Article 312 — Cowardice.

Any member of the Defence Forces who, in the face of the enemy and from cowardice: (a) refuses to take up arms or to use them; or (b) hides, runs away or abandons his post without orders to that effect; or (c) incites his comrades or subordinates to hide, run away, or abandon their post without orders to that effect, is punishable with a minimum of five years to twenty-five years of rigorous imprisonment, or, in the gravest cases, with life imprisonment or death.