Shoot on the Spot Declaration

The “Shoot on the Spot” Declaration (Finnish: Ammutaan paikalla -julistus) was a statement issued by Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, military leader of the Whites, on 25 February 1918, in the early stages of the Finnish Civil War. The Declaration was adopted as a rule of engagement of the White troops. Among other things, it directed the troops about the treatment of prisoners, and gave commanders of units wide powers to carry out executions at their sole discretion.

Already its inception, its legality was highly questionable, because a death sentence for treason was not legal unless a state of war was declared. The senate did not want to do this, because the only applicable law would have been the hated Czarist Russian martial law, which would also transfer powers to the army. The army favored a declaration of war, in order to treat the prisoners as civilians, wherein execution for treason would become legal. A compromise was reached: the motivation was that an extrajudicial execution of a "saboteur caught red-handed" or "quarter at discretion" was a justifiable homicide committed in defense of life or property. In practice, battlefield commanders decided which Red prisoners would be released, detained or considered dangerous and summarily executed. For example, known "murderers" or "arsonists" were shot at the sole discretion of the commander.

Military tribunals were initially established, but generally interrogators could freely decide on the fate of the prisoners. On 25 February 1918, Mannerheim promulgated a decree to dismiss these tribunals. However, this had little effect because the battlefield commanders exercised their discretion largely independently far into the spring.

Regardless of its legality, the legality and possible guilt became a moot point after amnesty laws were passed after the war.

External links

• Shoot on the Spot Declaration (Finnish)