Spain
Practice Relating to Rule 113. Treatment of the Dead
Section B. Protection of the dead against despoliation
Spain’s LOAC Manual (1996) provides: “The dead shall not be … despoiled.”
Spain’s LOAC Manual (2007) states: “The dead must … not be despoiled.”
Under Spain’s Military Criminal Code (1985), “the military personnel who … strip a cadaver … of his personal effects in the area of operations, with the intent to appropriate them,” commit punishable offences against the laws and customs of war.
Under Spain’s Penal Code (1995), “anyone who, on the occasion of an armed conflict … strips a cadaver … of his personal effects” commits a punishable “offence against protected persons and objects in the event of armed conflict”.
Spain’s Royal Ordinances for the Armed Forces (2009) states: “Whenever circumstances for the accomplishment of the mission and the security of the unit permit, [members of the armed forces] must take, without delay, all possible measures to … prevent despoliation [of the dead]”.