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War crime

January 22, 2023

For other uses, see War crime (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Crimes against humanity.

A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostages, unnecessarily destroying civilian property, deception by perfidy, wartime sexual violence, pillaging, and for any individual that is part of the command structure who orders any attempt to committing mass killings including genocide or ethnic cleansing, the granting of no quarter despite surrender, the conscription of children in the military and flouting the legal distinctions of proportionality and military necessity.[1]

A U.S. soldier observing victims of the Malmedy massacre (17 December 1944), where 84 U.S. prisoners of war were murdered by the Waffen-SS in Belgium

The formal concept of war crimes emerged from the codification of the customary international law that applied to warfare between sovereign states, such as the Lieber Code (1863) of the Union Army in the American Civil War and the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 for international war.[1] In the aftermath of the Second World War, the war-crime trials of the leaders of the Axis powers established the Nuremberg principles of law, such as that international criminal law defines what is a war crime. In 1949, the Geneva Conventions legally defined new war crimes and established that states could exercise universal jurisdiction over war criminals.[1] In the late 20th century and early 21st century, international courts extrapolated and defined additional categories of war crimes applicable to a civil war.[1]

History

See also: List of war crimes
 
A ditch full of the bodies of Chinese civilians killed by Japanese soldiers in Suzhou, China, 1938

Early examples

In 1474, the first trial for a war crime was that of Peter von Hagenbach, realised by an ad hoc tribunal of the Holy Roman Empire, for his command responsibility for the actions of his soldiers, because "he, as a knight, was deemed to have a duty to prevent" criminal behaviour by a military force. Despite having argued that he had obeyed superior orders, von Hagenbach was convicted, condemned to death, and beheaded.[2][3]

Hague Conventions

Main article: Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907

The Hague Conventions were international treaties negotiated at the First and Second Peace Conferences at The Hague, Netherlands, in 1899 and 1907, respectively, and were, along with the Geneva Conventions, among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the nascent body of secular international law.

Geneva Conventions

Main article: Geneva Conventions

The Geneva Conventions are four related treaties adopted and continuously expanded from 1864 to 1949 that represent a legal basis and framework for the conduct of war under international law. Every single member state of the United Nations has currently ratified the conventions, which are universally accepted as customary international law, applicable to every situation of armed conflict in the world. However, the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions adopted in 1977 containing the most pertinent, detailed and comprehensive protections of international humanitarian law for persons and objects in modern warfare are still not ratified by several states continuously engaged in armed conflicts, namely the United States, Israel, India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, and others. Accordingly, states retain different codes and values about wartime conduct. Some signatories have routinely violated the Geneva Conventions in a way that either uses the ambiguities of law or political maneuvering to sidestep the laws' formalities and principles.

The first three conventions have been revised and expanded, with the fourth one added in 1949:

  • The First Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field was adopted in 1864 and then significantly revised and replaced by the 1906 version,[4] the 1929 version, and later the First Geneva Convention of 1949.[5]
  • The Second Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea was adopted in 1906[6] and then significantly revised and replaced by the Second Geneva Convention of 1949.
  • The Third Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was adopted in 1929 and then significantly revised and replaced by the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.
  • The Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War was first adopted in 1949, based on parts of the 1907 Hague Convention IV.
 
HRW wrote that the Saudi Arabian-led military intervention in Yemen that began on March 26, 2015, involved airstrikes in apparent violation of the laws of war.[7]

Two Additional Protocols were adopted in 1977 with the third one added in 2005, completing and updating the Geneva Conventions:

  • Protocol I (1977) relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts.
  • Protocol II (1977) relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts.
  • Protocol III (2005) relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem.

Leipzig trials

Main article: Leipzig war crimes trials

Just after WWI the world governments started to try and systematically create a code for how War Crimes would be defined. Their first outline of a law was "Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field"—also known as the “Lieber Code.” [8] A small number of German military personnel of the First World War were tried in 1921 by the German Supreme Court for alleged war crimes.

London Charter / Nuremberg Trials 1945

Main articles: London Charter of the International Military Tribunal and Nuremberg Trials

The modern concept of war crime was further developed under the auspices of the Nuremberg Trials based on the definition in the London Charter that was published on August 8, 1945. (Also see Nuremberg Principles.) Along with war crimes the charter also defined crimes against peace and crimes against humanity, which are often committed during wars and in concert with war crimes.

International Military Tribunal for the Far East 1946

Main article: International Military Tribunal for the Far East

Also known as the Tokyo Trial, the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal or simply as the Tribunal, it was convened on May 3, 1946, to try the leaders of the Empire of Japan for three types of crimes: "Class A" (crimes against peace), "Class B" (war crimes), and "Class C" (crimes against humanity), committed during World War II.

