Article 1. All persons belonging to armed bands or corps, not legally authorized, whether they proclaim or not any political principles, and whatever be the number of those who compose the said bands, their organization, character, and denomination, shall be tried militarily by the Courts Martial, and if found guilty, even of the fact of belonging to the band, they shall be condemned to capital punishment within the twenty-four hours following the sentence.
Art. 2. Those, who belonging to the bands mentioned in the previous article, are captured with arms in their hands, shall be tried by the officer of the force which has captured them, and he shall, within a delay never extending over twenty-four hours after the said capture, make a verbal inquest of the offence, hearing the defence of the prisoner. Of this inquest he will draw an act, closing with the sentence, which must be to capital punishment if the accused is found guilty even if only of the fact of belonging to the band. The officer shall have the sentence executed within the twenty-four hours aforesaid, seeing that the criminal receive spiritual assistance. The sentence having been executed, the officer shall forward the act of inquest to the Minister of War.
Art. 3. From the penalty established in the preceding articles shall be only exempted those, who having done nothing more than being with the band, will prove that they were made to join it by force, or did not belong to it, but were found accidentally in it.
Art. 4. If, from the inquest mentioned in article two, facts are elicited which induce the officer holding it to believe that the prisoner was made to join the band by force, without having committed any other crime, or that he was found accidentally in it, without belonging to it, the said officer shall abstain from passing sentence, and he shall send the accused, with the respective act of inquest, to the proper court-martial, in order that the trial be proceeded with by the latter, in conformity with article one.
Art. 5. Shall be tried and sentenced conformably with article one of this law:—1st. All those who will voluntarily assist the guerrilleros with money or any other means whatever.
