The Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of Penalties was a commission established at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Its role was to examine the background of the First World War, and to investigate and recommend individuals for prosecution for committing war crimes.
During the First World War, the Allied governments had decided to try defeated leaders whom they considered responsible for violations of international law and the laws of war. For that purpose, it was decided to establish an expert committee to make recommendations to that effect. Following the conclusion of the Armistice in November 1918, preparations began. The defeated German government officially concurred with the initiative on grounds that:
A complete truthful account of the world conditions and of the negotiations among the powers in July 1914 and of the steps taken at that time by the several governments could and would go far toward demolishing the walls of hatred and misconstruction erected by the long war to separate the peoples.[1]
In addition, the German government proposed the establishment of a neutral committee of experts to study the matter. The Allied governments refused, claiming that:
they [the Allied governments] do not consider that the German proposal requires any reply as the responsibility of Germany for the war has been long ago incontestably proved.[2]
Composition of the Commissionedit
The commission was established at the conference plenary session of 25 January 1919, and consisted of representatives of the five major Allied powers – the US, the British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan – with the addition of Belgium, Greece, Poland, Romania and Serbia (later: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). Its members were as follows:[3][4][5]
The Commission was divided into three sub-commissions as follows:
on Criminal Acts, charged with investigating into war crimes allegations
on Responsibility for the War, charged with recommending which individuals to indict for bringing about the war (on the diplomatic level)
on Responsibility for the Violation of the Laws and Customs of War, charged with deciding whom to indict for crimes committed during the war
Recommendations made by the Commissionedit
Majority opinionedit
The Commission submitted its report on 29 March 1919. It concluded that blame for the war lay in the first instance with the governments of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and secondly with those of Bulgaria and Turkey.[6] It recommended the establishment of an additional commission for a more exhaustive study of the alleged crimes of the defeated powers.[7] It further recommended the establishment of an international tribunal for the prosecution of suspected war criminals, with no immunity from prosecution even for defeated heads of state. It recommended that the tribunal should consist of 22 judges, three from each of the five major powers and an additional six from other countries.[8][clarification needed]
Dissenting opinion by the US delegationedit
The US delegates submitted their own opinion on 4 April 1919, expressing their reservations on the report. They suggested refraining from prosecuting heads of state, and focusing instead on lower levels of the government and military. They also suggested that defeated leaders or commanders should not be charged with acts not considered criminal at the time of their commission, i.e. that rules of conduct should not be imposed retroactively. They also argued that there should not be a permanent international tribunal for war crimes, but that, following any future war, such a tribunal should be established by the governments of the nations directly affected.[9]
Dissenting opinion by the Japanese delegationedit
On the same day the US delegation submitted its minority opinion, the Japanese delegation submitted its own reservations. The Japanese delegation's main reservation was about the demand to indict heads of state for violations.[10]
Legacy of the Commissionedit
The Commission's recommendations were not carried through at the time. The proposed international tribunal for war crimes was not established, because of the refusal of the German government to cooperate. Instead, a few German individuals accused of war crimes were tried in 1921 at the Leipzig War Crimes Trials by the German authorities themselves. However, the recommendations did bear fruit in the longer term. Following the Second World War, two international Allied tribunals were established in Nuremberg and Tokyo to try German and Japanese leaders accused of war crimes. The demand for a permanent tribunal for crimes against humanity continued even after those tribunals had been dissolved, leading eventually to the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002.
^Communication from the German government to the US government, December 2, 1918, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1919: The Paris Peace Conference, vol. II, 71–72
^Acting US Secretary of State (Frank Lyon Polk) to the Commission to Negotiate Peace, January 6, 1919, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1919: The Paris Peace Conference, vol. II, p. 73
^"Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of Penalties". American Journal of International Law. 14 (1/2): 95–154. 1920. doi:10.2307/2187841. JSTOR 2187841. S2CID 246013323.