International Criminal Court 2002

 
Bodies of some of the hundreds of Vietnamese villagers who were killed by U.S. soldiers during the My Lai Massacre

On July 1, 2002, the International Criminal Court, a treaty-based court located in The Hague, came into being for the prosecution of war crimes committed on or after that date. Several nations, most notably the United States, China, Russia, and Israel, have criticized the court. The United States still participates as an observer. Article 12 of the Rome Statute provides jurisdiction over the citizens of non-contracting states if they are accused of committing crimes in the territory of one of the state parties.[9]

War crimes are defined in the statute that established the International Criminal Court, which includes:

  1. Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, such as:
    1. Willful killing, or causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health
    2. Torture or inhumane treatment
    3. Unlawful wanton destruction or appropriation of property
    4. Forcing a prisoner of war to serve in the forces of a hostile power
    5. Depriving a prisoner of war of a fair trial
    6. Unlawful deportation, confinement or transfer
    7. Taking hostages
    8. Directing attacks against civilians
       
      Bodo League massacre during the Korean War in 1950
    9. Directing attacks against humanitarian workers or UN peacekeepers
    10. Killing a surrendered combatant
    11. Misusing a flag of truce, a flag or uniform of the enemy
    12. Settlement of occupied territory
    13. Deportation of inhabitants of occupied territory
    14. Using poison weapons
    15. Using civilians as shields
    16. Using child soldiers
    17. Firing upon a Combat Medic with clear insignia.
  2. The following acts as part of a non-international conflict:
    1. Murder, cruel or degrading treatment and torture
    2. Directing attacks against civilians, humanitarian workers or UN peacekeepers
  3. The following acts as part of an international conflict:
    1. Taking hostages
    2. Summary execution
    3. Pillage
    4. Rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution or forced pregnancy

However the court only has jurisdiction over these crimes where they are "part of a plan or policy or as part of a large-scale commission of such crimes".[10]

Prominent indictees

Main articles: List of war crimes and List of people indicted in the International Criminal Court

Heads of state and government

 
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity
 
2013 Shahbag protests demanding the death penalty for the war criminals of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War

To date, the present and former heads of state and heads of government that have been charged with war crimes include:

Other

Definition

 
A picture taken by the Polish Underground of Nazi Secret Police rounding up Polish intelligentsia at Palmiry near Warsaw in 1940 for mass execution (AB-Aktion)

War crimes are serious violations of the rules of customary and treaty law concerning international humanitarian law that have become accepted as criminal offenses for which there is individual responsibility.[21] Colloquial definitions of war crime include violations of established protections of the laws of war, but also include failures to adhere to norms of procedure and rules of battle, such as attacking those displaying a peaceful flag of truce, or using that same flag as a ruse to mount an attack on enemy troops. The use of chemical and biological weapons in warfare are also prohibited by numerous chemical arms control agreements and the Biological Weapons Convention. Wearing enemy uniforms or civilian clothes to infiltrate enemy lines for espionage or sabotage missions is a legitimate ruse of war, though fighting in combat or assassinating individuals behind enemy lines while so disguised is not, as it constitutes unlawful perfidy.[22][23][24][25] Attacking enemy troops while they are being deployed by way of a parachute is not a war crime.[26] However, Protocol I, Article 42 of the Geneva Conventions explicitly forbids attacking parachutists who eject from disabled aircraft and surrendering parachutists once landed.[27] Article 30 of the 1907 Hague Convention IV – The Laws and Customs of War on Land explicitly forbids belligerents to punish enemy spies without previous trial.[28]

The rule of war, also known as the Law of Armed Conflict, permit belligerents to engage in combat. A war crime occurs when superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering is inflicted upon an enemy.[29]

War crimes also include such acts as mistreatment of prisoners of war or civilians. War crimes are sometimes part of instances of mass murder and genocide though these crimes are more broadly covered under international humanitarian law described as crimes against humanity. In 2008, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1820, which noted that "rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide"; see also wartime sexual violence.[30] In 2016, the International Criminal Court convicted someone of sexual violence for the first time; specifically, they added rape to a war crimes conviction of Congo Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo.[31]

 
Mass grave of USSR POWs, killed by Germans. Some 3.3 million Soviet POWs died in Nazi custody.

War crimes also included deliberate attacks on citizens and property of neutral states, such as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As the attack on Pearl Harbor happened while the U.S. and Japan were at peace and without a just cause for self-defense, the attack was declared by the Tokyo Trials to go beyond justification of military necessity and therefore constituted a war crime.[32][33][34]

War crimes are significant in international humanitarian law[35] because it is an area where international tribunals such as the Nuremberg Trials and Tokyo Trials have been convened. Recent examples are the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which were established by the UN Security Council acting under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter.

Under the Nuremberg Principles, war crimes are different from crimes against peace. Crimes against peace include planning, preparing, initiating, or waging a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements, or assurances. Because the definition of a state of "war" may be debated, the term "war crime" itself has seen different usage under different systems of international and military law. It has some degree of application outside of what some may consider being a state of "war", but in areas where conflicts persist enough to constitute social instability.

