Implementation of the Geneva Conventions Act, 2012 (Act No. 8 of 2012)Chapter 2 : Breaches of Conventions6. Failure to prevent breaches of Conventions |
| 1) | A military superior officer is guilty of an offence if- |
| a) | forces under his or her effective command, authority and control, whether within or outside the borders of the Republic, commit a grave breach contemplated in section 5(1) or commit an offence contemplated in section 5(3) or (4); |
| b) | he or she knew, or in the circumstances ought to have reasonably known, that the forces contemplated in paragraph (a) were committing such a grave breach or offence; and |
| c) | he or she failed- |
| i) | to exercise effective command, authority and control over the forces contemplated in paragraph (a); |
| ii) | to take all necessary and reasonable measures within his or her power to prevent or repress the commission of any breach or offence contemplated in paragraph (a); or |
| iii) | to submit the commission of the breach or offence contemplated in paragraph (a) to the competent authorities for investigation and prosecution. |
| 2) | Any person, whether within or outside the borders of the Republic, who fails to act when under a duty to do so in order to prevent the commission of a grave breach contemplated in section 5(1) or an offence contemplated in section 5(3) or (4) by any other person, is guilty of an offence. |
| 3) | A military superior officer convicted of an offence in terms of subsection (1) or a person convicted of an offence in terms of subsection (2), is liable to a fine or to imprisonment, including imprisonment for life, or to such imprisonment without the option of a fine or to both a fine and such imprisonment. |
| 4) | For the purposes of this section, a "military superior officer" includes any person- |
| a) | acting as a military superior officer; or |
| b) | in a superior position, including a civilian position, in relation to those forces. |