CAB129-33 — Page 246

Page 246

(g) compensation for injuries at work or for effects lost

-

21

-

by the action or negligence of the Detaining Power or its agents to be the responsibility of the Power in whose forces the prisoner of war was serving at the time of capture, except that the Detaining Power Page 247188 required to replace hygeugh offe488 required

for personal use whilst a prisoner of war;

(h) canteen profits and other communal sums to be

oredited by the Detaining Power to a Frisoners Welfare Account in each camp, the balances on such accounts after all prisoners of war had been repatriated to remain in the hands of the Detaining Power; (see also paragraphs 253 and 254 below);

(j) any aḍjustment between adverse belligerents in respect

of any of these transactions to be a matter for. settlement between the belligerents concerned after the termination of hostilities.

(C.R.G.C./P(47)1, Appendix D)

109. At first sight these arrangements would seem to relieve the Detaining Powers of a number of payments for which they ought to be liable, but, in practice, in modern war transfers of sums of money between belligerents, and particularly from a defeated to a victorious Power, are rarely practicable; and any other principles would result in the victorious Power making payments, in its own currency, to enemy prisoners of war on repatriation, whilst having also to make payment to its own returning prisoners of war in respect of sums due to them from the enemy Government, the latter having no effective means of making payment in any currency of value to those prisoners of war.

110. The United States delegation did not accept the recommendation of the 1947 Conference, that credit balances should be notified to the Power in whose foroes the prisoners of war were serving at the time of capture, because of a technical requirement under the United States Constitution which necessitates any balance of working pay due to a prisoner of war to be paid out by the United States authority concerned. It may be hoped that this technical difficulty

will be overcome.

111.

The recommendations of the 1947 Geneva Conference of Government Experts were approved, in principle, by my Committee and referred to two Technical Working Parties,

(a) to consider all recommendations except those dealing

with compensation;

(b) to consider the recommendations regarding compensation.

112. The first of these Working Parties, consisting of represent- atives of the three Service Departments and the Treasury found no matters for comment, except that of the currency to be used to describe, in the Convention, the rates of pay and minimum rate of working pay. On this question the Treasury representative, after consultation with the Bank of England, advised my Committee that the Swiss (paper) Franc was preferable to the Swiss Gold Franc suggested by the 1947 Conference; and my Committee recommend accordingly (see paragraph 114 below).

113. The second of the Working Parties, referred to in paragraph 111 above consisting of representatives of the Service Departments, the Treasury and the Ministry of Pensions, found no technical objections to the recommendations of the 1947 Geneva Conference of Government Experts; but as their Report deals, in some detail, with the matters considered, a copy is annexed at Appendix E.

114. My Committee recommend that the United Kingdom delegation to a future International Conference should support the recommendations of the Page vafagerence of Government Experts regarding the financial provisions of the Prisoners of War Convention, except that they should seek to substitute, as the currency in which to state

Fage

ot

-

22

rates of pay and working pay, the Swiss (paper) Franc for the Swiss Gold Frano.

(U. R. G. C. /M (47)6, Items 48-53

Pager2018.04877, Items 56-61

U. R. G. C./M (48)3, Items 21 and 22)