The legalities of war have sometimes been accused of containing favoritism toward the winners ("Victor's justice"),[36] as some controversies have not been ruled as war crimes. Some examples include the Allies' destruction of Axis cities during World War II, such as the firebombing of Dresden, the Operation Meetinghouse raid on Tokyo (the most destructive single bombing raid in history), and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[37] In regard to the strategic bombing during World War II, there was no international treaty or instrument protecting a civilian population specifically from attack by aircraft,[38] therefore the aerial attacks on civilians were not officially war crimes. The Allies at the trials in Nuremberg and Tokyo never prosecuted the Germans, including Luftwaffe commander-in-chief Hermann Göring, for the bombing raids on Warsaw, Rotterdam, and British cities during the Blitz as well as the indiscriminate attacks on Allied cities with V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets, nor the Japanese for the aerial attacks on crowded Chinese cities.[39]

Controversy arose when the Allies re-designated German POWs (under the protection of the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War) as Disarmed Enemy Forces (allegedly unprotected by the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War), many of which were then used for forced labor such as clearing minefields.[40] By December 1945, six months after the war had ended, it was estimated by French authorities that 2,000 German prisoners were still being killed or maimed each month in mine-clearing accidents.[40] The wording of the 1949 Third Geneva Convention was intentionally altered from that of the 1929 convention so that soldiers who "fall into the power" following surrender or mass capitulation of an enemy are now protected as well as those taken prisoner in the course of fighting.[41][42]

United Nations

The United Nations gives the following definition:[43]

  1. Intentional murder of innocent people;
  2. Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments;
  3. Willfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health;
  4. Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of hostile power;
  5. Use by children under the age of sixteen years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities;
  6. Intentionally directing attack against the civilian population as not taking direct part in hostilities;
  7. Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly;
  8. Destroying or seizing the property of an adversary unless demanded by necessities of the conflict;
  9. Using poison or poisoned weapons;
  10. Intentionally directing attack against building dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals as long as it's not used as military infrastructure;
  11. Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial;
  12. Attacking or bombarding towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives;
  13. Unlawful deportation, transfer, or unlawful confinement;
  14. Taking of hostages.
  15. Intentional assault with the knowledge that such an assault would result in loss of life or casualty to civilians or damage to civilian objects or extensive, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment that would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct.

Legality of civilian casualties

Under the law of armed conflict (LOAC), the death of non-combatants is not necessarily a violation; there are many things to take into account. Civilians cannot be made the object of an attack, but the death/injury of civilians while conducting an attack on a military objective are governed under principles such as of proportionality and military necessity and can be permissible. Military necessity "permits the destruction of life of ... persons whose destruction is incidentally unavoidable by the armed conflicts of the war; ... it does not permit the killing of innocent inhabitants for purposes of revenge or the satisfaction of a lust to kill. The destruction of property to be lawful must be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war."[44]

For example, conducting an operation on an ammunition depot or a terrorist training camp would not be prohibited because a farmer is plowing a field in the area; the farmer is not the object of attack and the operations would adhere to proportionality and military necessity. On the other hand, an extraordinary military advantage would be necessary to justify an operation posing risks of collateral death or injury to thousands of civilians. In "grayer" cases the legal question of whether the expected incidental harm is excessive may be very subjective. For this reason, States have chosen to apply a "clearly excessive" standard for determining whether a criminal violation has occurred.[45]

When there is no justification for military action, such as civilians being made the object of attack, a proportionality analysis is unnecessary to conclude that the attack is unlawful.

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

For aerial strikes, pilots generally have to rely on information supplied by external sources (headquarters, ground troops) that a specific position is in fact a military target. In the case of former Yugoslavia, NATO pilots hit a civilian object (the Chinese embassy in Belgrade) that was of no military significance, but the pilots had no idea of determining it aside from their orders. The committee ruled that "the aircrew involved in the attack should not be assigned any responsibility for the fact they were given the wrong target and that it is inappropriate to attempt to assign criminal responsibility for the incident to senior leaders because they were provided with wrong information by officials of another agency".[46] The report also notes that "Much of the material submitted to the OTP consisted of reports that civilians had been killed, often inviting the conclusion to be drawn that crimes had therefore been committed. Collateral casualties to civilians and collateral damage to civilian objects can occur for a variety of reasons."[46]

Rendulic Rule

The Rendulic Rule is a standard by which commanders are judged.

German General Lothar Rendulic was charged for ordering extensive destruction of civilian buildings and lands while retreating from a suspected enemy attack in what is called scorched earth policy for the military purpose of denying the use of ground for the enemy. The German troops retreating from Finnish Lapland believed Finland would be occupied by Soviet troops and destroyed many settlements while retreating to Norway under the command of Rendulic. He overestimated the perceived risk but argued that Hague IV authorized the destruction because it was necessary to war. He was acquitted of that charge.

