An international symposium on Medical Care and Protection of Prisoners and Detainees was organized by the Ciba Foundation, in London, from 27 to 30 November 1972. The papers read at the symposium and the discussions which followed related mainly to minimum rules governing the treatment of all detainees, provisions made by various governments regarding hygiene, care, food, etc., and the role of the doctor in that domain. The texts were compiled and assembled in a volume published some time ago.The book contains a study essentially based on the experiences of ICRC delegates which will undoubtedly be of particular interest to readers. It was written by the late Pierre Boissier, and we wish to thank the Ciba Foundation for allowing us to reproduce it. (Ed.)