Equipo Nizkor - Kenya: The Geneva Conventions Act

Chapter 198
[Rev. 2012]

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section

1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Grave breach of Convention.
4. Notice of trial.
5. Legal Representation.
6. Appeals.
7. Reduction of sentence, and custody.
8. Repeal.

SCHEDULES

First Schedule -
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field Dated the 12th August, 1949

Second Schedule -
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea Dated the 12th August, 1949

Third Schedule -
Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War Dated the 12th August, 1949

Fourth Schedule -
Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War Dated the 12th August, 1949

CHAPTER 198

GENEVA CONVENTIONS ACT

[Date of assent:19th November, 1968.]
[Date of commencement:22nd November, 1968.]

An Act of Parliament to enable effect to be given to certain International Conventions done at Geneva on the 12th August, 1949, and for purposes incidental thereto

[Act No. 51 of 1968.]

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Geneva Conventions Act.

2. Interpretation

In this Act–

"the Conventions" means the Conventions set out in the Schedules to this Act;

"court" does not include a court-martial;

"prisoner's representative" means, in relation to a protected prisoner of war at a particular time, the person by whom the functions of prisoners representative within the meaning of Article 79 of the Convention set out in the Third Schedule to this Act were exercisable in relation to that prisoner at the camp or place at which the prisoner was, at or last before that time, detained as a protected prisoner of war;

"protected internee" means a person protected by the Convention set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act and interned in Kenya;

"protected prisoner of war" means a person protected by the Convention set out in the Third Schedule to this Act;

"protecting power" means, in relation to a protected prisoner of war or a protected internee, the power or Organization which is carrying out, in the interests of the power of which he is a national, or of whose forces he is or was at any material time, a member, the duties assigned to the protecting power under the Convention set out in the Third Schedule or, as the case may be, the Fourth Schedule to this Act.

3. Grave breach of Convention

(1) Any person, whatever his nationality, who, whether within or outside Kenya commits, or aids, abets or procures the commission by any other person of any grave breach of any of the Conventions such as is referred to in the following articles respectively of those Conventions–

(a) article 50 of the Convention set out in the First Schedule to this Act;
(b) article 51 of the Convention set out in the Second Schedule to this Act;
(c) article 130 of the Convention set out in the Third Schedule to this Act;
(d) article 147 of the Convention set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act,

is guilty of an offence and–

(i) in the case of a grave breach involving the wilful killing of the person protected by the Convention in question, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life; and
(ii) in the case of any other grave breach, is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

(2) Where an offence under this section is committed outside Kenya, a person may be proceeded against, indicted, tried and punished therefor in any place in Kenya, as if the offence had been committed in that place, and the offence shall, for all purposes incidental to or consequential on the trial or punishment thereof, be deemed to have been committed in that place.

(3) A prosecution for an offence under this section shall not be instituted except by or on behalf of the Attorney-General.

(4) Where in a prosecution for an offence under this section in respect of a grave breach of one of the Conventions any question arises under Article 2 of that Convention, that question shall be determined by the Minister, and a certificate purporting to set out such determination and to be signed by the Minister shall be sufficient evidence of such determination and be presumed to be so signed until the contrary is proved.

(5) Any written law relating to the trial by court-martial of persons who commit civil offences shall have effect for the purposes of the jurisdiction of courts-martial convened in Kenya as if this section had not been enacted.

4. Notice of trial

(1) The court before which–

(a) a protected prisoner of war is brought up for trial for an offence; or
(b) a protected internee is brought up for trial for an offence for which that court has power to sentence him to death or to imprisonment for a term of at least two years,

shall not proceed with the trial unless it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that a notice containing the particulars mentioned in subsection (2) of this section, so far as they are known to the prosecutor, has been served not less than three weeks previously on the protecting power and, if the accused is a protected prisoner of war, on the accused and the prisoner's representative.

(2) The particulars referred to in subsection (1) of this section are–

(a) the full name and description of the accused, including the date of his birth and his profession or trade, if any, and, if the accused is a protected prisoner of war, his rank and army, regimental, personal or serial number;
(b) his place of detention, internment or residence;
(c) the offence with which he is charged; and
(d) the court before which the trial is to take place and the time and place appointed for the trial.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a document purporting–

(a) to be signed on behalf of the protecting power or by the prisoner's representative or by the person accused, as the case may be; and
(b) to be an acknowledgment of the receipt by that power, representative or person on a specified day of a notice described therein as a notice under this section,

shall, until the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence that the notice required by subsection (1) of this section was served on that power, representative or person on that day.

(4) Any court which adjourns a trial for the purpose of enabling the requirements of this section to be complied with may, notwithstanding any other written law, remand the accused for the period of the adjournment.