Under the "Rendulic Rule" persons must assess the military necessity of an action based on the information available to them at that time; they cannot be judged based on information that subsequently comes to light.[45]

See also

Country listings

Legal issues

Miscellaneous

References

  1. ^ a b c d Cassese, Antonio (2013). Cassese's International Criminal Law (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 63–66. ISBN 978-0-19-969492-1. from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  2. ^ The evolution of individual criminal responsibility under international law 10 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine By Edoardo Greppi, Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Turin, Italy, International Committee of the Red Cross No. 835, pp. 531–553, 30 October 1999.
  3. ^ highlights the first international war crimes tribunal by Linda Grant, Harvard Law Bulletin.
  4. ^ "Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 6 July 1906". International Committee of the Red Cross. from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  5. ^ . nus.edu.sg. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014.
  6. ^ David P. Forsythe (June 17, 2007). The International Committee of the Red Cross: A Neutral Humanitarian Actor. Routledge. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-415-34151-6.
  7. ^ "Human Rights Watch: Saudi strikes in Yemen violated international law July 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine". Deutsche Welle. June 30, 2015.
  8. ^ Day, L. Edward; Vandiver, Margaret (2003), "War Atrocities", Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., doi:10.4135/9781412950619.n482, ISBN 9780761924371, retrieved October 12, 2021
  9. ^ "Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998". UN Treaty Organization. from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  10. ^ "Rome Statute, Part II, Article 8". United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
  11. ^ "Decision on Motion for Judgement of Acquittal in the Milosevic Case | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  12. ^ "Trial of Charles Taylor ends – Europe". Al Jazeera English. from the original on April 1, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  13. ^ "Liberia ex-leader Charles Taylor get 50 years in jail". BBC. May 30, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  14. ^ Simons, Marlise (March 24, 2016). "Radovan Karadzic, a Bosnian Serb, Gets 40 Years Over Genocide and War Crimes". The New York Times. from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  15. ^ "Karadzic sentenced to 40 years for genocide". CNN. March 24, 2016. from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  16. ^ . Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  17. ^ "Omar al-Bashir: Sudan's ex-president on trial for 1989 coup". BBC News. July 21, 2020.
  18. ^ "Sudan's Forces for Freedom and Change: 'Hand Al Bashir to ICC'". Radio Dabanga.
  19. ^ "Muktijuddho (Bangladesh Liberation War 1971) - Butcher of Bengal General Tikka Khan takes charge in East Pakistan - History of Bangladesh". Londoni. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  20. ^ "BBC News – Ratko Mladic trial: Charge sheet amended – Brammertz". Bbc.co.uk. June 1, 2011. from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  21. ^ Shaw, M.N (2008). International Law. Cambridge University Press. pp. 433–434. ISBN 978-0-521-89929-1.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^ Smith, Michael (2007). Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-36272-0.
  23. ^ Beckwith, Charlie A.; Knox, Donald (2003). Delta Force: The Army's Elite Counterterrorist Unit. Avon. ISBN 978-0-380-80939-4.
  24. ^ "United States of America, Practice Relating to Rule 65. Perfidy, Section I. Simulation of civilian status". International Red Cross. from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  25. ^ "United States of America, Practice Relating to Rule 62. Improper Use of Flags or Military Emblems, Insignia or Uniforms of the Adversary". International Red Cross. from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  26. ^ . Library of Congress. Archived from the original on December 18, 2017.
  27. ^ Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflict, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland.(Protocol I) December 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  28. ^ "Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land. The Hague, 18 October 1907". International Committee of the Red Cross. from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  29. ^ Smith, S; Devine, M; Taddeo, J; McAlister, VC (2017). "Injury profile suffered by targets of antipersonnel improvised explosive devices: prospective cohort study". BMJ Open. 7 (7): e014697. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014697. PMC 5691184. PMID 28835410.
  30. ^ "Security Council Demands Immediate and Complete Halt to Acts of Sexual Violence". un.org. from the original on August 23, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  31. ^ Kevin Sieff (March 21, 2016). "In historic ruling, international court cites rape in war crimes conviction of ex-Congo official". The Washington Post.
  32. ^ Geoff Gilbert (September 30, 2006). Responding to International Crime (International Studies in Human Rights). p. 358. ISBN 978-90-04-15276-2.
  33. ^ Yuma Totani (April 1, 2009). The Tokyo War Crimes Trial: The Pursuit of Justice in the Wake of World War II. Harvard University Asia Center. p. 57.
  34. ^ Stephen C. McCaffrey (September 22, 2004). Understanding International Law. AuthorHouse. pp. 210–229.
  35. ^ . Archived from the original on April 19, 2010.
  36. ^ Zolo, Danilo (November 2, 2009). Victors' Justice: From Nuremberg to Baghdad. Verso. ISBN 978-1-84467-317-9.
  37. ^ . Wagingpeace.org. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  38. ^ Javier Guisández Gómez (June 30, 1998). "The Law of Air Warfare". International Review of the Red Cross (323): 347–363. from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  39. ^ Terror from the Sky: The Bombing of German Cities in World War II. Berghahn Books. 2010. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-84545-844-7.
  40. ^ a b S. P. MacKenzie "The Treatment of Prisoners of War in World War II" The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 66, No. 3. (Sep. 1994), pp. 487–520.
  41. ^ ICRC Commentaries on the Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War April 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Article 5 October 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine "One category of military personnel which was refused the advantages of the Convention in the course of the Second World War comprised German and Japanese troops who fell into enemy hands on the capitulation of their countries in 1945 (6). The German capitulation was both political, involving the dissolution of the Government, and military, whereas the Japanese capitulation was the only military. Moreover, the situation was different since Germany was a party to the 1929 Convention and Japan was not. Nevertheless, the German and Japanese troops were considered as surrendered enemy personnel and were deprived of the protection provided by the 1929 Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War."
  42. ^ ICRC Commentaries on the Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War April 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Article 5 October 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine "Under the present provision, the Convention applies to persons who "fall into the power" of the enemy. This term is also used in the opening sentence of Article 4, replacing the expression "captured" which was used in the 1929 Convention (Article 1). It indicates clearly that the treatment laid down by the Convention applies not only to military personnel taken prisoner in the course of fighting but also to those who fall into the hands of the adversary following surrender or mass capitulation."
  43. ^ "United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect". UN.org. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  44. ^ Germany (Territory under Allied occupation, 1945–1955: U.S. Zone) (1997). Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals under Control Council law no. 10, Nuremberg, October 1946-April, 1949. William S. Hein. ISBN 1575882159. OCLC 37718851.
  45. ^ a b Department of Defense law of war manual. United States Department of Defense Office of General Counsel. OCLC 953877027.
  46. ^ a b "Final Report to the Prosecutor by the Committee Established to Review the NATO Bombing Campaign Against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia". International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Further reading

