Each accepted delegate shall be given a permit authorizing him to inspect the prisoners of war and their places of confinement subject to the conditions attached thereto. These permits may be cancelled or recalled at any time. ART. 122. The following regulations shall apply to the visits mentioned in Article 121: (a) The authorized delegate of the Protecting Power may visit all places where prisoners of war of the State whose interests he is protecting are kept. When such visits are to be made in zones barred for military reasons, arrangements therefor compatible with military necessities shall be made immediately by the competent military authorities. If for military reasons such visits are impossible for a period of thirty (30) days, the prisoners of war shall be permanently removed to territory accessible to the delegate. (b) The visits of the delegate of the Protecting Power may be without notice and without restriction except as follows: Camps under quarantine and contagious wards of hospitals may be visited only with the consent of the medical officer in charge. Penitentiaries and prisons may be visited only with the consent of competent superior authority. Permission to visit shops or other places where members of working detachments are employed may only be refused by competent superior authority when such visit would in his opinion be incompatible with the safety of the State or with rules established for the preservation of trade secrets. The foregoing shall in no way curtail the right of the delegate of the Protecting Power to visit the working detachment camp and to interview its members. When the above restriction makes it necessary, prisoners of war shall be brought for the purpose of the interview to a place accessible to the delegate. (e) On arrival a delegate must first present his permit to the proper authorities for verification. (d) An officer, or, if none is available, some other military escort shall be detailed by the Commandant to accompany the delegate on his tour of inspection. Upon the wish of the delegate the ranking prisoner of war may also be detailed to accompany him. (e) The delegate shall have the right at all times to speak to prisoners of war, except those who are awaiting trial, without witnesses and outside the hearing of any third party. Nevertheless, interviews with prisoners of war who are confined pending trial or under sentence may be permitted, with the consent of the proper authorities, when in conformity with the rules and regulations for the visits of third parties to such persons. Such consent shall always be given if compatible with the object or purpose for which the prisoner of war is detained and with local prison regulations. In this event, interviews may take place in the presence of witnesses. (f) The delegate shall, at no time, without the full knowledge and permission of the Commandant, give to or receive from a prisoner of war written matter of any kind, or any oral mes sages; nor shall he converse with prisoners of war on any subject not relating to personal matters affecting them. (g) Before leaving the camp, the delegate may informally present to the camp authorities, for discussion and possible rectification, complaints made by prisoners of war and such suggestions as he may consider advisable regarding changes or improvements. A prisoner of war shall not be punished on account of a complaint made by him to the visiting delegate except when such complaint is shown to contain intentionally false or insulting statements or accusations; in which case punishment may be inflicted only in the manner prescribed in Article 120 and after the delegate of the Protecting Power has been heard in the matter. ART. 123. The diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power shall be freely permitted to make complaints directly to the central authority of the Captor State about the management and conditions of the prison camps, the treatment of the prisoners of war and about the camp personnel, etc. The Captor State shall immediately make an investigation of all such complaints. The diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power shall be permitted to adduce evidence by witnesses or otherwise. Should it appear essential for a full investigation of the case, an officer of the central authority of the Captor State shall visit the camp, who shall, upon the request of the competent diplomatic representative be accompanied by a delegate of the latter. The result of every such investigation and a statement of the action taken thereon, shall in each case be communicated to the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power. If the result of the investigation be unfavorable, remedial action shall be taken immediately. None of the military personnel of a prison camp, including interpreters, removed from their positions on account of their attitude towards prisoners of war, shall thereafter be employed in connection with prisoners of war. 17. RATES OF PAY OF OFFICERS AND CERTAIN OTHER PRISONERS OF WAR ART. 124. Officer prisoners of war, officials and certain other prisoners of war classed as officers shall receive from the Captor State while in its custody pay on the basis of the following articles. ART. 125. Officers and others entitled to pay will for the purpose of pay be divided into three classes. Class I comprises: (a) Captains and higher grades of the American army and 59665-33-9 Class II comprises: (a) First and second lieutenants of the American army; offi- (b) Subaltern officers of the German army and all officer corps (a) Aviation cadets, officer candidates, field clerks, and other ART. 126. The monthly pay shall be, on the basis of 1 Dollar= 4.20 Marks; for class I, 95.25 Dollars or 400 Marks; for class II, 83.35 Dollars or 350 Marks; for class III, 65.50 Dollars or 275 Marks. ART. 127. Officials of the army or navy prisoners of war of either side shall receive during their captivity the same pay as the military