5. Legal Representation

(1) The court before which–

(a) any person is brought up for trial for an offence under section 3 of this Act; or
(b) a protected prisoner of war is brought up for trial for any offence,

shall not proceed with the trial, unless–

(i) the accused is represented by an advocate; and
(ii) it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that a period of not less than fourteen days has elapsed since instructions for the representation of the accused at the trial were first given to the advocate,

and, if the court adjourns the trial for the purpose of enabling the requirements of this subsection to be complied with, the court may, notwithstanding any other written law, remand the accused for the period of the adjournment.

(2) Where the accused is a protected prisoner of war, and there is no advocate accepted by the accused as representing him, an advocate instructed for the purpose on behalf of the protecting power shall, without prejudice to the requirements of paragraph (ii) of subsection (1) of this section, be regarded for the purposes of that subsection as representing the accused.

(3) Where the court adjourns the trial in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section because the accused is not represented by an advocate, the court shall direct that an advocate be assigned to watch over the interests of the accused at any further proceedings in connexion with the offence.

(4) At any such further proceedings, if there is no advocate accepted by the accused as representing him or instructed in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section, an advocate assigned in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section shall, without prejudice to the requirements of paragraph (ii) of subsection (1) of this section, be regarded for the purposes of that subsection as representing the accused.

(5) An advocate shall be assigned in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section in such manner as may be prescribed by the Minister, by notice in the Gazette, and any advocate so assigned shall be entitled to be paid by Minister, out of moneys provided by Parliament such sums in respect of fees and disbursements as the Minister may direct.

6. Appeals

Where a protected prisoner of war or a protected internee has been sentenced to death or to imprisonment for a term of two years or more, the time within which he may give notice of appeal or notice of his application for leave to appeal to the High Court or the Court of Appeal, as the case may be, shall notwithstanding any written law, be the period from the date of his conviction or, in the case of an appeal against sentence, of his sentence, to the expiration of ten days after the date on which he receives a notice given–

(a) in the case of a protected prisoner of war, by an officer of the armed forces;
(b) in the case of a protected internee, by or on behalf of the superintendent of the prison in which he is confined,

that the protecting power has been notified of his conviction and sentence.

7. Reduction of sentence, and custody

(1) It shall be lawful for the Minister in any case in which a protected prisoner of war or a protected internee is convicted of an offence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment, to direct that there shall be deducted from that term a period not exceeding the period, if any, during which that person was in custody in connexion with that offence, either on remand or after committal for trial, including the period of the trial, before the sentence began or is deemed to have begun to run.

(2) It shall be lawful for the Minister in a case where he is satisfied that a protected prisoner of war accused of an offence has been in custody in connexion with that offence, either on remand or after committal for trial, including the period of trial, for an aggregate period of not less than three months, to direct that the prisoner shall be transferred from that custody to the custody of an officer of the armed forces and thereafter remain in service custody at a camp or place in which protected prisoners of war are detained and be brought before the court at the time appointed by the remand or committal order.

8. Repeal

The Geneva Convention Act, 1911, the Geneva Convention Act, 1937 and the Geneva Conventions, 1957 of the United Kingdom are repealed in so far as they form part of the law of Kenya.

[1 and 2 Geo. 5, Ch. 20, 1 Edw. 8 and 1 Geo. 6, Ch. 15, 5 and 6 Eliz. 2, Ch. 52.]

FIRST SCHEDULE

[Sections 2 and 3.]

Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field Dated the 12th August, 1949

[...]

SECOND SCHEDULE

[Sections 2 and 3.]

Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea Dated the 12th August, 1949

[...]

THIRD SCHEDULE

[Sections 2 and 3.]

Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War Dated the 12th August, 1949

[...]

FOURTH SCHEDULE

[Sections 2 and 3.]

Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War Dated the 12th August, 1949

[...]

[Source: The National Council for Law Reporting (Laws of Kenya).]

[Editor's Note: Please note that the First, Second, Third and Fourth Schedules correspond to the full text of each one of the four Geneva Conventions, which in turn are available through their respective PURL].

19Nov1968 - KEN

The Geneva Conventions Act

- Kenya -

[Source: The National Council for Law Reporting (Laws of Kenya).]

[Editor's Note: Please note that the First, Second, Third and Fourth Schedules correspond to the full text of each one of the four Geneva Conventions, which in turn are available through their respective PURL].

Legislation
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19Nov1968 - KEN

The Geneva Conventions Act

- Kenya -

[Source: The National Council for Law Reporting (Laws of Kenya).] [Editor's Note: Please note that the First, Second, Third and Fourth Schedules correspond to the full text of each one of the four Geneva Conventions, which in turn are available through their respective PURL].

[Source: The National Council for Law Reporting (Laws of Kenya).]

[Editor's Note: Please note that the First, Second, Third and Fourth Schedules correspond to the full text of each one of the four Geneva Conventions, which in turn are available through their respective PURL].