Criminal Code Act 1995

Schedule - The Criminal Code  

Section 3

CHAPTER 8 - OFFENCES AGAINST HUMANITY AND RELATED OFFENCES  

Division 268 - Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes against the administration of the justice of the International Criminal Court  

Subdivision E - Other serious war crimes that are committed in the course of an international armed conflict  

SECTION 268.65   War crime - using protected persons as shields  

(1)    
A person (the perpetrator ) commits an offence if:

(a) the perpetrator uses the presence of one or more civilians, prisoners of war, medical or religious personnel or persons who are hors de combat ; and

(b) the perpetrator intends the perpetrator ' s conduct to render a military objective immune from attack or to shield, favour or impede military operations; and

(c) the perpetrator ' s conduct takes place in the context of, and is associated with, an international armed conflict.

Penalty:

(a) if the conduct results in the death of any of the persons referred to in paragraph (a) - imprisonment for life; or

(b) otherwise - imprisonment for 17 years.

(2)    
In this section:

religious personnel
includes non-confessional, non-combatant military personnel carrying out a similar function to religious personnel.