HC Deb 19 March 1958 vol 584 cc1252-4
23. Mr. Elwyn Jones

asked the Secretary of State for Air when he proposes to include in the Manual of Air Force Law a chapter on the laws and usages of aerial warfare.

The Secretary of State for Air (Mr. George Ward)

We shall make use of the manual which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War hopes to publish in the autumn and which will deal with the principles governing the conduct of warfare generally. We should not feel justified in producing a separate work for the Royal Air Force, with particular reference to the problems of air warfare, in the absence of any codified international law on the subject.

Mr. Elwyn Jones

Is it not the case that the Geneva Convention, which we ratified as recently as last year, imposed a number of important restrictions upon aerial warfare, particularly if we are to use H-bombs as part of our strategy? In those circumstances, is it not imperative for the guidance of pilots, who may have this awful responsibility placed upon them, that there should be a chapter on the laws of aerial warfare in the Air Force Manual?

Mr. Ward

The Geneva Convention provisions dealt with the protection of war victims, and these are reprinted in Part VI of Volume II of the Manual of Air Force Law. They deal with the wounded and sick in the field, the wounded and sick at sea, prisoners of war and the protection of civilians. That still does not mean that there is any generally ratified or codified international law about the conduct of air warfare as such.

Mr. Elwyn Jones

Is not there a whole category of protected zones provided for in the Geneva Convention, and is it not high time that the Air Ministry faced its responsibilities in this matter? What is the reason for this inaction, and why is it passed on to the War Office?

Mr. Ward

In so far as the War Office manual deals with the conduct of air warfare—and the conduct of warfare generally is bound to impinge on the conduct of air warfare—this will be made available to the Royal Air Force and lectures will be given about it.

24. Mr. Elwyn Jones

asked the Secretary of State for Air why he authorised the publication of a statement in page 15 of the latest edition of the Manual of Air Force Law to the effect that there is no international law governing the conduct of air warfare.

Mr. Ward

The statement occurs in a footnote to a chapter on the history of the R.A.F. It must therefore be read in conjunction with the text to which it relates. The two passages together refer to the absence of any generally ratified code of international law which specifically relates to the conduct of air warfare.

Mr. Elwyn Jones

Is not the statement in the Manual of Air Force Law that there is no international law governing the conduct of air warfare in complete contradiction to the publication of the Geneva Convention in the same edition of the manual? Either one is right and binding or the other is incorrect, and if we are not to get a reputation for taking a lighthearted view of our obligations under the Geneva Convention, is it not time that there was urgent action taken to amend the statement that there is no international law governing the conduct of air warfare?

Mr. Ward

While respecting the knowledge and experience of the hon. and learned Gentleman in these matters, which is perhaps unique, I must disagree with him. There is a difference between a codified and generally ratified code of international law governing air warfare and the 1949 Geneva Convention which covers only the conduct of prisoners of war.