¹ A distinction may be made, however, in case of prisoners, and an officer taken prisoner may be entitled to restoration of some personal belongings to which a private would not be entitled.

² Strictly, these conventions are applicable only if all belligerents are parties.

³ This distinction seems to be neglected by some writers. See Spaight, War Bights on Land, p. 201.

⁴ The British Manual of Military Law (1914), paragraph 433, states: “There is a definite obligation that personal effects, valuables, letters, etc., found on the field must be collected and forwarded, by means of the prisoners of war information bureau, to those concerned.”

⁵ “According to the modern law of war the individual member of the military forces possesses an authority to take booty only in so far as the State delegated it to him.” Forties Juris Gentium, Series A, Sec. 2, Vol. 1, p. 181.

⁶ Schmidt, Arthur B., Eigeniumserwerb unter Kriegsrecht, p. 17.Google Scholar

⁷ “To whom the booty ultimately belongs is not for international but for municipal law to determine, since international law simply states that public enemy property on the battlefield can be appropriated by belligerents.” 2 Oppenheim, International Law (4th ed.), p. 266.

⁸ “The booty belongs to the State declaring it to be such, and not to the individual soldiers.” Fontes Juris Gentium, Series A, Sec. 2, Vol. 1, p. 180. The U. S. Rules of Land Warfare of 1914, paragraph 56, provide: “All captures and booty, except personal belongings of prisoners, become the property of the belligerent Government and not of individuals or units capturing them.”

⁹ Decrees of Prussian War Ministry of Oct. 26, 1914, and Dec. 8, 1914; Schmidt, op. cit., p. 17.,

¹⁰ 128 of the Militaerstrafgesetzbuch für das Deutsche Reich of June 20, 1872 (1872, R.G.B1., p. 197).