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land or sea must inform the nearest municipal authorities or the authorities of the first port he enters, within twenty-four hours after the discovery or after his arrival in port.

If the wreck can be identified, it shall be restored to its owner, who shall reimburse the rescuer for the expense to which he is put and pay him as a reward 5% of the value of the wreck.

If the wreck cannot be identified, it shall remain in the hands of the authorities. The municipal law of each state determines the period within which the owner of the wreck may reasonably claim it.

28. (Art. 28.) [Old Art. 27.] Upon the request of those who have an interest in it, such assistance as it is possible to give must be given an aërostat in the air, on land or in the sea. The assistant must be reimbursed for the expense to which he is put and receive a suitable reward.

SECOND PART

Regulation of Aërostats in Time of War

CHAPTER I. The Field of Aërial War

29. (Art. 1.) Belligerent states possess the right to engage in hostile acts in every part of the atmosphere over their continental territory and over the high seas or the sea along their coasts.

On the contrary, they are forbidden to commit hostile acts which are calculated to cause the fall of projectiles or cause damage generally over the continental territories of neutral states, at any height whatever, and along the coasts of these states within a distance determined by the range of the cannon of their aërostats.

Military aërostats of belligerents, also public non-military aërostats, may not navigate over neutral states, except with the permission of those states. Private aërostats require no permission to navigate. But both public and private aërostats are forbidden to remain over neutral countries within a certain distance of the frontiers of an enemy state. The navigation of aërostats in time of war is in all cases subject to the same restrictions as in time of peace.

CHAPTER II. The Relations of Belligerents to each other

30. (Art. 2.) [Old Art. 3.] Belligerents are forbidden to engage in aërial privateering just as in maritime privateering.

But they may add to their military forces private aërostats and their crews, on condition that they be subject to the orders of a duly commissioned officer of the state and have a distinctive mark in plain sight indicative of their character.

31. (Art. 3.) [Old Art. 4.] A private aërostat may be converted into a military aërostat, while war is in progress, in the territory and in the territorial waters of the state to which it belongs, in the territory occupied by the troops of this state, on the high seas, and in the air, except over a neutral state, under the conditions set forth in the Hague Convention of October 18, 1907 relative to the conversion of vessels of commerce into warships.

A private aërostat converted into a military aërostat shall remain such as long as hostilities last, and it may not be reconverted into a private aërostat during this period.

32. (Art. 4.) [Old Art. 5.] The provisions of section 1, Chapter II, and of section 2, Chapters I and III of the Hague Regulations of October 18, 1907 concerning the laws and customs of land warfare shall apply, so far as possible, to aërial warfare, with the exception of those expressly stipulated in the following articles.

33. (Art. 5.) [Old Art. 6.] In conformity with the second and third Hague declarations of July 29, 1899, aërostats are forbidden to throw projectiles intended to spread asphyxiating or deleterious gases, as well as bullets which easily expand or flatten in the human body.

34. (Art. 6.) [Old Art. 7.] The bombardment by aërial forces of undefended towns, villages, dwellings and buildings is likewise prohibited.

The rules established by the Hague Conventions of October 18, 1907 concerning sieges and bombardments by land or naval forces, apply to aërial warfare.

35. (Art. 7.) [Old Art. 8.] Only aërostats which are acting clandestinely or under false pretenses and by thus dissimulating their operations are gathering or endeavoring to gather information over the territory or territorial waters of a belligerent, or over the territory occupied by its troops or on the high seas over one of its squadrons or warships, and generally in the zone of its operations, with the intention of informing the enemy, may be treated as being suspected of spying.

Consequently undisguised soldiers on reconnoitering duty in aërostats and individuals sent in aërostats to transmit despatches, and in general to keep the different sections of an army or of a territory in communica

tion with each other, are not considered in principle as spies, but must if they are captured be treated as prisoners of war.

36. (Art. 8.) [Old Art. 9.] Public aërostats of a belligerent state, which are not military aërostats, are subject to seizure and confiscation. 37. (Art. 9.) [Old Art. 10.] Private enemy aërostats may be seized by a belligerent over its territory or territorial waters, over the territory or territorial waters of the enemy, and over the high seas; but upon the conclusion of peace they must be restored, without indemnity, to the owners. Private freight, even if it belongs to the enemy, which is on board these aërostats, is not seizable.

The preceding provisions in no way modify the right of confiscation which belligerents possess by virtue of the rules concerning blockade or contraband of war, and generally when private aërostats of the enemy engage in hostile acts or are used in military operations.

38. (Art. 10.) [Old Art. 11.] The validity or non-validity of the acquisition of neutral nationality by an enemy aërostat depends, in conformity with the provisions of Chapter V of the Declaration of London of February 26, 1909, upon the time when and the conditions under which it is effected.

39. (Art. 11.) [Old Art. 13.] Whether an aërostat is neutral or enemy is determined by the distinctive mark of the nationality which it has a right to have.

