FIRST BOOK
TITLE VII. THE PRESCRIPTION OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ITS EFFECTS
CHAPTER I. CAUSES EXTINGUISHING CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ITS EFFECTS

Article 131
1. ...
2. …
3. …
4. Crimes against humanity and genocide and crimes against protected persons and property in the case of armed conflict shall not be subject to any statute of limitations.

Article 133
1. …
2. Any sentence imposed for crimes against humanity and genocide and crimes against protected persons and property in the case of armed conflict shall not be subject to any statute of limitations.

TITLE XXIV
Offences against the International Community

CHAPTER III
Offences against Protected Persons and Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

Article 608
For the purposes of this Chapter, ‘protected persons’ shall have the following meaning:
1st. The wounded, the sick, the shipwrecked, and health and religious personnel, protected under the I and II Geneva Conventions dated 12 August 1949 or by Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions (Protocol I) dated 8 June 1977.

2nd. The prisoners of war protected by the III Geneva Convention dated 12 August 1949 or by Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions (Protocol I) dated 8 June 1977.

3rd. The civilian population and the civilian personnel protected by the IV Geneva Convention dated 12 August 1949 or by Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions (Protocol I) dated 8 June 1977.

4th. Non-combatants and personnel of the Protecting Power and its substitute protected by the Geneva Conventions dated 12 August 1949 or by Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions (Protocol I) dated 8 June 1977.

5th. Members of parliament and those accompanying them, protected by the II Convention of The Hague dated 29 July 1899.

6th. Personnel of the United Nations and associated personnel protected by the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel of 9 November 1994.

7th. Any other person with that condition by virtue of Additional Protocol II dated 8 June 1977 or any other of the international Treaties of which Spain is a signatory.

Article 609
Anyone who, in the event of an armed conflict, mistreats or seriously endangers the life, health or integrity of any protected person, subjects him or her to torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments, wilfully causes him or her great suffering, or subjects him or her to any medical treatment that is inappropriate given the state of health of that person or is not in accordance with generally recognised medical principles that the Party responsible for the treatment would apply, in similar medical circumstances, to his own free national citizens, shall be sentenced to four to eight years’ imprisonment, which shall be in addition to any sentence imposed for the resulting injuries.

Article 610
In the event of an armed conflict, anyone who uses or orders the use of methods or means of warfare that are prohibited, or whose objective purpose is to cause unnecessary suffering or additional harm, as well as those that are intended to cause, or can be reasonably expected to cause, widespread, long-lasting, and grave damage to the natural environment, affecting the health or survival of the population, or orders there to be no quarter, shall be sentenced to ten to fifteen years’ imprisonment, which shall be in addition to any sentence imposed for the damage caused.

Article 611
In the event of an armed conflict, a sentence of ten to fifteen years’ imprisonment, which shall be in addition to any sentence imposed for the damage or injury caused, shall be imposed on anyone who does any of the following:
1st. Carries out or orders the carrying out of indiscriminate or excessive attacks or makes the civilian population the target of attacks, retaliation or acts or threats of violence whose principal aim is to terrorise them.

2nd. Destroys or damages, violating the rules of international law applicable to armed conflicts, non-military ships or aircraft of an adversary or a neutral party unnecessarily and without warning and without taking the necessary measures to protect the security of personnel and the conservation of documentation on board.

3rd. Obliges a prisoner of war or civilian to serve in the forces of a hostile Power, or deprives him or her of the right to a fair and regular trial.

4th. Deports, transfers forcibly, takes hostage, or detains or confines illegally any protected person, or uses such person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations.

5th. Transfers and settles, directly or indirectly, into occupied territory the civilian population of the Occupying Power so that it resides there permanently.

6th. With regard to any protected person, carries out, orders the carrying out or maintains racial segregation policies and other inhuman and degrading practices based on other differences of an unfavourable nature that amount to an outrage upon human dignity.