  • Robert Cryer (2007). An introduction to international criminal law and procedure. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-87609-4.
  • Yôrām Dinstein (2004). The conduct of hostilities under the law of international armed conflict. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-54227-2. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  • Hagopian, Patrick (2013). American Immunity: War Crimes and the Limits of International Law. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
  • Horvitz, Leslie Alan; Catherwood, Christopher (2011). Encyclopedia of War Crimes & Genocide (Hardcover). Vol. 2 (Revised ed.). New York: Facts on File. ISBN 978-0-8160-8083-0. ISBN 0-8160-8083-6
  • Malcolm N. Shaw (November 24, 2008). International law. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-72814-0. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  • Gary D. Solis (2010). The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law in War. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-87088-7. Retrieved November 14, 2010.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to War crimes.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to War crime.
  • Australian Bunker And Military Museum - abmm.org
  • "Amnesty International". Amnesty International. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  • "International criminal jurisdiction". International Committee of the Red Cross. October 3, 2013.
  • "Cambodia Tribunal Monitor". Northwestern University School of Law Center for International Human Rights and Documentation Center of Cambodia. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  • Burns, John (January 30, 2008). . Crimes of War Project. Archived from the original on December 31, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  • Human Rights First;
  • Rome Treaty of the International Criminal Court
  • Ad-Hoc Court for East Timor
  • CBC Digital Archives -Fleeing Justice: War Criminals in Canada
  • Investigating Human Rights – Reaching Out to Diaspora Communities in U.S. for War Crimes Tips (FBI)
  • UK's Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act 1995 – which bans War Crimes

