War crimes trial

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A war crimes trial is the trial of persons charged with

armed conflict
.

History

The trial of Peter von Hagenbach by an ad hoc tribunal of the Holy Roman Empire in 1474, was the first "international" war crimes trials and also of command responsibility.[1][2] Hagenbach was put on trial for atrocities committed during the occupation of Breisach, found guilty, and beheaded.[3] Since he was convicted for crimes, "he as a knight was deemed to have a duty to prevent", although Hagenbach defended himself by arguing that he was only following orders from the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, to whom the Holy Roman Empire had given Breisach.

19th century

In 1865, Henry Wirz, a Confederate officer, was held accountable and hanged for appalling conditions at Andersonville Prison where many Union soldiers died during the American Civil War.

During the

Northern Transvaal (see Court-martial of Breaker Morant
).

20th century

Trials of World War I crimes

After

Leipzig War Crimes Trials
for crimes allegedly committed during that war.

Article 227 of the

William II of Hohenzollern, formerly German Emperor, for a supreme offence against international morality and the sanctity of treaties."[4] The former Kaiser had escaped to the Netherlands, however, and despite demands for his extradition having been made, the Dutch refused to surrender him,[5] and he was not brought to trial. Germany, as a signatory to the treaty, thus was placed on notice as to what might occur in the event of a subsequent war.[citation needed
]

Trials of World War II crimes

President of the Republic of Finland, was the main defendant in the Finnish War-responsibility trials.[6]
Ryti was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

After World War II, the phrase referred usually to the trials of German and Japanese leaders in courts established by the victorious Allied nations.

The former trials were held in

London Charter was signed by representatives of the United States, United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union in London on August 8, 1945; the other, Law No. 10, was promulgated by the Allied Control Council in Berlin
on December 20, 1945.

The London Charter provided for the establishment of the

civilians
.

On October 8, 1945,

commandos, whether in proper uniforms or not, without trial if apprehended by German forces. The tribunal rejected the defense of Superior Orders and found Dostler guilty of war crimes. He was sentenced to death and executed by a firing squad on December 1, 1945, in Aversa
.

The Dostler case became precedent for the Nuremberg trials of German generals, officials, and Nazi leaders, beginning in November 1945, that the use of Superior orders as a defense did not relieve officers from responsibility of carrying out illegal orders or the liability of being punished in court. This principle was codified in

Nuremberg Principles and similar principles were found in sections of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
.

The

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, decided to initiate arrests. On September 11, a week after the surrender, he ordered the arrest of 39 suspects — most of them members of Prime Minister Hideki Tojo
's war cabinet. Tojo tried to commit suicide, but was resuscitated with the help of U.S. doctors. He was later found guilty among others, and hanged.

Nuremberg trials

Main article: Nuremberg trials

On October 18, 1945, the chief

countries
occupied by Germany during the war.

Among the accused were the

armed forces
.

The trial began on November 20, 1945. Much of the

prosecution consisted of original military, diplomatic, and other government documents that fell into the hands of the Allied forces
after the collapse of the German government.

The judgment of the International Military Tribunal was handed down on September 30 and October 1, 1946. Among notable features of the decision was the conclusion, in accordance with the London Agreement, that to plan or instigate an aggressive war is a crime under the principles of international law. The tribunal rejected the contention of the

punishments
. As with the Dostler case, it also rejected the contention of a number of the defendants that they were not legally responsible for their acts because they performed the acts under the orders of superior authority, stating that "the true test . . . is not the existence of the order but whether moral choice (in executing it) was in fact possible."

With respect to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the tribunal found overwhelming evidence of a systematic rule of

inhumane
treatment. The tribunal also found that atrocities had been committed on a large scale and as a matter of official policy.

Of the seven indicted organizations, the tribunal declared criminal the Leadership Corps of the party, the SS, the SD (Sicherheitsdienst, 'Security Service'), and the Gestapo.

Ad hoc tribunals

In May 1993, during the

war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide; it was the first tribunal in which sexual assault
was prosecuted as a war crime. The ICTY was the first international war crimes tribunal since the Nuremberg Trials. Ultimately, nearly 161 individuals were indicted in the ICTY: 68% of Serb ethnicity. Croatian-Serb, Bosnian-Serb, Serbian, and Bosnian-Croat officials were convicted of crimes against humanity, and Bosnian-Serb leaders of genocide.

In 1994, the UN opened the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda following the April–June genocide in that country of Hutu nationals.

The tribunals, while effective in prosecution of individuals, proved to be a costly venture, and exposed the need for a permanent tribunal, which was eventually known as the International Criminal Court.

See also

Bibliography

  • Bloxham, Donald, & Waterlow, Jonathan. (2015). War crimes trials. In Richard Bosworth & Joseph Maiolo (Eds.), The Cambridge History of the Second World War (The Cambridge History of the Second World War, pp. 181-208). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CHO9781139524377.011

References

  1. ^ The evolution of individual criminal responsibility under international law By Edoardo Greppi, Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Turin, Italy, International Committee of the Red Cross No. 835, p. 531-553, October 30, 1999.
  2. ^ Grant, Linda (Spring 2006). "Exhibit highlights the first international war crimes tribunal". HLS: Alumni Bulletin. Archived from the original on Dec 19, 2007.
  3. ^ "An Introduction to the International Criminal Court, Third Edition", William A. Schabas, Cambridge University Press.
  4. ^ "Peace Treaty of Versailles, Articles 227-230, Penalties". net.lib.byu.edu. Archived from the original on Aug 20, 2023.
  5. ^ "The Netherlands refuses to extradite Kaiser Wilhelm to the Allies 23rd Jan 1920". WW1 World War One Ieper 1917. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on Aug 20, 2023.
  6. ISBN 951-746-215-8
    .
  7. ^ "Potsdam Declaration". Birth of the Constitution of Japan. National Diet Library. July 26, 1945. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  8. ^ "IMTFE Charter" (PDF). Retrieved May 26, 2018.

External links

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