40. (Art. 12.) [Old Art. 15.] When a private enemy aërostat or a non-military public aërostat is seized by a belligerent, the captain and crew, whether nationals of the enemy state or of a neutral state, are not made prisoners of war, but must remain free, under the conditions provided in Chapter III of the Hague Convention of October 18, 1907 relative to certain restrictions on the right of capture in naval warfare.

41. (Art. 13.) [Old Art. 16.] The destruction of an enemy private or public aërostat is permitted as an exceptional measure, only if the aërostat is acting as a military aërostat or if it offers resistance to the legal right of capture. The destruction of an aërostat can be effected only after it has received a special summons.

42. (Art. 14.) [Old Art. 17.] Belligerents are recognized as possessing the right to capture enemy private and public aërostats which fall upon their territory either by accident or by forced landing.

43. (Art. 15.) [Old Art. 18.] Private aërostats of one of the belligerents which upon the outbreak of hostilities happen to be in enemy territory and those which left their last port of departure before the

beginning of the war and come into enemy territory without knowing that hostilities have broken out, cannot be seized under the conditions laid down in Art. 9, unless they have been granted a period of grace within which to leave, or have not taken advantage of the period of grace granted them. A period of grace may not be granted to enemy private aërostats whose build indicates that they are intended to be converted into war aërostats.

Enemy private aërostats which have left their last port of departure before the outbreak of hostilities and which are encountered in space, may be seized like other enemy private aërostats, although unaware of the existence of hostilities.

Non-military public aërostats may have the benefit of the period of grace under the same conditions as private aërostats.

44. (Art. 16.) [Old Art. 19.] Aërostats on scientific or philanthropic missions are exempt from seizure, under the conditions mentioned in Chapters I and II of the Hague Convention of October 18, 1907 relative to certain restrictions upon the exercise of the right of capture in naval warfare.

45. (Art. 17.) [Old Art. 20.] In regard to the treatment of the sick and wounded, such of the provisions of the Hague Convention of October 18, 1907 for the adaptation of the principles of the Geneva Convention to naval warfare, should govern as may be applied to aërial warfare. The sick and wounded of belligerents left in the territory of a neutral state by an aërostat, with the consent of the local authorities, must be guarded by the neutral state in such a way as to prevent their taking part again in war operations, unless there is a contrary arrangement between the neutral state and the belligerents. The hospital and confinement expenses shall be borne by the state to which the sick or wounded belong.

46. (Art. 18.) [Old Art. 21.] An army invading or occupying enemy territory may seize aërostats of enemy nationality even if they belong to private persons; but in this latter case they must be restored to their owners and the indemnity shall be fixed upon the conclusion of peace, as is provided in Article 53 of The Hague Regulations of October 18, 1907 on the laws and customs of land warfare.

CHAPTER III. Relations between Neutrals and Belligerents

47. (Art. 19.) [Old Art. 22.] Military aërostats which enter the territory of a neutral state must not remain there more than twenty

four hours, unless they are so damaged or the state of the atmosphere is such as to prevent their leaving within that time.

If aërostats of the two belligerents should happen to be simultaneously at the same point in this territory, at least twenty-four hours must elapse between the departure of the aërostat of one belligerent and the aërostat of the other. The order of departure is determined by the order of arrival, unless the aërostat which arrived first is entitled to an extension of the legal period of its stay.

Belligerent aërostats must do nothing in neutral territory which may increase their military strength, and they must in no way prejudice the neutral state. They may perform only such acts as are permitted by common humanity and which are indispensable for reaching the nearest point of their country or of a country allied with them in the

war.

In general, it is proper to apply to aërial warfare the principles laid down in the Hague Convention of October 18, 1907 concerning the rights and duties of neutral Powers in naval warfare.

48. (Art. 20.) [Old Art. 23.] Aërial navigation by neutral countries is prohibited in all parts of the air over belligerent states, as well as within a radius of 11,000 meters of their coasts.

Except in case of force majeure, aërostats which infringe this prohibition shall be confiscated, unless it is proved that they have not been spying.

49. (Art. 21.) [Old Art. 24.] Even outside the 11,000 meter radius, neutral aërostats may not approach points on these coasts under a blockade which is effective beyond this distance.

Neutral aërostats which happen to be in a blockaded port may not leave it.

The rules promulgated in the Declaration of London of February 26, 1909, in the matter of blockade, apply to aërial as well as to naval warfare.

50. (Art. 22.) [Old Art. 25.] Freight which is contraband of war on board neutral aërostats, must be confiscated just as when on board. enemy aërostats.

51. (Art. 23.) [Old Art. 26.] In determining contraband of war and the conditions under which it is proper to proceed to seizure, the rules of naval warfare promulgated in Chapter II of the Declaration of London of February 26, 1909 should be applied.

52. (Art. 24.) [Old Art. 27.] Among conditional contraband articles,

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