Section 5: Anti-personnel mines, mines, booby-traps and other devices

5. Anti-personnel mines, mines, booby-traps and other devices No person shall— (a) use any mine, booby-trap or other device— (i) which is designed, or is of such nature as, to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering; (ii) which employs a mechanism or device specifically designed to detonate the munition by the presence of commonly available mine detectors as a result of their magnetic or other non-contact influence during normal use in detection operations; (iii) either in offence, defence or by way of reprisals, against the civilian population, an individual civilian or a civilian object; (iv) in an indiscriminate manner which— (A) is not on, or directed against, a military objective; C45A – 3 [Issue 10] The Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects Act (B) employs a method or means of delivery which cannot be directed at a specific military objective; or (C) may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated; (b) use any booby-trap or other device— (i) which is, in any way, attached to or associated with— (A) internationally recognised protective emblems, signs or signals; (B) sick, wounded or dead persons; (C) burial or cremation sites or graves; (D) medical facilities, equipment, supplies or transportation; (E) children’s toys or other portable objects or products specially designed for the feeding, health, hygiene, clothing or education of children; (F) food or drink; (G) kitchen utensils or appliances, except in military establishments, locations or supply depots; (H) objects of a religious nature; (I) historic monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples; or (J) animals or their carcasses; (ii) in the form of apparently harmless portable objects which are specifically designed and constructed to contain explosive material; (iii) in any city, town, village or other area containing a similar concentration of civilians in which combat between ground forces is not taking place or does not appear to be imminent, unless— (A) it is placed on or in the close vicinity of a military objective; or (B) measures are taken to protect civilians from their effects under section 9; (c) use a self-deactivating mine equipped with an anti-handling device that is designed in such a manner that the anti-handling device is capable of functioning after the mine has ceased to be capable of functioning; [Issue 10] C45A – 4 Revised Laws of Mauritius (d) use an anti-personnel mine which is not detectable in accordance with the provisions of Protocol II; (e) subject to Article 5 (2) of Protocol II, use an anti-personnel mine, other than a remotely-delivered mine, which does not comply with the provisions of self-destruction and self-deactivation in the Protocol; (f) use a remotely delivered mine unless— (i) it is recorded in accordance with the provisions of Protocol II; or (ii) to the extent feasible, it is equipped with an effective selfdestruction or self-neutralisation mechanism and has a back-up self-deactivation feature which is designed so that the mine will no longer function as a mine when the mine no longer serves the military purpose for which it was placed in position; (g) tra isions of self-destruction and self-deactivation in the Protocol; (f) use a remotely delivered mine unless— (i) it is recorded in accordance with the provisions of Protocol II; or (ii) to the extent feasible, it is equipped with an effective selfdestruction or self-neutralisation mechanism and has a back-up self-deactivation feature which is designed so that the mine will no longer function as a mine when the mine no longer serves the military purpose for which it was placed in position; (g) transfer a mine unless the transfer is authorised in writing by the Minister.