But it is important to remember here again that the amnesty grants immunity only for wrongful acts done by the subjects of one belligerent against the other. Such wrongful acts as have been committed by the subjects of a belligerent against their own Government are not covered by the amnesty. Therefore treason, desertion, and the like committed during the war by his own subjects may be punished by a belligerent after the conclusion of peace, unless the contrary has been expressly stipulated in the treaty of peace.[514] [Footnote 514: Thus Russia stipulated by article 17 of the Preliminaries of San Stefano, in 1878--see Martens, _N.R.G._ 2nd Ser. III. p. 252--that Turkey must accord an amnesty to such of her own subjects as had compromised themselves during the war.] [Sidenote: Release of Prisoners of War.] § 275. A very important effect of a treaty of peace is termination of the captivity of prisoners of war.[515] This, however, does not mean that with the conclusion of peace all prisoners of war must at once be released. It only means--to use the words of article 20 of the Hague Regulations--that "After the conclusion of peace, the repatriation of prisoners of war shall take place as speedily as possible." The instant release of prisoners at the very place where they were detained, would be inconvenient not only for the State which kept them in captivity, but also for themselves, as in most cases they would not possess means to pay for their journey home. Therefore, although with the conclusion of peace they cease to be captives in the technical sense of the term, prisoners of war remain as a body under military discipline until they are brought to the frontier and handed over to their Government. That prisoners of war may be detained after the conclusion of peace until they have paid debts incurred during captivity seems to be an almost generally[516] recognised rule. But it is controversial whether such prisoners of war may be detained as are undergoing a term of imprisonment imposed upon them for offences against discipline. After the Franco-German War in 1871 Germany detained such prisoners,[517] whereas Japan after the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 released them. [Footnote 515: See above, § 132.] [Footnote 516: See, however, Pradier-Fodéré, VII. No. 2839, who objects to it.] [Footnote 517: See Pradier-Fodéré, VII. No. 2840; Beinhauer, _Die Kriegsgefangenschaft_ (1910), p. 79; Payrat, _Le prisonnier de Guerre_ (1910), pp. 364-370.] [Sidenote: Revival of Treaties.]