Annex 5

PROPOSITION OF THE NETHERLAND DELEGATION

Conversion of merchant ships into war-ships

1. It is permissible to convert a merchant ship in the service of the State into a war-ship.

2. Converted vessels must be commanded by a naval officer and their crews must be wholly or partially military.

3. A converted ship must fly at its gaff and at its masthead the man-ofwar flag and the pennant or flag of its commander.

4. In time of war, conversion may be effected only in a national port; the converted vessel must there be provided with a commission furnished by the competent authority of the Government whose flag it flies.

5. The commander of a converted vessel must respect the laws and customs of war at sea.

6. All vessels claiming to be war-ships, which do not comply with the abovementioned conditions, shall be treated as pirate ships.

Annex 6

PROPOSITION OF THE JAPANESE DELEGATION

Conversion of merchant ships into war-ships

A merchant ship may not be converted into a war-ship except in the national ports or territorial waters of the State to which the merchant ship in question belongs, or in the ports or territorial waters occupied by its naval or military forces.

[1137]

Annex 7

PROPOSITION OF THE DELEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES Conversion of merchant ships into war-ships

A war-ship must be commanded by a regularly commissioned officer, and must have a crew under military law and discipline.

In time of war no merchant ship shall be converted into a war-ship unless it is commanded by a regularly commissioned officer and has a crew under military law and discipline, and no conversion of this kind may be effected except in the territorial waters of the State owning the vessel or in the territorial waters over which it has effective control through its military forces.

Annex 8. [See ante, pp. 1118-19.]

[1140]

Annex 9

DRAFT REGULATIONS ON THE CONVERSION OF MERCHANT SHIPS INTO WAR-SHIPS, PREPARED BY THE COMMITTEE OF EXAMINATION

ARTICLE 1

A merchant ship converted into a war-ship cannot have the rights and duties accruing to such vessels unless it is placed under the direct authority, immediate control, and responsibility of a State or recognized Government.

ARTICLE 2

Merchant ships converted into war-ships must bear the external marks which distinguish the war-ships of their nationality.

ARTICLE 3

The commander must have a regularly delivered commission, stating that he is in the service of the State and that he holds his rank and his command from the competent naval authorities.

ARTICLE 4

The crew is subject to military discipline.

ARTICLE 5

Every merchant ship converted into a war-ship must conform itself, in its operations, to the laws and customs of war.

ARTICLE 6

A belligerent who converts a merchant ship into a war-ship must, as soon as possible, announce such conversion in the list of war-ships.

[1141]

INVIOLABILITY OF ENEMY PRIVATE PROPERTY AT SEA

Annex 10

PROPOSITION OF THE DELEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Inviolability of enemy private property at sea

The private property of all citizens of the signatory Powers, with the exception of contraband of war, shall be exempt from capture or seizure at sea by

1122

the armed vessels or military forces of the said Powers. However, this provision in no way implies the inviolability of vessels which may attempt to enter a port blockaded by the naval forces of the above-mentioned Powers, nor of the cargoes of the said vessels.

Annex 11

PROPOSITION OF THE BRAZILIAN DELEGATION

Inviolability of enemy private property at sea

With the aim of assimilating the status of private property at sea in naval warfare to that of private property on land, the delegation of Brazil proposes, in the event of the American proposition not being approved:

1. That the words "apart from cases governed by maritime law" be struck out of Article 53 of the Convention of July 29, 1899, with respect to the laws and customs of war on land.

2. That the following provision be added:

A. Articles 23, last paragraph, 28, 46, and 47 of the above-mentioned Convention apply likewise to war at sea.

[1142] B. When the captain of a vessel or of a belligerent fleet finds himself under the necessity of requisitioning, in the contingency provided for by Article 23, letter g, of the above-mentioned Convention—that is to say, in case it is necessary to destroy or to seize these goods on account of the imperative exigencies of war-an enemy's ship, its cargo or any portion thereof, the requisition shall be evidenced by the requisitioner by means of receipts given to the captain of the vessel that has been seized or whose goods have been seized, with all the details possible, in order to ensure the right of the interested parties to just compensation.

C. This clause applies to neutral goods, which may be on board enemy merchant ships that are requisitioned.

The captain of the vessel or of the war fleet, who has decided to requisition, is obliged to land, at one of the nearest ports, the officers and crew of the seized vessel, with sufficient funds to take them to the country to which they belong.

Annex 12

PROPOSITION OF THE NETHERLAND DELEGATION

Inviolability of enemy private property at sea

The delegation of the Netherlands is in favor of any proposition that establishes the principle of inviolability of private property at sea.

In order that the possibility of converting merchant ships into auxiliary cruisers in time of war may not be an excuse for not accepting this principle, the delegation submits the following proposition for the consideration of the Commission:

A merchant ship may not be captured by a belligerent party merely for the reason that it is sailing under the enemy flag, if it has a passport given by the competent authority of its country, which passport declares that the vessel will not be converted into a war-ship nor used as such during the entire war.

[1143]

Annex 13

DECLARATION OF THE DANISH DELEGATION

Inviolability of enemy private property at sea

The Danish Government, desirous of doing its share toward the development of international law, which aims to diminish, in so far as possible, the severities of naval warfare, is ready to recognize the principle of the inviolability of private property at sea, if this principle can obtain the approval of the Conference. But if the time has not yet come for the realization, by common agreement, of this humanitarian idea, the Danish delegation is willing to collaborate in the adoption of measures tending to limit the inconveniences caused by practices that have hitherto been followed.