spy

The spy who secretly and without uniform passes the military lines of a belligerent in time of war, seeking to gather military information and communicate it to the enemy, or an enemy combatant who without uniform comes secretly through the lines for the purpose of waging war by destruction of life or property, are familiar examples of belligerents who are generally deemed not to be entitled to the status of prisoners of war, but to be offenders against the law of war subject to trial and punishment by military tribunals.

One who penetrates secretly or In disguise or by false pretenses within military lines for the purpose of obtaining information to be used to the disadvantage of the forces so spied upon.

The chief rules of international law with regard to spies are embodied in Arts. 29-31 of the Convention Concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land. "A person can only be considered a spy when, acting clandestinely or on false pretences, he obtains, or endeavors to obtain, information in the zone of operations of a belligerent, with the intention of communicating it to the hostile party. "Thus, soldiers not wearing a disguise, who have penetrated into the zone of operations of the hostile army, for the purpose of obtaining information, are not considered spies. Similarly, the following are not considered spies: Soldiers and civilians, carrying out their mission openly, intrusted with the delivery of dispatches intended either for their own army or for the enemy's army. To this class belong likewise persons sent in balloons for the purpose of carrying dispatches and, generally, of maintaining communications between the different parts of an army or a territory. "A spy taken in the act shall not be punished without previous trial. "A spy who, after rejoining the army to which he belongs, is subsequently captured by the enemy, is treated as a prisoner of war, and incurs no responsibility for his previous acts of espionage." It is still an unsettled question whether balloonists sent out to gain information are to be regarded as spies; and with the advent of airships which will probably be largely used for reconnaissance purposes, the question of the status of those using them for such purposes will, before long, demand a settlement. Spaight, War Rights on Land, 202-215.