January 22, 2023
crime, other, uses, disambiguation, confused, with, crimes, against, humanity, crime, violation, laws, that, gives, rise, individual, criminal, responsibility, actions, combatants, action, such, intentionally, killing, civilians, intentionally, killing, prison. For other uses see War crime disambiguation Not to be confused with Crimes against humanity A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war torture taking hostages unnecessarily destroying civilian property deception by perfidy wartime sexual violence pillaging and for any individual that is part of the command structure who orders any attempt to committing mass killings including genocide or ethnic cleansing the granting of no quarter despite surrender the conscription of children in the military and flouting the legal distinctions of proportionality and military necessity 1 A U S soldier observing victims of the Malmedy massacre 17 December 1944 where 84 U S prisoners of war were murdered by the Waffen SS in Belgium The formal concept of war crimes emerged from the codification of the customary international law that applied to warfare between sovereign states such as the Lieber Code 1863 of the Union Army in the American Civil War and the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 for international war 1 In the aftermath of the Second World War the war crime trials of the leaders of the Axis powers established the Nuremberg principles of law such as that international criminal law defines what is a war crime In 1949 the Geneva Conventions legally defined new war crimes and established that states could exercise universal jurisdiction over war criminals 1 In the late 20th century and early 21st century international courts extrapolated and defined additional categories of war crimes applicable to a civil war 1 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early examples 1 2 Hague Conventions 1 3 Geneva Conventions 1 4 Leipzig trials 1 5 London Charter Nuremberg Trials 1945 1 6 International Military Tribunal for the Far East 1946 1 7 International Criminal Court 2002 2 Prominent indictees 2 1 Heads of state and government 2 2 Other 3 Definition 3 1 United Nations 4 Legality of civilian casualties 4 1 International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia 4 2 Rendulic Rule 5 See also 5 1 Country listings 5 2 Legal issues 5 3 Miscellaneous 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksHistory EditSee also List of war crimes A ditch full of the bodies of Chinese civilians killed by Japanese soldiers in Suzhou China 1938 Early examples Edit In 1474 the first trial for a war crime was that of Peter von Hagenbach realised by an ad hoc tribunal of the Holy Roman Empire for his command responsibility for the actions of his soldiers because he as a knight was deemed to have a duty to prevent criminal behaviour by a military force Despite having argued that he had obeyed superior orders von Hagenbach was convicted condemned to death and beheaded 2 3 Hague Conventions Edit Main article Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 The Hague Conventions were international treaties negotiated at the First and Second Peace Conferences at The Hague Netherlands in 1899 and 1907 respectively and were along with the Geneva Conventions among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the nascent body of secular international law Geneva Conventions Edit Main article Geneva Conventions The Geneva Conventions are four related treaties adopted and continuously expanded from 1864 to 1949 that represent a legal basis and framework for the conduct of war under international law Every single member state of the United Nations has currently ratified the conventions which are universally accepted as customary international law applicable to every situation of armed conflict in the world However the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions adopted in 1977 containing the most pertinent detailed and comprehensive protections of international humanitarian law for persons and objects in modern warfare are still not ratified by several states continuously engaged in armed conflicts namely the United States Israel India Pakistan Iraq Iran and others Accordingly states retain different codes and values about wartime conduct Some signatories have routinely violated the Geneva Conventions in a way that either uses the ambiguities of law or political maneuvering to sidestep the laws formalities and principles The first three conventions have been revised and expanded with the fourth one added in 1949 The First Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field was adopted in 1864 and then significantly revised and replaced by the 1906 version 4 the 1929 version and later the First Geneva Convention of 1949 5 The Second Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea was adopted in 1906 6 and then significantly revised and replaced by the Second Geneva Convention of 1949 The Third Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was adopted in 1929 and then significantly revised and replaced by the Third Geneva Convention of 1949 The Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War was first adopted in 1949 based on parts of the 1907 Hague Convention IV HRW wrote that the Saudi Arabian led military intervention in Yemen that began on March 26 2015 involved airstrikes in apparent violation of the laws of war 7 Two Additional Protocols were adopted in 1977 with the third one added in 2005 completing and updating the Geneva Conventions Protocol I 1977 relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts Protocol II 1977 relating to the Protection of Victims of Non International Armed Conflicts Protocol III 2005 relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem Leipzig trials Edit Main article Leipzig war crimes trials Just after WWI the world governments started to try and systematically create a code for how War Crimes would be defined Their first outline of a law was Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field also known as the Lieber Code 8 A small number of German military personnel of the First World War were tried in 1921 by the German Supreme Court for alleged war crimes London Charter Nuremberg Trials 1945 Edit Main articles London Charter of the International Military Tribunal and Nuremberg Trials The modern concept of war crime was further developed under the auspices of the Nuremberg Trials based on the definition in the London Charter that was published on August 8 1945 Also see Nuremberg Principles Along with war crimes the charter also defined crimes against peace and crimes against humanity which are often committed during wars and in concert with war crimes International Military Tribunal for the Far East 1946 Edit Main article International Military Tribunal for the Far East Also known as the Tokyo Trial the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal or simply as the Tribunal it was convened on May 3 1946 to try the leaders of the Empire of Japan for three types of crimes Class A crimes against peace Class B war crimes and Class C crimes against humanity committed during World War II International Criminal Court 2002 Edit Bodies of some of the hundreds of Vietnamese villagers who were killed by U S soldiers