SPECIAL PART
CHAPTER XIV
WAR CRIMES
Illegal Recruitment
Section 146
(1) Any attempt to recruit personnel in the territory of Hungary for military service - other than for any allied forces -, paramilitary service in a foreign armed body, or any mediation of volunteers for such service shall be construed a felony punishable by imprisonment between one to five years.
(2) Any Hungarian citizen who voluntarily joins or offers to join any foreign armed body - other than the allied forces - that is involved in an armed conflict (national or international), or who participates in training in such an armed body shall be punishable in accordance with Subsection (1).
(3) Any person who recruits or mediates persons under the age of eighteen years in the territory of Hungary for military service, paramilitary service in a foreign armed body, or any mediation of volunteers for such service shall be punishable by imprisonment between two to eight years.
Breach of Armistice
Section 147
(1) Any person who breaches the conditions of armistice is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between one to five years.
(2) The penalty shall be imprisonment between five to ten years if the infringement of the armistice leads to particularly grave consequences.
Assault Against a War Emissary
Section 148
(1) Any person who abuses, illegally restrains the war emissary of the enemy or his companion, or otherwise applies violence against him is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment not exceeding three years, insofar as the act did not result in a more serious criminal offense.
(2) Any person who kills a war emissary or his companion shall be punishable by imprisonment between ten to twenty years or with life imprisonment.
Assault on Protected Persons
Section 149
(1) Any person who in time of war:
a) runs an offensive against protected persons;
b) runs an offensive which causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury to protected persons, where this is deemed manifestly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated; is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between ten to twenty years or with life imprisonment.
(2) Any person who in time of war:
a) murders a protected person;
b) forces a protected person to live under conditions threatening the demise of the protected
person;
c) forces a protected person to commit or tolerate sexual violence, forces a protected person
into prostitution, or to bear a child or into illegal abortion;
d) deprives a protected person of his personal freedom;
e) orders the displacement of protected person from their rightful place of residence, or abducts
protected persons, except where justified for military reasons; is punishable by imprisonment between ten to twenty years or with life imprisonment.
(3) Any person who in time of war violates the right of self-determination of protected persons concerning medical procedures, or who causes serious bodily or mental injury to protected persons is punishable by imprisonment between five to fifteen years.
(4) Any person who in time of war denies access to the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial for a protected person or a group of protected persons is punishable by imprisonment between two to eight years.
(5) Any person who engages in preparations for the criminal act referred to in Subsection (1) or (2) is punishable by imprisonment between one to five years.
Command to Liquidate Survivors
Section 150
Any person who in time of war gives an instruction or command to leave no survivors alive is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between one to five years, insofar as the act did not result in a more serious criminal offense.
Human Shield
Section 151
(1) Any person who uses a protected person for the purpose of defending a specific area or military force from the enemy’s military operations is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between five to ten years.
(2) Any person who engages in preparations for the criminal offense referred to in Subsection (1) is punishable by imprisonment between one to five years.
Unlawful Enlistment
Section 152
(1) Any person who:
a) forces a protected person to serve in the armed forces or armed bodies of a hostile power that is known to him as the enemy,
b) forces any national of a hostile power to partake in military operations against his own
nation, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between five to ten years.
(2) Any person who engages in preparations for the criminal offense referred to in Subsection
(1) hereof is punishable by imprisonment between one to five years.
(3) Any person who recruits or enlists a person under the age of eighteen years for the armed forces or armed bodies, or persuades such person to participate in war, or provides the means necessary for committing the said criminal offense or facilitating thereof, is punishable by imprisonment between five to fifteen years.
Assault on Protected Property
Section 153
(1) Any person who in time of war launches an attack on or assaults an establishment that is not recognized as a military objective and is therefore not protected by the military, that results in losses in such unprotected establishment, or is likely to result in extensive, prolonged and severe damage to the natural environment which would be deemed manifestly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between two to eight years.
(2) The penalty shall be imprisonment between five to ten years if the assault is directed against:
a) hospitals or any similar establishments for the treatment or placement of patients and
casualties, or
b) cultural goods protected under international treaty.
(3) Any person who uses or utilizes cultural goods protected under international treaty, or the immediate surroundings thereof in support of military action, or makes such goods the object of theft, pillage, destruction or vandalism shall be punishable in accordance with Subsection (2).
(4) The penalty shall be imprisonment between five to fifteen years if the criminal offense referred to in Paragraph b) of Subsection (2) or in Subsection (3) is committed in connection with cultural goods placed under special or enhanced protection by international treaty, or the immediate surroundings thereof.
(5) For the purposes of this Section:
a) ‘cultural goods’ shall mean the cultural goods defined in Article 1 of the Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict signed in the Hague on 14 May
1954, and promulgated by Law-Decree No. 14 of 1957;
b) ‘cultural goods under special protection’ shall mean the cultural property defined in Article 8
of the Convention referred to in Paragraph a);
c) ‘cultural goods under enhanced protection’ shall mean the cultural property defined in Article 10 of the Second Protocol to the Convention referred to in Paragraph a), promulgated by Act XXIX of 2006.
War-Time Looting
Section 154
(1) Any person who, in a theater of operations or occupied territory:
a) engages in looting the property of civilians;
b) deprives the people of its own means of subsistence by way of the coercion of services or by
other means, except where justified for military reasons; is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between one to five years, insofar as the act did not result in a more serious criminal offense.
(2) Any person who loots the fallen, injured or sick on the battlefield is punishable by imprisonment between two to eight years.
Use of Weapons Prohibited by International Convention
Section 155
(1) Any person who uses or orders the use of a weapon or instrument of warfare prohibited by international convention in a theater of military operations or in an occupied territory is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between ten to twenty years or life imprisonment.
