levée en masse, and have deserted and so ceased to be lawful combatants, are liable to be punished as war criminals. They may be tried and sentenced by the courts of either belligerent.
The UK LOAC Pamphlet (1981) refers to Article 15 of the 1949 Geneva Convention I and states that combatants shall prevent the wounded and sick from being despoiled.
United Kingdom, The Law of Armed Conflict, D/DAT/13/35/66, Army Code 71130 (Revised 1981), Ministry of Defence, prepared under the Direction of The Chief of the General Staff, 1981, Section 6, p. 22, § 3.
The parties to a conflict are under an obligation “at all times, and particularly after an engagement … without delay [to] take all possible measures to search for and collect the wounded and sick, to protect them against pillage and ill-treatment, and to ensure their adequate care”.
United Kingdom, The Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, Ministry of Defence, 1 July 2004, § 7.4; see also § 13.129 (maritime warfare).
With regard to internal armed conflicts in which the 1977 Additional Protocol II is applicable, the manual states:
“Whenever circumstances permit, and particularly after an engagement, all possible measures shall be taken without delay to search for and collect the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, to protect them against pillage and ill-treatment …”.
The US Field Manual (1956) states that the parties shall take all possible measures to protect the wounded and sick against pillage and ill-treatment and prevent their being despoiled.
United States, Field Manual 27-10, The Law of Land Warfare, US Department of the Army, 18 July 1956, as modified by Change No. 1, 15 July 1976, § 216.
The US Air Force Pamphlet (1976) refers to Article 15 of the 1949 Geneva Convention I and states the obligation to protect the sick and wounded from pillage and ill-treatment.
The US Naval Handbook (1995) provides that “mistreating enemy forces, the shipwrecked disabled by sickness or wounds” is a war crime.
The US Naval Handbook (2007) states that examples of war crimes that could be considered as grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions include:
3. Offenses against the sick and wounded, including … mistreating enemy forces disabled by sickness or wounds.
United States, The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations, NWP 1-14M/MCWP 5-12.1/COMDTPUB P5800.7, issued by the Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Headquarters, US Marine Corps, and Department of Homeland Security, US Coast Guard, July 2007, § 6.2.6(6); see also § 6.2.6(3) and (5).
(1) [1949] Geneva Convention [I] … This convention provides protection for members of the armed forces and other persons on the battlefield who are no longer actively participating in hostilities as the result of becoming wounded or sick. It also regulates the conduct and treatment of medical and medical support personnel. It requires humane treatment for wounded and sick personnel who fall into enemy hands, with an express requirement that such individuals be … protected against pillage and ill treatment.
Zimbabwe’s Code of Conduct for Combatants (1993) under the heading “Wounded, sick and shipwrecked enemies at sea” states: “Protect the wounded, sick and shipwrecked (also aircrew).”
Algeria’s Code of Military Justice (1971) provides for the punishment of soldiers or civilians who, in an area of hostilities, steal from the wounded, sick or shipwrecked.
Under Armenia’s Penal Code (2003), stealing objects from the wounded and sick on the battlefield is a punishable offence.
A person, being a defence member or a defence civilian, who, in the course of operations against the enemy, or in the course of operations undertaken by the Defence Force for the preservation of law and order or otherwise in aid of the civil authorities –
Australia, Defence Force Discipline Act, 1982, as amended to 2007, Division 5A, Subdivision D, § 48(1), p. 56.
Azerbaijan’s Law concerning the Protection of Civilian Persons and the Rights of Prisoners of War (1995) provides: “In international and non-international armed conflicts, at any time and especially after an engagement, all possible measures must be taken to protect the wounded and sick from pillage and ill-treatment.”
Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code (1999) provides for the punishment of “pillage of property of persons killed or wounded on the battlefield”.
Bolivia’s Military Penal Code (1976) provides that “the person who plunders the belongings of wounded in combat” commits a punishable offence.
Under the Criminal Code (1998) of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, “the unlawful appropriation of belongings from the … wounded on the battlefield” is a war crime. It adds that ill-treatment of wounded, sick and shipwrecked is a war crime.