^Violations of the Laws and Customs of War: Reports of Majority and Dissenting Reports American and Japanese Members of the Commission of Responsibilities, Conference of Paris, 1919, pp. 1–2 (hereafter: Commission Report).
^Foreign Relations of the United States, 1919: The Paris Peace Conference, vol. III, pp. 203–205
^International Law Commission, Historical Survey of the Question of International Criminal Jurisdiction (UN Document: A/CN.4/7/Rev.1) p. 7 (hereafter: ILC Study).
^Text in "Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of penalties" American Journal of International Law, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Jan.-Apr., 1920), pp. 95–154.
Further readingedit
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Violations of the Laws and Customs of War: Reports of Majority and Dissenting Reports American and Japanese Members of the Commission of Responsibilities, Conference of Paris, 1919 (London and New York, 1919)
International Law Commission, Historical Survey of the Question of International Criminal Jurisdiction (New York, 1949) (UN Document: A/CN.4/7/Rev.1)
External linksedit
List of members of the commission
Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of penalties, Report Presented to the Preliminary Peace Conference, 29 March 1919
Dimitrios A. Kourtis, The Laws of Humanity and the Allied Commission on Responsibilities (1919): An Exercise in Disenchantment
January 01, 1970
commission, responsibilities, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jsto. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Commission of Responsibilities news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message The Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of Penalties was a commission established at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 Its role was to examine the background of the First World War and to investigate and recommend individuals for prosecution for committing war crimes Contents 1 Background 2 Composition of the Commission 3 Recommendations made by the Commission 3 1 Majority opinion 3 2 Dissenting opinion by the US delegation 3 3 Dissenting opinion by the Japanese delegation 4 Legacy of the Commission 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksBackground editDuring the First World War the Allied governments had decided to try defeated leaders whom they considered responsible for violations of international law and the laws of war For that purpose it was decided to establish an expert committee to make recommendations to that effect Following the conclusion of the Armistice in November 1918 preparations began The defeated German government officially concurred with the initiative on grounds that A complete truthful account of the world conditions and of the negotiations among the powers in July 1914 and of the steps taken at that time by the several governments could and would go far toward demolishing the walls of hatred and misconstruction erected by the long war to separate the peoples 1 In addition the German government proposed the establishment of a neutral committee of experts to study the matter The Allied governments refused claiming that they the Allied governments do not consider that the German proposal requires any reply as the responsibility of Germany for the war has been long ago incontestably proved 2 Composition of the Commission editThe commission was established at the conference plenary session of 25 January 1919 and consisted of representatives of the five major Allied powers the US the British Empire France Italy and Japan with the addition of Belgium Greece Poland Romania and Serbia later Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes Its members were as follows 3 4 5 USA Robert Lansing United States Secretary of State James Brown Scott British Empire Gordon Hewart Attorney General or Ernest Pollock Solicitor General William Massey Prime Minister of New Zealand France Andre Tardieu Commissioner General for Franco American Affairs of War alternate Captain R Masson Ferdinand Larnaude Dean of the Paris Law Faculty Italy Vittorio Scialoja Senator Foreign Minister after 26 November 1919 alternates A Ricci Busatti chief of the claims section in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Gustavo Tosti Consul General Raimondo then G Brambilla Counselor of Legation 3 February then M d Amelio counselor to the Court of Cassation 16 February Japan Mineichirō Adachi Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Belgium Harukazu Nagaoka counselor of the Japanese Embassy in France then Sakutaro Tachi law professor at Tokyo Imperial University 15 February Belgium Edouard Rolin Jaequemyns Secretary General of the Belgian Delegation to the Peace Conference Greece Nikolaos Politis Foreign Minister Poland Constantin Skirmunt member of the Polish National Committee then Leon Lubienski member of the Polish National Committee 14 February Romania S Rosental legal consultant Serbia later Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes Slobodan Jovanovic law professor at the University of Belgrade alternates Kosta Kumanudi law professor at the University of Belgrade and Mileta Novakovic lecturer at the