§ 71. Prisoners of war may be released from captivity not only by exchange, but, under certain circumstances, also by parole.
The term Parole designates, in military language, the pledge of individual good faith and honor to do, or to omit doing, certain acts, after he who gives his parole shall have been dismissed, wholly or partially, from the power of the enemy.
The pledge of the parole is always an individual, but not a private act.
§ 72. The parole applies chiefly to prisoners of war, whom the captor allows to return to their country, or to live in greater freedom within the captor’s country or territory, on conditions implied by the parole.
§ 73. Release of prisoners of war by exchange, is the general rule; release by parole is the exception.
§ 74. Breaking the parole not to fight again during the war or until exchanged, is punished with death, when the person breaking the parole is captured again.
Accurate lists, therefore, of the paroled persons, must be kept by the belligerents.
§ 75. Commissioned officers only, are allowed to give their parole, and they must do it with the permission of their superior, as long as a superior in rank is within reach.
Paroling must always take place by the exchange of two written documents, in which the name and rank of the paroled individual are accurately and truthfully stated.
§ 76. No wholesale paroling, done by an officer for a number of inferiors in rank, is permitted or valid.