(1) Whoever orders the unlawful appropriation of belongings from the … wounded on the battlefield, or who carries out such appropriation,
(2) If the criminal offence referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article has been perpetrated in a cruel manner, the perpetrator
Bulgaria’s Penal Code (1968), as amended in 1999, provides that taking on the battlefield “objects from a wounded [person], … with the intention to unlawfully appropriate them” is a crime.
Under Burkina Faso’s Code of Military Justice (1994), “the despoliation of the wounded [and] sick … in a unit’s area of operations” is an offence.
2. With a view to plundering, subjects a wounded, sick or shipwrecked person to violence that deteriorates their condition, is punished with ten to twenty years’ imprisonment.
Canada’s National Defence Act (1985) provides: “Every person who … steals from, or with intent to steal searches, the person of any person … wounded, in the course of warlike operations, … is guilty of [an] offence.”
Under Chad’s Code of Military Justice (1962), the taking of property from the wounded is a criminal offence.
Chile’s Code of Military Justice (1925) provides that “anyone who plunders the clothing or other objects belonging to a wounded person … in order to appropriate them” commits a punishable offence against international law.
Côte d’Ivoire’s Penal Code (1981), as amended in 1998, provides for the punishment of “anyone who, in an area of military operations, plunders a wounded, sick [or] shipwrecked … person”.
Croatia’s Criminal Code (1997) provides that the “unlawful taking of the personal belongings of the … wounded on the battlefield” is a war crime.
Croatia’s Criminal Code (1997), as amended to 2006, provides that the “unlawful taking of the personal belongings of those … wounded on the battlefield” is a punishable offence.
The Criminal Code further provides that to “brutally treat the wounded [and] sick” is a punishable offence.
Cuba’s Military Criminal Code (1979) punishes “anyone who, in areas of military operations, plunders for personal gain money or other belongings from wounded persons”.
The Czech Republic’s Criminal Code (1961), as amended in 1999, punishes “whoever in a theatre of war, on the battlefield or in places affected by military operations, … seizes another person’s belongings, taking advantage of such person’s distress”.
Egypt’s Military Criminal Code (1966) criminalizes the theft in zones of military operations of property belonging to wounded or sick whether friend or foe.
El Salvador’s Code of Military Justice (1934) provides that “a soldier who plunders the clothes or other personal effects of a wounded person … in order to appropriate them” commits a punishable offence.
Under Ethiopia’s Penal Code (1957), “whosoever … lays hands on or does violence to a wounded [or] sick … enemy on the field of battle, with intent to rob or plunder him” commits a crime. The Code also provides for the punishment of the ill-treatment of the wounded and sick.
(c) lays hands on or does violence to a wounded [or] sick … enemy on the field of battle, with intent to rob or plunder him; or
is punishable with rigorous imprisonment, or, in cases of exceptional gravity, with life imprisonment or death.
France’s Code of Military Justice (1982) provides for the punishment of “any individual, military or not, who, in the area of operation of a force or a unit, … plunders a wounded, sick [or] shipwrecked … person”.
2. With a view to plundering, subjects a wounded, sick or shipwrecked person to violence that deteriorates their condition, is punished with life imprisonment.
France’s Penal Code (1992), as amended in 2010, states in its section on war crimes common to both international and non-international armed conflicts: “Unless they are justified by military necessity, the following offences committed against a person protected by the law of armed conflict constitute … war crimes: … [s]tealing [or] extorting … objects”.
The Gambia’s Armed Forces Act (1985) provides that “every person subject to this Act who … steals from or with intent to steal searches, the person of any person … wounded, in the course of war-like operations” commits a punishable offence.
Ghana’s Armed Forces Act (1962) provides that “every person subject to the Code of Service Discipline who … steals from or with the intent to steal searches, the person of any person … wounded, in the course of warlike operations” commits a punishable offence.
Under Georgia’s Criminal Code (1999), “pillage, i.e. seizure in a combat situation of things which are on … wounded”, is a crime.
Guinea’s Criminal Code (1998) provides that “whoever, in an area of military operation, plunders a wounded, sick [or] shipwrecked person” commits a punishable offence.
Any person who despoils a wounded[,] sick [or] shipwrecked person in an area of military operations … shall be punished with 1 to 5 years’ imprisonment.
If the acts were accompanied by violence that has worsened the state of the wounded, shipwrecked or sick person, the sentence of imprisonment is 5 to 20 years.
