Military Espionage

In: American journal of international law: AJIL, Band 5, Heft 3, S. 590-603

Abstract

Military espionage has been regarded from time immemorial, in all countries and among all nations, as a military offense of great criminality. Its penalty is death by hanging. This is the common law of war. Some nations have by orders, decrees or municipal laws, defined what constitutes this offense and provided for the trial and punishment of the offender. It should be observed, however, that espionage, being an offense at the common law of war, punishable by death in a particular mode, a spy may be executed without any municipal law on the subject, and that municipal laws, in regard to espionage, are binding only upon the state which makes them; they form no part of the international code.