Escape gives rise to a dilemma between two contrasting ideas. Thefirst is that attempts to escape may be viewed as a demonstration ofpatriotism and of the most honourable intentions, and not as acrime. According to this precept, prisoners of war have a right, amoral duty, and sometimes, under the law of the Power on which theydepend, even a legal obligation to escape. The second idea is thatan attempt to escape is a punishable breach of discipline vis-à-visthe Detaining Power, which it is under a strong obligation toprevent. These contrasting ideas have been described as the ‘paradoxof escape’, which is at the core of the legal framework onprisoner-of-war escapes.