Under Hungary’s Criminal Code (1978), as amended in 1998, “the person who loots the fallen, injured or sick on the battlefield” is guilty, upon conviction, of a war crime.
Under Indonesia’s Military Penal Code (1947), theft from sick or wounded members of the armed forces of parties to the conflict is a punishable offence.
Iraq’s Military Penal Code (1940) provides for the punishment of “every person who, with the intent to appropriate for himself or unjustifiably, takes money or other things … from the wounded while on the march or in hospital or during movements”.
Iraq’s Military Penal Code (2007) also provides: “Whosoever, with the intent of unlawful possession, seizes monies or possessions of … the wounded while marching or in hospitals or during transport is punishable with imprisonment for (15) fifteen years.”
The Military Penal Code further provides: “Whosoever deserts or harms a wounded person, whom he is entrusted to deliver to a defined location, is punishable with imprisonment for a minimum period of (2) two years.”
Lastly, the Military Penal Code provides: “Whosoever harms or re-injures an injured person, with intent to seize his possessions, is punishable with life imprisonment.”
Ireland’s Geneva Conventions Act (1962), as amended in 1998, provides that any “minor breach” of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including violations of Article 15 of the Geneva Convention I, Article 18 of the Geneva Convention II and Article 16 of the Geneva Convention IV, as well as any “contravention” of the 1977 Additional Protocol II, including violations of Articles 4(2)(g) and 8, are punishable offences.
[A]nyone who robs an injured or ill … person within the domain of military-army operations will be sentenced to solitary imprisonment from two to 10 years. If she/he hurts the injured or ill military [person whilst] robbing him/her, she/he will be sentenced to capital punishment.
Italy’s Wartime Military Penal Code (1941) provides for the punishment of anyone who ill-treats the wounded, sick and shipwrecked. It also provides that anyone who plunders a wounded, sick or shipwrecked person is guilty of a punishable offence.
Under Kazakhstan’s Penal Code (1997), “theft of objects belonging to the … wounded on the battlefield (marauding)” is a crime.
Under Kenya’s Armed Forces Act (1968), anyone who steals from the wounded commits a punishable offence.
Latvia’s Criminal Code (1998) provides that the appropriation of property of the wounded on the battlefield is a war crime.
Under Lebanon’s Code of Military Justice (1968), pillage of the sick or the wounded by non-military persons in an “area of military operations” is a punishable offence.
Under Lithuania’s Criminal Code (1961), as amended 1998, “an order to plunder or seize things from … wounded victims on the battlefield” is a war crime.
Malaysia’s Armed Forces Act (1972) provides for the punishment of “every person subject to service law under this Act who … steals from, or with intent to steal searches, the person of anyone … wounded in the course of warlike operations”.
Under Mali’s Code of Military Justice (1995), “anyone who plunders a wounded, sick [or] shipwrecked … person” commits a punishable offence.
Mexico’s Code of Military Justice (1933), as amended in 1996, provides penalties for persons who mistreat or otherwise cause physical or mental injuries to the wounded and sick.
- applies against a wounded or sick soldier violent acts aggravating his condition, in order to despoil him, is punished by death;
- cruelly commits violent acts against a wounded or sick soldier who is not in a condition to defend himself, is punished with a fixed term sentence of hard labour.
The articles of the ordinary Criminal Code relative to intentional assault and battery, to murder and assassination, are applicable whenever, due to the circumstances, the punishments provided there are more severe than the punishments provided in the present article.
Mozambique’s Military Criminal Law (1987) provides for the punishment of stealing valuables and objects from the wounded.
The Definition of War Crimes Decree (1946) of the Netherlands includes “ill-treatment of wounded” in its list of war crimes.
Under the Military Criminal Code (1964), as amended in 1990, of the Netherlands, “theft from a … sick or wounded person, who belongs to one of the parties to the conflict,” is a criminal offence.
Every person subject to this Act commits the offence of looting, and is liable to imprisonment for life, who –
(a) Steals from, or with intent to steal searches, the person of anyone … wounded … in the course of any war or warlike operations in which New Zealand is engaged, or … injured … 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 money or other belongings of the wounded”.
Nicaragua’s Military Penal Code (1996) provides for the punishment of the soldier who, in the zone of operations, “despoils a … wounded, sick or shipwrecked person of their clothing or other personal effects”.