persons whose rank they hold. ART. 128. The rates of pay herein stipulated shall apply to all prisoners of war entitled to pay, whether they are on the active, retired, or reserve lists, who at the time of capture were on active duty in the military or naval service of their respective States of Origin. ART. 129. Prisoners of war entitled to pay under the provisions of Articles 124 to 128 inclusive shall be paid on or about the first of each month for the preceding month or fraction thereof. Pay will accrue from the day of their capture. When a duplication of pay occurs, due to this agreement and to the differences in method of payment of the two Contracting Parties, the attention of the recipients shall be called to the fact that they will have to refund to their State of Origin upon internment in a neutral country or upon repatriation any such amount. ART. 130. A prisoner of war who becomes entitled to an increase in pay by promotion will be paid at the increased rate from the date named by the State of Origin through diplomatic channels as the date on which the promotion took effect. ART. 131. The obligation of the Captor State to pay prisoners of war as provided above shall cease upon their internment in a neutral country or upon repatriation. ART. 132. All payments made by the Captor State to prisoners of war according to the above provisions shall ultimately be reimbursed to the Captor State by the State of Origin. 18. TRANSFERS TO OTHER PRISON CAMPS ART. 133. Prisoners of war upon being transferred from one place to another shall be permitted to take with them their personal effects, letters and parcels. ART. 134. Upon their own request made through official channels or upon the request of their State of Origin, fathers, sons and brothers who are simultaneously prisoners of war shall be united in the same main camp or working detachment unless sanitary reasons or strict requirements of discipline forbid. The transportation of prisoners of war who are to be united will be furnished by the Captor State without charge. As long as the reunion shall not have taken place or when it is not feasible, the prisoners of war may communicate by letter or postcard with each other; these letters and postcards shall be counted in the authorized maximum. ART. 135. Officer prisoners of war shall not be transferred from one camp to another except upon urgent necessity and, if transferred, notice of such transfer shall be communicated as speedily as possible to the Protecting Power. Officer prisoners of war may, however, be transferred at their own request, in which case, unless it falls within the provisions of Article 134, expenses incident to the transfer shall be borne by the officer transferred; otherwise the aforesaid expenses shall be borne by the Captor State. 19. RECOGNITION OF RANK ART. 136. The promotion of prisoners of war to the grade of officer or to higher ranks or grades shall be recognized by the Captor State upon notification of such promotion by the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power, provided that the promotion was recommended at a date prior to capture or becomes effective in due course of seniority according to the laws and regulations of the State of Origin. ART. 137. In case of doubt as to the military grade of a prisoner of war and as to his right to the corresponding privileges and pay, an official statement of these matters to the Captor State by the diplomatic representative of the Protecting Power shall be conclusive. 20. RELIEF SOCIETIES ART. 138. Each party to this agreement shall be free to designate to the other party relief societies, and these societies shall be given all facilities for the performance of their humane tasks within the bounds imposed by military necessities and administrative regulations. 21. WAR CORRESPONDENTS, ETC. ART. 139. Individuals who follow an army without belonging directly to it, such as war correspondents, reporters and purveyors, shall be treated as prisoners of war when captured by the enemy and when detention seems expedient, provided they are in possession of a certificate from the commander of the army which they accompany. In this case they are entitled to the same treatment as subaltern officers with the exception of pay. B. SANITARY PERSONNEL I. REPATRIATION OF SANITARY PERSONNEL ART. 140. All sanitary personnel and chaplains mentioned in Articles 9, 10 and 11 of the Geneva Convention of July 6th, 1906, and in the Hague Convention No. X, of October 18th, 1907, relative to the application to naval warfare of the principles laid down in the Geneva Convention, including the sanitary personnel of the interned crews of ships of war, shall be repatriated as soon as their services are no longer necessary for the proper care of the captured sick and wounded of their own State of Origin. None of the sanitary personnel of the Contracting Parties who fall into the power of the armed forces of the other either on the continent of Europe or in European waters, shall be removed from Europe or transferred to another State which is at war with the other Contracting Party. ART. 141. The term "Sanitary Personnel" shall be held to comprise the following: (a) To be recognized immediately. 1. Army and navy chaplains, medical officers, sanitary administration officers, doctors of non-commissioned rank (hospital inspectors, apothecaries, etc.), both male and female doctors, nurses and assistants, who are clearly recognizable by their special uniforms or otherwise. 2. Every other wearer of the brassard described in Article 20 of the Geneva Convention of July 6th, 1906, who can show his or her right to wear this brassard by an officially stamped certificate issued by the commanding officer of the organization and signed in his own hand by the bearer. These certificates may not be taken away either at the time of capture or later. 3. Persons incontestably identified as members of the sanitary personnel by the evidence of third parties. |