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The Franking Privilege for Postal Communications with Prisoners of War

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2017

John H. Spencer
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American Journal of International Law , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , April 1941 , pp. 365 - 371
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Copyright © American Society of International Law 1941

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References

1 Romberg, Des Belligérants et des Prisonniers de Guerre, pp. 30–31; Brenet, La France et l’Allemagne devant le Droit International pendant les Opérations militaires de la Guerre de 1870–1871, p. 231.

2 On various national and international associations for assistance to prisoners of war, see Romberg, Des Prisonniers de Guerre, Rapport présenté au Congrès international d’Hygiène et de Sauvetage de Bruxelles, p. 19 et seq.; also Guers, Récits et Souvenirs de 1870–1871, Les Soldats Frangais dans les Prisons d’Allemagne, Chap. 10, p. 322 et seq.

3 Actes de la Conférence de Bruxelles (1874), Brussels, Schepens et Cie., 1899, pp. 100, 351. For a similar but abortive proposal by an association formed at Paris, see Exposition Universelle Internationale de 1889, Congrès International des Oeuvres d’Assistance en Temps de Guerre, 1889, pp. 47–18.

4 Actes de la Conference de Bruxelles, p. 109.

5 M. Romberg claimed the credit for having made the initial suggestion to the French Government for the convening of a congress on the subject of treatment of prisoners of war. See Romberg, Des Belligérants et des Prisonniers de Guerre, pp. 65–66.

6 See Guers, op. cit., pp. 339–340.

7 Exposition Universelle Internationale de 1889, Congrès International des Oeuvres d’Assistance en Temps de Guerre, pp. 59, 93–94.

8 Conférence Internationale de La Paix, La Haye, [Actes], 18 mai—29juillet 1899, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, [Netherlands] Imprimerie Nationale, 1899, Pt. III , pp. 91–93; final text, Pt. I, p. 244.

9 Union Postale Universelle, Documents du Congrès Postal de Rome, 1906, Berne, Imprimerie Lierow et Cie., 1906, Vol. II, pp. 136–137, 691, 790, 826, 864.

10 15 Martens, Nouveau Recueil Général (3d sér.), pp. 732, 749, 766, 779.

11 40 League of Nations Treaty Series, pp. 56, 263, 322–333, 449.

12 4 Hudson, International Legislation, pp. 2893, 3017, 3049, 3125–3126.

13 174 League of Nations Treaty Series, p. 206; 175 id., pp. 16, 90, 278.

14 Universal Postal Union Convention of Buenos Aires, May 23, 1939. Art. 49, Sec. 2 reads as follows:

“Except when they bear C.O.D. charges, mail articles addressed to prisoners of war or mailed by them are likewise exempt from all postal charges, not only in the countries of origin and destination but also in the intermediary countries.

“The same is true of correspondence concerning prisoners of war, sent or received either directly or as intermediary by the information offices which may be established on behalf of such persons in belligerent countries or in neutral countries which have received belligerents on their territory.

“Belligerents received and interned in a neutral country are assimilated to prisoners of war properly so called, in so far as the application of the above provisions is concerned.” Government Printing Office, Washington, 1940, p. 35.

15 A Belgian proposal at the Rome Congress to extend the franking privilege to cash-on-delivery packets sent by prisoners of war was successfully opposed by the French delegation as not falling within the term articles d’argeni of the Hague Regulations, Documents du Congrès Postal de Borne, 1906, Vol. II, p. 138, see also pp. 399, 507. It is to be noted that the general exemption as set forth in the principal convention concluded at Stockholm and in subsequent conventions does not extend to trade charges. 40 League of Nations Treaty Series, p. 56. See also Convention of Buenos Aires, loc. cit, p. 35.

16 Bureau International de L’Union Postale Universelle, Rapport de Gestion, Annie 1915, pp. 8–9.

17 Actes de la Conference Diplomatique de Genève de 1929, Geneva, 1930, pp. 697, 709.

18 United States: War Department, Basic Field Manual, Vol. VII, Military Law, Part Two, Rules of Land Warfare, Government Printing Office, 1934, par. 112, p. 26.

Great Britain: Manual of Military Law, 1929, Amendments (No. 12), His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1940, par. 88, p. 22.

Japan: Ministry of War, Regulation on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Feb. 14,1904, Art. 26, translation by Akiyama in the Revue de Droit International et de Législation Comparée, 2d sér., 1906, Vol. VIII, p. 582; Ministry of Marine, Regulation for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Feb. 17, 1904, Art. 13, ibid., p. 715.