(a) steals from, or with intent to steal, searches the body of a person … wounded … in the course of war-like operations, or … injured … in the course of [an] operation undertaken by any service of the Armed Forces for the preservation of law and order or otherwise in aid of the civil authorities; …
is guilty of looting and liable, on conviction by a court-martial, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or any less punishment provided by this Act.
Paraguay’s Military Penal Code (1980) punishes “any soldier who has plundered another wounded soldier”.
Under Peru’s Code of Military Justice (1980), ill-treatment of a non-resisting wounded enemy constitutes a violation of the law of nations.
Under the Republic of Korea’s Military Criminal Code (1962), “a person who takes the clothes and other property of the … wounded in the combat area” commits a punishable offence.
Singapore’s Armed Forces Act (1972), as amended in 2000, provides for the punishment of every person subject to military law who
steals from or, with intent to steal, searches the person of anyone … wounded … in the course of warlike operations, or … injured … 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.
Slovakia’s Criminal Code (1961), as amended, punishes “whoever in a theatre of war, on [the] battlefield or in places affected by military operations, … seizes another person’s belongings, taking advantage of such person’s distress”.
376. Ill-treatment of the sick, wounded or shipwrecked. — 1. Anyone who ill-treats sick, wounded or shipwrecked persons, even if they are enemies, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than five years.
2. If the ill-treatment is serious or if it involves torture, the prison term shall be not less than 10 years, and if the act is furthermore committed by a person responsible for transporting or assisting the sick, wounded or shipwrecked person, life imprisonment shall be applied.
3. If the act has led to the death of the sick, wounded or shipwrecked person, a penalty of death with demotion shall be applied.
377. Dispossession of the sick, wounded or shipwrecked. — 1. Anyone who dispossesses the sick, wounded or shipwrecked, even if they are enemies, or who steals money or other objects from them, shall be punished by imprisonment for 5 to 10 years.
2. If the act is committed with violence against the person, the prison term shall be not less than 10 years.
3. If the guilty party is responsible for transporting or assisting the sick, wounded or shipwrecked person, the following penalties shall apply:
4. If the act has resulted in the death of the sick, wounded or shipwrecked person, a penalty of death with demotion shall be applied.
382. Arbitrary refusal to recognize the status of lawful belligerent. — A commander who causes serious harm … to the sick, wounded or shipwrecked, 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.
Under Spain’s Military Criminal Code (1985), the despoliation of wounded, sick or shipwrecked persons and appropriation of their personal belongings in a combat area is an offence against the laws and customs of war.
Spain’s Penal Code (1995) provides for the punishment of anyone who during an armed conflict despoils the wounded, sick or shipwrecked and appropriates their personal belongings.
Spain’s Royal Ordinances for the Armed Forces (2009) states: “Whenever circumstances for the accomplishment of the mission and the security of the unit permit, [members of the armed forces] must take, without delay, all possible measures to … protect … [the wounded, sick and shipwrecked] against pillage and ill-treatment”.
Switzerland’s Military Criminal Code (1927), as amended, punishes anyone who, on the battlefield, despoils and pillages the wounded and sick. It also provides for the punishment of anyone who uses violence against the wounded and sick.
Switzerland’s Military Criminal Code (1927), as amended in 2007, states: “Any person who, on the battlefield, has laid his or her hands on a … wounded or sick person with the intention to steal, is to be punished with a year imprisonment or less.”
Any military or non-military person having committed the following acts in a military combat zone shall be liable to:
B - Capital punishment if he causes additional injury to a wounded [or a] sick … military person through the use of violence in order to pillage him.
Under Tajikistan’s Criminal Code (1998), pillage of wounded and sick in a combat zone is a crime in both international and non-international armed conflicts.
Thailand’s Military Penal Code (1911) provides for the punishment of “merciless acts against the wounded or sick in the armed forces of any party to the conflict”.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Defence Act (1962), as amended in 1979, contains a section on “looting” which states: “Any person subject to military law who … steals from, or with intent to steal searches, the person of anyone … wounded in the course of warlike operations … is guilty of looting.”
Under Turkey’s Military Penal Code (1930), stealing from the wounded or sick on the battle-field is an offence punishable by imprisonment.
