Hospital Ship - International Law

International Law

Hospital ships were covered under the Hague Convention X of 1907. Article four of the Hague Convention X outlined the restrictions for a hospital ship:

• Ship must be clearly marked and lighted as a hospital ship
• The ship should give medical assistance to wounded personnel of all nationalities
• The ship must not be used for any military purpose
• The ship must not interfere with or hamper enemy combatant vessels
• Belligerents, as designated by the Hague Convention, can search any hospital ship to investigate violations of the above restrictions
• Belligerents will establish the location of a hospital ship

According to the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, a hospital ship violating legal restrictions must be duly warned and given a reasonable time limit to comply. If a hospital ship persists in violating restrictions, a belligerent is legally entitled to capture it or take other means to enforce compliance. A non-complying hospital ship may only be fired on under the following conditions:

• Diversion or capture is not feasible
• No other method to exercise control is available
• The violations are grave enough to allow the ship to be classified as a military objective
• The damage and casualties will not be disproportionate to the military advantage.