Definitions:
1. Prisoner of War: In order to be considered "Prisoner of War" a combatant must have conducted military operations according to the laws and customs of war as presently established by the Imperial Senate regarding the conduct of wars at the time of their capture, be part of a chain of command, wear a "fixed distinctive marking, visible from a distance" and bear arms openly and then surrendered.
2. Involved Powers: Any Imperial World which has issued a "statement of intent to engage" to the Imperial Government regarding another world shall be considered "involved" as shall be the world against which the "statement of intent to engage" is issued against, it shall not be required for the purpose of this act that an official declaration of war have been issued (although later legislation may require this), however a declaration of war shall also "involve" powers.

Surrenders are determined to be in effect if:

In space
A "Surrender Broadcast" is sent by a starship, all weapons must be powered down, as must shields.

If communications are down, or weapons already disabled then the ships lights should be switched to the colour blue.

If all power is lost, then handheld communicators should be used (as fitted to all escape pods etc) to transmit surrender.

On the ground
The following are acceptable:
- A surrender broadcast
- Dropping weapons and raising hands
- The hoisting of a flag of surrender

A false surrender (false signal, fighting under a flag of surrender etc) shall be considered sufficient to strip any captured persons of all protections provided by this act and shall be a crime punishable by death under Imperial Law.

Rules under the act regarding surrendered Prisoners of War.
1. Prisoners of War must be given reasonable essentials (at reasonable intervals) for the preservation of life if captured by any involved power. This shall include but is not limited to Food, Water, Atmosphere, Medical Care etc.
2. Prisoners of War must not be tortured or subjected to cruel and or unusual punishment, furthermore they may not be punished for committing Acts of War not specifically declared as illegal by present Senate Law at the time of the act.
3. At the end of hostilities (such a time would be declared by the Imperial Government) all Prisoners of War would be returned within 6 (six) standard months or as soon as possible, unharmed.
4. Prisoners of War may be paroled, this will require them to sign an agreement stating they will not again take up arms against an involved power. If they do once again take up arms they will loose all protections under this act and may be dealt with according to local law.
5. Prisoners of War (below the rank of O-1 or local equivalent) may be required to take part in civilian work (not directly related to the war effort) in order to "earn their keep", Officers (above O-1) shall be considered exempt.
6. Prisoners of War who attempt to escape may be punished for escape in the manner which local prison escapees are punished. Prisoners may not be executed as punishment for escape attempts, but may be executed if they commit any other incidental attempts.
7. Imperial Officials may access prisoners of war to monitor conditions at 48 hours notice or as soon as possible.
8. Prisoners of War may not be tortured in order to extract information, but may be interrogated to a reasonable level.
9. Prisoners of War are only required to furnish their captors with their Name, Planet, Unit, Rank and Service Number.
10. Breaches of this Act will be prosecuted in the Imperial Court system, and individuals found to have not accepted the surrender of those who qualify for Prisoner of War status or have murdered Prisoners of War may be subject to the death sentence.