CYIL vol. 11 (2020)

CYIL 11 (2020) CULTURAL PROPERTY IN THE LAWS OF WAR of a military aircraft whose bombers intended to attack land based military targets is in the equivalent position. The Convention protects property of cultural character only on condition that they are not used by the enemy for military purposes at the same time. Travaux préparatoires clashed with the practical implementation of the duty imposed on inhabitants to indicate monuments, edifices, or places by visible signs. The dispute was over the sign, which was to be used in advance and uniformly for the designation of protected immovable properties. During the meetings, representatives of Japan and the United States opposed the recognition of one unchanging sign recognizable in all cases. Such an attitude raised an issue on the part of the inhabitants concerned. There was also expressed a concern of abusing the unclear situation. The majority present at the meeting acknowledged the urgency of the task of reaching an agreement on a single sign. A small committee composed of Admiral Arago, Captain Castiglia, and Captain Behr was commissioned to devise distinctive signs. The sign should be easy to use in all circumstances and be also clearly visible during the day. The sign was to be illuminated at night. The last sentence of the second paragraph of Article 5 describes this symbol in words. 47

47 Article 5, paragraph 2 states: “…visible signs, which shall consist of large, stiff rectangular panels divided diagonally into two coloured triangular portions, the upper portion black, the lower portion white.”

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