The Hague Convention on Hospital Ships is a 1904 multilateral treaty that supplemented the 1899 Hague Convention for the adaptation to Maritime Warfare of the Principles of the Geneva Convention. The convention established that during times of war, hospital ships would be exempted from dues and taxes imposed on vessels in the ports of the states that ratify the treaty. It is the one treaty on the laws of war that was concluded between the two conferences at The Hague in 1899 and 1907.
Entry into force and parties
The Hague Convention on Hospital Ships was concluded on 21 December 1904 and entered into force on 26 March 1907. It was signed by 26 states and as of 2014 it is in force for 30 states. One state—Serbia—signed the treaty but has not ratified it. The convention remains in force for the states that ratified it.
State[1] | Signature year | Ratification year | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Austria | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as Austria-Hungary. |
Belgium | 1904 | 1907 | |
China | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified by the Qing Dynasty government of China. |
Cuba | – | 1965 | |
Free City of Danzig | – | 1921 | The ratification by the Free City of Danzig has no application to a current state. |
Denmark | 1904 | 1907 | |
France | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified by the government of the French Third Republic. |
Germany | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as the German Empire. |
Greece | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as the Kingdom of Greece. |
Guatemala | 1906 | ||
Hungary | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as Austria-Hungary. |
Iran | 1904 | 1908 | Signed and ratified as "Persia" by the Qajar dynasty government. |
Italy | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as the Kingdom of Italy. |
Japan | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as the Empire of Japan. |
South Korea | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as the Korean Empire. |
Luxembourg | 1904 | 1907 | |
Mexico | 1904 | 1907 | |
Montenegro | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as the Principality of Montenegro. |
Netherlands | 1904 | 1907 | |
Norway | – | 1907 | |
Peru | 1904 | 1907 | |
Poland | – | 1921 | Ratified by the government of the Second Polish Republic. |
Portugal | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as the Kingdom of Portugal. |
Romania | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as the Kingdom of Romania. |
Russia | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified as the Russian Empire. |
Serbia | 1904 | – | Signed as the Kingdom of Serbia. |
Spain | 1904 | 1907 | Signed and ratified by the government of Spain under the Restoration. |
Sweden | – | 1908 | |
Switzerland | 1904 | 1907 | |
Thailand | 1904 | 1907 | Ratified as "Siam". |
Turkey | – | 1932 | |
United States | 1904 | 1907 |
Notes
- ↑ Unless otherwise specified, this is the current state for which the treaty is in force. If the ratifying state is different than the current state, this is noted in "Notes" column.
External links
- "Convention on Hospital Ships", icrc.org.
- Ratifications.