Uganda’s National Resistance Army Statute (1992) provides: “A person subject to military law who … steals from or, with intent to steal, searches the person or any person … wounded in the course of war-like operations … commits an offence.”
(a) steals from, or with intent to steal searches, the person of anyone … wounded … in the course of warlike operations, or … injured … 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.
The UK Air Force Act (1955), as amended in 1971, provides for the punishment of any person subject to air force law who:
steals from, or with intent to steal searches, the person of anyone … wounded … in the course of warlike operations, or … injured … 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.
(a) he takes any property from a person who has been killed, injured, captured or detained in the course of an action or operation of any of Her Majesty’s forces or of any force co-operating with them; or
Uruguay’s Military Penal Code (1943), as amended, punishes the “despoliation of the wounded … in combat”.
Under Venezuela’s Code of Military Justice (1998), as amended, it is a crime against international law to “plunder … the wounded and sick”.
Viet Nam’s Penal Code (1990) provides for the punishment of “any person who steals personal belongings from a wounded soldier”.
Zambia’s Defence Act (1964), as amended, provides: “Any person subject to military law under this Act who … steals from or with intent to steal searches the person of anyone … wounded in the course of warlike operations … shall be guilty of looting.”
Zimbabwe’s Defence Act (1972), as amended to 1993, provides for the punishment of “any member [of the Defence Forces] who … steals from or with intent to steal searches the person of anyone … wounded in the course of warlike operations”.
In 2011, in the History and Geography Textbook for 9th Grade, Djibouti’s Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, under the heading “Ethics of Debne warriors” [inhabitants of the Dikhil region in Djibouti], stated: “Avoid any humiliation of a wounded enemy … apart from taking from him … his gun, spear or ammunition.”
According to German investigations following allegations of crimes committed against members of the armed forces in Crete in May 1941, it appeared that “wounded soldiers were robbed and deprived of parts of their clothing, primarily by the civilian population”.
In order to ensure that the values of honour and nobility were maintained at all times, traditional Somali society evolved a strict code of conduct that clearly defined the categories of people and things that were not to be abused in any way during a war. This convention of war, acknowledged and respected by almost all Somali pastoral nomads, is commonly known as xeerka biri-ma-geydada, or the “spared from the spear” code.
The traditional Biri-ma-geydo code covered certain categories of people who, far from being killed or harmed, were supposed to be cared for and assisted at all times. Adherence to this code was specially enjoined during hostilities. Among the types of persons afforded protection by this code were … the sick.
According to the Report on US Practice, it is the opinio juris of the United States that the wounded and sick in internal armed conflicts should be respected and protected in accordance with Article 8 of the 1977 Additional Protocol II.
Order No. 579 issued in 1991 by the Chief of Staff of the Yugoslav People’s Army (YPA) provides that YPA units shall apply “all means to prevent any attempt of pillage [and] mistreatment of … the wounded and sick”.
Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of, Chief of General Staff of the YPA, Political Department, Order No. 579, 14 October 1991, § 2.
The Turku Declaration of Minimum Humanitarian Standards, adopted by an expert meeting convened by the Institute for Human Rights of Åbo Akademi University in Turku/Åbo, Finland in 1990, provides: “Every possible measure shall be taken, without delay, … to protect [the wounded and sick] against pillage and ill-treatment.”
Turku Declaration of Minimum Humanitarian Standards, adopted by an expert meeting convened by the Institute for Human Rights, Åbo Akademi University, Turku/Åbo, 30 November–2 December 1990, Article 13, IRRC, No. 282, 1991, p. 335.
Article 18, second paragraph, of the 1949 Geneva Convention I states: “The civilian population shall respect [the] wounded and sick, and in particular abstain from offering them violence.”
Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, Geneva, 12 August 1949, Article 18, second para.
Article 17(1) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I provides: “The civilian population shall respect the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, even if they belong to the adverse Party, and shall commit no act of violence against them.”
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), Geneva, 8 June 1977, Article 17(1). Article 17 was adopted by consensus. CDDH, Official Records, Vol. VI, CDDH/SR.37, 24 May 1977, p. 70.
Argentina’s Law of War Manual (1989) provides that the civilian population shall respect the wounded, sick and shipwrecked and shall not commit any act of violence against them.