CHAPTER II. THE ACQUISITION BY PERSONS AND PROPERTY OF ENEMY Enemy character, and the extent to which individuals possess it.. tremes. CHARACTER. § 169. ENEMY character is a quality possessed in a greater or less measure by persons and things. It is by no means constant ; but may be likened to a taint which in some cases is powerful, in others weak, and may be of any degree of strength between the two exSome persons are enemies in the fullest sense of the word; that is to say they may be killed by the public armed forces of the state. Others are enemies only in the sense that a certain limited portion of their property may be subjected to the severities of warfare. And it is the same with things. Sometimes they are enemy property in the sense that they may be captured wherever it is lawful to carry on hostilities: sometimes they may be taken only under very special circumstances. We will endeavor to arrange both enemy persons and enemy property in an ascending and descending scale, according to the degree in which the hostile character is impressed upon them. § 170. First among those individuals who may be regarded as enemies we must place Persons found in the military or naval service of the enemy state. These are enemies to the fullest extent. They may be killed or wounded in fair fight according to the laws of war, Their If any of Persons enrolled in the enemy's fight ing forces are ene mies to the fullest extent. and, if captured, may be held as prisoners of war. nationality makes no difference in this respect. them are neutral subjects, they can claim no immunities on that account. They are free from special severities, but they are subject to the ordinary risks and incidents of civilized warfare. Enrolment in the public armed forces of a belligerent puts them in the same position as their comrades who are subjects of the state for which they are fighting. Their own state may possibly at some future time punish them for breach of her neutrality regulations in joining a foreign army to fight against a power with which she is at peace; but the enemy must treat them as lawful combatants. The only exception to this rule occurs when a state finds subjects of its own fighting against it in the ranks of its foes. In such a case it would have the right, should it capture them, to execute them as traitors, instead of treating them as prisoners of war. § 171. The next class of enemies are vessels are enemies in a lesser degree. Seamen navigating the merchant vessels of the enemy state. These persons differ from ordinary combatants in that they may not attack the enemy of their own initiative, and from ordinary non-combatants in that they may fight Crews of the ento defend their vessel if it is attacked by the emy's merchant enemy. They, therefore, occupy a position between the fighting forces and the civilian population. Should a fight be forced upon them in defence of their vessel from a hostile cruiser, they are thereby placed in the position of combatants, and, if captured, must be held as prisoners of war. But if they attack other vessels they may be subjected to all the severities which International Law decrees against non-combatants who perform hostile acts against the enemy. 1 This has been abundantly illustrated in the Boer war of 1899-1900. Large numbers of foreigners fought on the side of the Dutch Republics, and were treated by the British as lawful combatants. § 172. Travelling down the scale we now come to Non-combatant subjects of the enemy state. But though they must be reckoned as enemies, they do not possess the hostile character to such an extent that they may be slain or made prisoners as long as they Non-combatant subjects of the enemy state are enemies in a lesser degree still. live quietly and take no part in the contest. Their property is, however, subject to certain severities, such as capture at sea if found under the enemy flag, and requisitions and contributions on land. The nature and extent of these possibilities will be shown in our discussion of the incidents of warfare on land and sea, where it will further appear that the non-combatant population of invaded districts may be compelled to perform certain personal services for the invader.1 But most of these dangers and severities are escaped if the non-combatant enemy subject is domiciled in a neutral country. He does not then increase the resources of the enemy by the payment of taxes and the increase of wealth due to his trading operations. Moreover he resides in a place where no warlike operations can be carried on and consequently is free from personal molestation. In so far as his trade and his other proprietary interests are connected with the neutral country, he bears a neutral and not an enemy character; but if he should possess property in the country of his allegiance, and the enemy should occupy the district in which it was situated, it would be treated by them as enemy property. It was decided in the case of the Danous2 that a British subject, resident in the neutral country of Portugal, in a war between Great Britain and Holland, was not only neutral as regards the property connected with his Portuguese domicil, but was even free to carry on a trade allowed to neutrals between Portugal and Holland. 1 See § 192. 2 Robinson, Admiralty Reports, IV., 255, note. § 173. Another class of persons who possess the enemy character in some degree are Persons resident in an enemy country, even though they are subjects of the country making war on it or of neutral countries. resident in the enemy's country, enemy subjects, are enemies in so far as their in They are enemies to one belligerent in so far as they are identified with the other. That is to say, Persons other than any property they may possess in connection with their domicil would be accounted enemy property for purposes of maritime capture, and should the district in which they live be occupied they would come under all the disabilities incident to the occupation, just like the civilian population of enemy nationality around them. We have next to mention § 174. terests are identi fied with those of their place of residence. Persons living in places in the military occupation of the enemy. places occupied by Phe forces of the in so far as their property under enemy are enemies These a state regards as enemies to the extent of subjecting to hostile capture their property proceeding from the places in question, even though they may be Residents in parts of its own territory. Being under enemy occupation, their possession enriches the enemy for the time being and contributes to his warlike resources, while their own country reaps no advantage from them. They are, therefore, liable, while the occupation lasts, to the severities exercised in war against the property of non-combatant subjects of the enemy state. But if the hostile occupants are dispossessed, the inhabitants are, of course, treated as citizens and not as enemy control is concerned. |