(2) Any person who engages in preparations for the criminal act referred to in Subsection (1) is punishable by imprisonment between one to five years.
Assault Against a Humanitarian Organization
Section 156
Any person who runs an offensive against the staff, equipment, means, units or vehicles of a humanitarian organization, relief or peacekeeping organizations operating in time of war within the framework of the United Nations and in accordance with its Charter, if they are entitled to protection granted under international law in the event of armed conflict to protected persons and establishments is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between five to ten years.
Criminal Offenses with Internationally Protected Signs and Marks
Section 157
Any person who in time of war misuses the sign of the red cross, red crescent or red crystal, or other signs serving a similar purpose and recognized internationally is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between one to five years, insofar as the act did not result in a more serious criminal offense.
Other War Crimes
Section 158
Other war crimes and the penalties for such crimes are governed in Decree No. 81/1945 (II. 5.) ME, enacted into law by Act VII of 1945 and amended and supplemented by Decree No. 1440/1945 (V. 1.) ME.
BASIC
(U) Article
(1)
h) for the repression of the Revolution and the War of Independence that broke out on 23 October 1956 in cooperation with the Soviet occupiers, for the subsequent reign of terror and retaliation, for the forced flight of two hundred thousand Hungarians from their homeland;
1. The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The Court has jurisdiction in accordance with this Statute with respect to the following crimes:
(c) War crimes;
1. The Court shall have jurisdiction in respect of war crimes in particular when committed as part of a plan or policy or as part of a large-scale commission of such crimes.
2. For the purpose of this Statute, ‘war crimes’ means:
(a) Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the following acts against persons or property protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention:
(i) Wilful killing;
(ii) Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments;
(iii) Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health;
(iv) Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly;
(v) Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power;
(vi) Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial;
(vii) Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement;
(viii) Taking of hostages.
(b) Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict, within the established framework of international law, namely, any of the following acts:
(i) Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities;
(ii) Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives;
(iii) Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict;
(iv) Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated;
(v) Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives;
(vi) Killing or wounding a combatant who, having laid down his arms or having no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion;
(vii) Making improper use of a flag of truce, of the flag or of the military insignia and uniform of the enemy or of the United Nations, as well as of the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions, resulting in death or serious personal injury;
(viii) The transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory;
(ix) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives;
(x) Subjecting persons who are in the power of an adverse party to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are neither justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the person concerned nor carried out in his or her interest, and which cause death to or seriously endanger the health of such person or persons;
(xi) Killing or wounding treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army;
(xii) Declaring that no quarter will be given;
(xiii) Destroying or seizing the enemy's property unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war;
(xiv) Declaring abolished, suspended or inadmissible in a court of law the rights and actions of the nationals of the hostile party;
(xv) Compelling the nationals of the hostile party to take part in the operations of war directed against their own country, even if they were in the belligerent's service before the commencement of the war;
(xvi) Pillaging a town or place, even when taken by assault;
(xvii) Employing poison or poisoned weapons;
(xviii) Employing asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices;
(xix) Employing bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions;
(xx) Employing weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering or which are inherently indiscriminate in violation of the international law of armed conflict, provided that such weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare are the subject of a comprehensive prohibition and are included in an annex to this Statute, by an amendment in accordance with the relevant provisions set forth in articles 121 and 123;
(xxi) Committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(xxii) Committing rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, as defined in article 7, paragraph 2 (f), enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence also constituting a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions;
(xxiii) Utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations;
(xxiv) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings, material, medical units and transport, and personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in conformity with international law;
(xxv) Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions;
(xxvi) Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into the national armed forces or using them to participate actively in hostilities.
(c) In the case of an armed conflict not of an international character, serious violations of article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the following acts committed against persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention or any other cause:
(i) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(ii) Committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(iii) Taking of hostages;
(iv) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all judicial guarantees which are generally recognized as indispensable.
(d) Paragraph 2 (c) applies to armed conflicts not of an international character and thus does not apply to situations of internal disturbances and tensions, such as riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence or other acts of a similar nature.
(e) Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in armed conflicts not of an international character, within the established framework of international law, namely, any of the following acts:
(i) Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities;
(ii) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings, material, medical units and transport, and personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in conformity with international law;
(iii) Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict;
(iv) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives;
(v) Pillaging a town or place, even when taken by assault;
(vi) Committing rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, as defined in article 7, paragraph 2 (f), enforced sterilization, and any other form of sexual violence also constituting a serious violation of article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions;
(vii) Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities;
(viii) Ordering the displacement of the civilian population for reasons related to the conflict, unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand;
(ix) Killing or wounding treacherously a combatant adversary;
(x) Declaring that no quarter will be given;
(xi) Subjecting persons who are in the power of another party to the conflict to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are neither justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the person concerned nor carried out in his or her interest, and which cause death to or seriously endanger the health of such person or persons;
(xii) Destroying or seizing the property of an adversary unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of the conflict;
(xiii) Employing poison or poisoned weapons;
(xiv) Employing asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices;
(xv) Employing bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions.
(f) Paragraph 2 (e) applies to armed conflicts not of an international character and thus does not apply to situations of internal disturbances and tensions, such as riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence or other acts of a similar nature. It applies to armed conflicts that take place in the territory of a State when there is protracted armed conflict between governmental authorities and organized armed groups or between such groups.
3. Nothing in paragraph 2 (c) and (e) shall affect the responsibility of a Government to maintain or re-establish law and order in the State or to defend the unity and territorial integrity of the State, by all legitimate means.