Russia: Official Gazette of July 9, 1904, Regulation concerning the application of Art. 16 of the Hague Regulations; text in Ariga, La Guerre Russo-Japonaise au point de vue continental et le Droit International, Paris, 1908, p. 125.

See Italy, Royal Decree, July 8, 1938, approving text (appended) of Law of War and Neutrality, Leggi e Decreti, 1938, No. 1415, Art. 101, pp. 4323–4324.

19 United States: Official Postal Guide, Pt. II, July, 1940, Sees. 32 and 71-b. An order of the Second Assistant Postmaster General under date of Oct. 1, 1940, requires the filing of an affidavit of transfer of title to the addressee in the cases falling within the requirements of the Neutrality Act of 1939.

Japan: Ministry of Communications, Regulation concerning postal service for prisoners of war, March 3, 1904, Art. 4, Revue de Droit International et de Législation Comparée, 1907, Vol. IX, p. 212; Regulation concerning money orders for prisoners of war, March 3, 1904, Art. 3, ibid., p. 212.

See, Netherlands: Law of Aug. 27, 1914, Staatsblad, 1914, No. 427, and Union Postale, 1916, Vol. 41, pp. 105-106, exemption extended to interned members of foreign armies.

20 A proposal by the Mexican Postal Administration, that the exemption be restricted to prisoners of war and their immediate families, was given no consideration by the congress of the Universal Postal Union held at Madrid in 1920. Documents du Congrès Postal de Madrid, 1920, Berne, 1921, Vol. 11, pp. 56–57.

21 Documents of the Hague Conference of 1899, loc. cit., Pt. 3, p. 93.

22 Art. 35 of the Universal Postal Union Convention of Buenos Aires of May 23, 1939, provides: “As a general rule, all the articles designated in Article 33 [letters, single and replypaid post cards, commercial papers, prints, raised print for the blind, samples of merchandise, small packets, and Phonopost articles] must be fully prepaid by the sender. Articles other than letters and single post cards which are unprepaid or insufficiently prepaid, or reply post cards both halves of which are not fully prepaid at the time of mailing, are not dispatched.” Government Printing Office, Washington, 1940, p. 28.

Certain bipartite postal agreements likewise require full prepayment of postage as a condition precedent to the transmission of mail beyond the jurisdiction of the state concerned: United States-Germany, Feb. 6/March 16, 1939, Art. 4, 198 League of Nations Treaty Series, p. 239; United Kingdom–Poland, Sept. 15/Oct. 5,1938, Art. 3,194 League of Nations Treaty Series, p. 322; United Kingdom–Countries of the Levant under French Mandate, Oct. 26, 1938, Art. 5, 194 League of Nations Treaty Series, p. 372.

23 Postal conventions with France, April 1, 1849, Art. 1, Olivart, Collección de los Tratados, Convenios y Documentos Internationales, Madrid, 1893, Vol. II, p. 2; Belgium, July 17, 1849, Art. 1, ibid., p. 25; Portugal, June 22, 1850, Art. 1, ibid., p. 41; Switzerland, Nov. 2, 1850, Art. 1, ibid., p. 62; Sardinia, Sept. 29, 1851, Art. 1, ibid., p. 131.

See Art. 36 of the Convention of Buenos Aires, loc. tit., pp. 28-29.

24 Convention of Washington, 1897, Art. 4, 89 British and Foreign State Papers, p. 66; Convention of Home, 1906, Art. 4, loc. cit., Vol. II, pp. 684–685; Convention of Buenos Aires, 1939, Art. 75, loc. cit., pp. 50–52. No transit charges are collected for money orders, see Art. 76, Buenos Aires, ibid., p. 52.

25 See Japanese and Russian regulations, notes 18 and 19; also, Akiyama, , “Règlements et Instructions du Gouvernement Japonais sur le Traitement des Sujets russes pendant la Guerre Rmao-Japonaise,” Revue de Droit International et de Législation Comparée, 1907, 2d sei., Vol. IX, pp. 213–214 Google Scholar.

26 Union Postale, 1915, Vol. 40, p. 186.

27 Ibid., 1916, Vol. 41, p. 125.

28 Union Postale UniverseUe, Bureau International, Statistique Générale du Service Postal, 1919, pp. 13, 17.

29 Ibid., 1917, p. 20.

30 Ibid., 1918, p. 20.

31 Information obtained on direct inquiry of postal services.