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expect that a State would release all of the POWs it holds without assurance that its ownpersonnel held by the enemy will also be released. 8849.37.2 Cessation of Active Hostilities. According to Lauterpacht, the phrase “cessationof active hostilities” probably does not refer to a situation that leaves open the possibility of aresumption of struggle, but to a situation in which it is out of the question for hostilities toresume. 885 It is the complete end of the fighting with clearly no probability of resumption ofhostilities in the near future. 886 The cessation of active hostilities may also be understood asdescribing the point in time when belligerents feel sufficiently at ease about the future that theyare willing to release and repatriate all POWs. 887 The cessation of active hostilities may resultfrom a capitulation or agreement, but such an agreement is not required if there is no prospectthat hostilities will resume.9.37.3 Without Delay. The GPW provides that release and repatriation take placewithout delay. This requirement, however, does not affect the practical arrangements that mustbe made to ensure that repatriation takes place in a safe and orderly manner in accordance withthe requirements of the GPW. 888884 Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission, Partial Award: Prisoners of War, Eritrea’s Claim 17, 148 (Jul. 1, 2003)(“There is also a fundamental question whether and to what extent each Party’s obligation to repatriate dependsupon the other’s compliance with its repatriation obligations. The language of Article 118 is absolute.Nevertheless, as a practical matter, and as indicated by state practice, any state that has not been totally defeated isunlikely to release all the POWs it holds without assurance that its own personnel held by its enemy will also bereleased, and it is unreasonable to expect otherwise. At the hearing, distinguished counsel for Eritrea suggested thatthe obligation to repatriate should be seen as unconditional but acknowledged the difficulty of the question and thecontrary arguments under general law.”).885 LAUTERPACHT, II OPPENHEIM’S INTERNATIONAL LAW 613 (§275) (“Probably the phrase ‘cessation of activehostilities’ in the sense of Article 118 [of the GPW] refers not to suspension of hostilities in pursuance of anordinary armistice which leaves open the possibility of a resumption of the struggle, but to a cessation of hostilitiesas the result of total surrender or of such circumstances or conditions of an armistice as render it out of the questionfor the defeated party to resume hostilities.”).886 CHRISTIANE SHIELDS DELESSERT, RELEASE AND REPATRIATION OF PRISONERS OF WAR AT THE END OF ACTIVEHOSTILITIES: A STUDY OF ARTICLE 118, PARAGRAPH 1 OF THE THIRD GENEVA CONVENTION RELATIVE TO THETREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR 71-72 (1977) (“Is the phrase ‘end of active hostilities’ to be interpreted asreferring to situations where it is clear that active hostilities have definitely stopped and will not be resumed, forexample, as the result of surrender, or can it be interpreted in a more flexible way so as to take account of situationswhere the pattern has been an alternation of military operations and peaceful periods? If, once again, one refers tothe Second World War which directly influenced the specific wording of Article 118, it would seem that what wasenvisaged was a situation of complete end of the war, if not in a legal sense, at least in a material one with clearly noprobability of resumption of hostilities in a near future. The end of war for the purpose of the application of Article118, meant the end of military operations. In the light of the history of Article 118, this would seem to be the properinterpretation to be given to it.”).887 Edward R. Cummings, Acting Assistant Legal Adviser for African Affairs, Memorandum of Law to Chester A.Crocker, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Sept. 21, 1984, III CUMULATIVE DIGEST OF UNITED STATESPRACTICE IN INTERNATIONAL LAW 1981-1988, 3471, 3474 (Under the GPW, “the ‘cessation’ concept describes thepoint in time that belligerents feel sufficiently … [at ease] about the future that they are willing to release allprisoners of war and civilian internees.”) (alterations to the quote in original).888 GPW COMMENTARY 550 (“The text as finally adopted states that the repatriation must take place ‘without delayafter the cessation of active hostilities’. This requirement does not, of course, affect the practical arrangements634