question

"The appellants were prisioners of war within the Geneva Convention and were accordingly entitled to the protection of the Convention, and there was no evidence that the notification required by article 104 of the Geneva Convention and section 4 of the Geneva Convention Act, HAD BEEN GIVEN there was a mistrial and the appellants' convictions ought to be quashed".

what does 'had been given' mean in here?

The text wasn't written properly that's why I couldn't figure out! A little comma makes such a diference...Thanks anyway.

Yeah, I was stumbling on the comma too.