7th. Unjustifiably prevents or delays the freeing or repatriation of prisoners of war or civilians.

Article 612
In the event of an armed conflict, a sentence of three to seven years’ imprisonment, which shall be in addition to any sentence imposed for the damage or injury caused, shall be imposed on anyone who does any of the following:
1st. Knowingly violates the protected status of hospitals, health installations, material, units and means of transport, prison camps, health and safety zones and areas, neutralized zones, places for imprisoning civilians, undefended areas and demilitarised areas, which are identifiable by the appropriate signs or emblems.

2nd. Uses violence on health or religious personnel or those that make up medical missions, or rescue workers, or against personnel with the right to use the signs or emblems of the Geneva Conventions, in accordance with international law.

3rd. Seriously injures, deprives of or fails to procure the necessary food or medical assistance for any protected person, or subjects him or her to degrading or humiliating treatment, fails to inform him or her, without justifiable delay and in a comprehensible manner, of his or her situation, imposes collective punishment for individual acts or violates the rules concerning the housing of women and families or concerning the special protection of women and children laid down in international treaties of which Spain is a signatory.

4th. Makes improper or treacherous use of distinctive or protective signs, emblems, or signs established and recognised in the international treaties of which Spain is a signatory, especially the emblems of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.

5th. Makes improper or treacherous use of the distinctive flag, uniform, insignia, or emblem of neutral States, United Nations or other States that are not parties in the conflict or adversaries, during attacks or so as to cover, favour, protect, or obstruct military operations, except as regards the exceptions expressly laid down in the international treaties of which Spain is a signatory.

6th. Makes improper or treacherous use of the parliamentary flag or flag of surrender, attacks the inviolability or retains improperly any member of parliament or any person accompanying him or her, any personnel of the Protecting Power or its substitute, or any members of the International Fact-Finding Commission.

7th. Dispossesses the dead, the wounded, the sick, the shipwrecked, prisoners of war or imprisoned civilians, of their personal effects.

Article 613
1. In the event of an armed conflict, a sentence of four to six years’ imprisonment shall be imposed on anyone who does, or orders to be done, any of the following:
a) Attacks, or makes the object of retaliation or acts of hostility, clearly recognisable cultural property or places of worship that form part of the cultural or spiritual heritage of the population, and those that have been given protected status under special agreements, or cultural property under reinforced protection, causing widespread destruction, provided that such property is not situated in the immediate vicinity of military targets or is not being used to support the military effort of the adversary.
b) Attacks, or makes the object of retaliation, civil property of the adversary, causing its destruction, provided that in the circumstances of the case such property does not provide a definite military advantage or that such property does not contribute effectively to the military action of the adversary.
c) Attacks, destroys, steals or renders unusable property that is indispensable for the survival of the civilian population, except where the adversary uses such property in direct support of military action or exclusively as a means of subsistence for members of its armed forces.
d) Attacks, or makes the object of retaliation, places or installations that contain dangerous substances, where such attacks may lead to the escape of such substances and cause significant losses among the civilian population, except where such places or installations are used in regular, significant and direct support of military operations and such attacks are the only means of ending such support.
e) Destroys, damages or takes possession of, without any military need, objects that do not belong to him or her, obliges another to give up such objects or carries out any other act of pillage.

2. In the event that the offences concern cultural property under special protection or in particularly serious cases, the sentence may be increased by one degree.

Article 614
In the event of an armed conflict, anyone who carries out or orders the carrying out of any other violations or acts in breach of the international treaties of which Spain is a signatory, concerning the means of conducting hostilities, the protection of the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, the treatment of prisoners of war, the protection of civilians and the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment.

Article 614 bis
When any of the conduct referred to in this Chapter forms part of a plan or a policy or is committed on a large scale, the sentences imposed shall be in the upper half of the applicable range of sentence.

Article 5
Crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court
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

Article 8
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;
(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.