University of Belgrade The Commission was divided into three sub commissions as follows on Criminal Acts charged with investigating into war crimes allegations on Responsibility for the War charged with recommending which individuals to indict for bringing about the war on the diplomatic level on Responsibility for the Violation of the Laws and Customs of War charged with deciding whom to indict for crimes committed during the warRecommendations made by the Commission editMajority opinion edit The Commission submitted its report on 29 March 1919 It concluded that blame for the war lay in the first instance with the governments of Germany and Austria Hungary and secondly with those of Bulgaria and Turkey 6 It recommended the establishment of an additional commission for a more exhaustive study of the alleged crimes of the defeated powers 7 It further recommended the establishment of an international tribunal for the prosecution of suspected war criminals with no immunity from prosecution even for defeated heads of state It recommended that the tribunal should consist of 22 judges three from each of the five major powers and an additional six from other countries 8 clarification needed Dissenting opinion by the US delegation edit The US delegates submitted their own opinion on 4 April 1919 expressing their reservations on the report They suggested refraining from prosecuting heads of state and focusing instead on lower levels of the government and military They also suggested that defeated leaders or commanders should not be charged with acts not considered criminal at the time of their commission i e that rules of conduct should not be imposed retroactively They also argued that there should not be a permanent international tribunal for war crimes but that following any future war such a tribunal should be established by the governments of the nations directly affected 9 Dissenting opinion by the Japanese delegation edit On the same day the US delegation submitted its minority opinion the Japanese delegation submitted its own reservations The Japanese delegation s main reservation was about the demand to indict heads of state for violations 10 Legacy of the Commission editThe Commission s recommendations were not carried through at the time The proposed international tribunal for war crimes was not established because of the refusal of the German government to cooperate Instead a few German individuals accused of war crimes were tried in 1921 at the Leipzig War Crimes Trials by the German authorities themselves However the recommendations did bear fruit in the longer term Following the Second World War two international Allied tribunals were established in Nuremberg and Tokyo to try German and Japanese leaders accused of war crimes The demand for a permanent tribunal for crimes against humanity continued even after those tribunals had been dissolved leading eventually to the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002 See also editArticle 231 Centre for the Study of the Causes of the War Historiography of the causes of World War I Reichstag inquiry into guilt for World War I War guilt questionReferences edit Communication from the German government to the US government December 2 1918 Foreign Relations of the United States 1919 The Paris Peace Conference vol II 71 72 Acting US Secretary of State Frank Lyon Polk to the Commission to Negotiate Peace January 6 1919 Foreign Relations of the United States 1919 The Paris Peace Conference vol II p 73 Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of Penalties American Journal of International Law 14 1 2 95 154 1920 doi 10 2307 2187841 JSTOR 2187841 S2CID 246013323 Violations of the Laws and Customs of War Reports of Majority and Dissenting Reports American and Japanese Members of the Commission of Responsibilities Conference of Paris 1919 pp 1 2 hereafter Commission Report Foreign Relations of the United States 1919 The Paris Peace Conference vol III pp 203 205 Commission Report p 4 Commission Report p 19 International Law Commission Historical Survey of the Question of International Criminal Jurisdiction UN Document A CN 4 7 Rev 1 p 7 hereafter ILC Study ILC Study p 8 Text in Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of penalties American Journal of International Law Vol 14 No 1 Jan Apr 1920 pp 95 154 Further reading editCarnegie Endowment for International Peace Violations of the Laws and Customs of War Reports of Majority and Dissenting Reports American and Japanese Members of the Commission of Responsibilities Conference of Paris 1919 London and New York 1919 International Law Commission Historical Survey of the Question of International Criminal Jurisdiction New York 1949 UN Document A CN 4 7 Rev 1 External links editList of members of the commission Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of penalties Report Presented to the Preliminary Peace Conference 29 March 1919 Dimitrios A Kourtis The Laws of Humanity and the Allied Commission on Responsibilities 1919 An Exercise in Disenchantment Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Commission of Responsibilities amp oldid 1184684368, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