during the My Lai Massacre On July 1 2002 the International Criminal Court a treaty based court located in The Hague came into being for the prosecution of war crimes committed on or after that date Several nations most notably the United States China Russia and Israel have criticized the court The United States still participates as an observer Article 12 of the Rome Statute provides jurisdiction over the citizens of non contracting states if they are accused of committing crimes in the territory of one of the state parties 9 War crimes are defined in the statute that established the International Criminal Court which includes Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions such as Willful killing or causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health Torture or inhumane treatment Unlawful wanton destruction or appropriation of property Forcing a prisoner of war to serve in the forces of a hostile power Depriving a prisoner of war of a fair trial Unlawful deportation confinement or transfer Taking hostages Directing attacks against civilians Bodo League massacre during the Korean War in 1950 Directing attacks against humanitarian workers or UN peacekeepers Killing a surrendered combatant Misusing a flag of truce a flag or uniform of the enemy Settlement of occupied territory Deportation of inhabitants of occupied territory Using poison weapons Using civilians as shields Using child soldiers Firing upon a Combat Medic with clear insignia The following acts as part of a non international conflict Murder cruel or degrading treatment and torture Directing attacks against civilians humanitarian workers or UN peacekeepers The following acts as part of an international conflict Taking hostages Summary execution Pillage Rape sexual slavery forced prostitution or forced pregnancyHowever the court only has jurisdiction over these crimes where they are part of a plan or policy or as part of a large scale commission of such crimes 10 Prominent indictees EditMain articles List of war crimes and List of people indicted in the International Criminal Court Heads of state and government Edit Sudanese President Omar al Bashir wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity 2013 Shahbag protests demanding the death penalty for the war criminals of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War To date the present and former heads of state and heads of government that have been charged with war crimes include German Grossadmiral and President Karl Donitz and Japanese Prime Ministers and Generals Hideki Tōjō and Kuniaki Koiso in the aftermath of World War II Former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was brought to trial charges with genocide crimes against humanity and war crimes in three republics This pertained to superior responsibility for the Bosnia and Croatia indictments and individual responsibility for the Kosovo indictment He was acquitted however as he died in custody in 2006 before the trial could be concluded 11 Former Liberian President Charles G Taylor was also brought to The Hague charged with war crimes his trial stretched from 2007 to March 2011 He was convicted in April 2012 of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity 12 13 Former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic was arrested in Belgrade on July 18 2008 and brought before Belgrade s War Crimes Court a few days after He was extradited to the Netherlands and is currently in The Hague in the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The trial began in 2010 On March 24 2016 he was found guilty of genocide in Srebrenica war crimes and crimes against humanity 10 of the 11 charges in total and sentenced to 40 years imprisonment 14 15 He was sentenced to life on appeal 16 Omar al Bashir former head of state of Sudan is charged with three counts of genocide crimes against humanity and other war crimes regarding the war in the Darfur region of Sudan 17 18 Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was indicted for allegedly ordering the killings of protesters and civilians and Crimes against Humanity during the 2011 Libyan civil war however he was killed in October 2011 before he could stand trial citation needed Other Edit Yoshijirō Umezu a general in the Imperial Japanese Army Seishirō Itagaki War minister of the Empire of Japan Hermann Goring Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Adolf Eichmann high ranking members of the SS Wilhelm Keitel Generalfeldmarschall head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht Erich Raeder Grossadmiral Commander in Chief of the Kriegsmarine Albert Speer Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany 1942 45 William Calley former U S Army officer found guilty of murder for his role in the Mỹ Lai massacre General Tikka Khan aka Butcher of Bengal was a notorious Pakistan Army General known for his war crimes in Bangladesh during the Indo Pakistani War of 1971 19 Ali Hassan Abd al Majid al Tikriti more commonly known by his nickname Chemical Ali executed by post Ba athist Iraq for his leadership of the gassing of Kurdish villages during the Iran Iraq War also governor of illegally occupied Kuwait during the First Gulf War Ratko Mladic indicted for genocide amongst other violations of humanitarian law during the Bosnian War he was captured in Serbia in May 2011 and was extradited to face trial in The Hague wherein he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison 20 Joseph Kony leader of the Lord s Resistance Army guerrilla group which used to operate in Uganda Definition Edit A picture taken by the Polish Underground of Nazi Secret Police rounding up Polish intelligentsia at Palmiry near Warsaw in 1940 for mass execution AB Aktion War crimes are serious violations of the rules of customary and treaty law concerning international humanitarian law that have become accepted as criminal offenses for which there is individual responsibility 21 Colloquial definitions of war crime include violations of established protections of the laws of war but also include failures to adhere to norms of procedure and rules of battle such as attacking those displaying a peaceful flag of truce or using that same flag as a ruse to mount an attack on enemy troops The use of chemical and biological weapons in warfare are also prohibited by numerous chemical arms control agreements and the Biological Weapons Convention Wearing enemy uniforms or civilian clothes to infiltrate enemy lines for espionage or sabotage missions is a legitimate ruse of war though fighting in combat or assassinating individuals behind enemy lines while so disguised is not as it constitutes unlawful perfidy 22 23 24 25 Attacking enemy troops while they are being deployed by way of a parachute is not a war crime 26 However Protocol I Article 42 of the Geneva Conventions explicitly forbids attacking parachutists who eject from disabled aircraft and surrendering parachutists once landed 27 Article 30 of the 1907 Hague Convention IV The Laws and Customs of War on Land explicitly forbids belligerents to punish enemy spies without previous trial 28 The rule of war also known as the Law of Armed Conflict permit belligerents to engage in combat A war crime occurs when superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering is inflicted upon an enemy 29 War crimes also include such acts as mistreatment of prisoners of war or civilians War crimes are sometimes part of instances of mass murder and genocide though these crimes are more broadly covered under international humanitarian law described as crimes against humanity In 2008 the U N Security Council adopted Resolution 1820 which noted that rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide see also wartime sexual violence 30 In 2016 the International Criminal Court convicted someone of sexual violence for the first time specifically they added rape to a war crimes conviction of Congo Vice President Jean Pierre Bemba Gombo 31 Mass grave of USSR POWs killed by Germans Some 3 3 million Soviet POWs died in Nazi custody War crimes also included deliberate attacks on citizens and property of neutral states such as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor As the attack on Pearl Harbor happened while the U S and Japan were at peace and without a just cause for self defense the attack was declared by the Tokyo Trials to go beyond justification of military necessity and therefore constituted a war crime 32 33 34 War crimes are significant in international humanitarian law 35 because it is an area where international tribunals such as the Nuremberg Trials and Tokyo Trials have been convened Recent examples are the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda which were established by the UN Security Council acting under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter Under the Nuremberg Principles war crimes are different from crimes against peace Crimes against peace include planning preparing initiating or waging a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties agreements or assurances Because the definition of a state of war may be debated the term war crime itself has seen different usage under different systems of international and military law It has some degree of application outside of what some may consider being a state of war but in areas where conflicts persist enough to constitute social instability The legalities of war have sometimes been accused of containing favoritism toward the winners Victor s justice 36 as some controversies have not been ruled as war crimes Some examples include the Allies destruction of Axis cities during World War II such as the firebombing of Dresden the Operation Meetinghouse raid on Tokyo the most destructive single bombing raid in history and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 37 In regard to the strategic bombing during World War II there was no international treaty or instrument protecting a civilian population specifically from attack by aircraft 38 therefore the aerial attacks on civilians were not officially war crimes The Allies at the trials in Nuremberg and Tokyo never prosecuted the Germans including Luftwaffe commander in chief Hermann Goring for the bombing raids on Warsaw Rotterdam and British cities during the Blitz as well as the indiscriminate attacks on Allied cities with V 1 flying bombs and V 2 rockets nor the Japanese for the aerial attacks on crowded Chinese cities 39 Controversy arose when the Allies re designated German POWs under the protection of the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War as Disarmed Enemy Forces allegedly unprotected by the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War many of which were then used for forced labor such as clearing minefields 40 By December 1945 six months after the war had ended it was estimated by French authorities that 2 000 German prisoners were still being killed or maimed each month in mine clearing accidents 40 The wording of the 1949 Third Geneva Convention was intentionally altered from that of the 1929 convention so that soldiers who fall into the power following surrender or mass capitulation of an enemy are now protected as well as those taken prisoner in the course of fighting 41 42 United Nations Edit The United Nations gives the following definition 43 Intentional murder of innocent people Torture or inhuman treatment including biological experiments Willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of hostile power Use by children under the age of sixteen years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities Intentionally directing attack against the civilian population as not taking direct part in hostilities Extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly Destroying or seizing the property of an adversary unless demanded by necessities of the conflict Using poison or poisoned weapons Intentionally directing attack against building dedicated to religion education art science or charitable purposes historic monuments hospitals as long as it s not used as military infrastructure Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial Attacking or bombarding towns villages dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives Unlawful deportation transfer or unlawful confinement Taking of hostages Intentional assault with the knowledge that such an assault would result in loss of life or casualty to civilians or damage to civilian objects or extensive long term and severe damage to the natural environment that would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct Legality of civilian casualties EditUnder the law of armed conflict LOAC the death of non combatants is not necessarily a violation there are many things to take into account Civilians cannot be made the object of an attack but the death injury of civilians while conducting an attack on a military objective are governed under principles such as of proportionality and military necessity and can be permissible Military necessity permits the destruction of life of persons whose destruction is incidentally unavoidable by the armed conflicts of the war it does not permit the killing of innocent inhabitants for purposes of revenge or the satisfaction of a lust to kill The destruction of property to be lawful must be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war 44 For example conducting an operation on an ammunition depot or a terrorist training camp would not be prohibited because a farmer is plowing a field in the area the farmer is not the object of attack and the operations would adhere to proportionality and military necessity On the other hand an extraordinary military advantage would be necessary to justify an operation posing risks of collateral death or injury to thousands of civilians In grayer cases the legal question of whether the expected incidental harm is excessive may be very subjective For this reason States have chosen to apply a clearly excessive standard for determining whether a criminal violation has occurred 45 When there is no justification for military action such as civilians being made the object of attack a proportionality analysis is unnecessary to conclude that the attack is unlawful International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Edit For aerial strikes pilots generally have to rely on information supplied by external sources headquarters ground troops that a specific position is in fact a military target In the case of former Yugoslavia NATO pilots hit a civilian object the Chinese embassy in Belgrade that was of no military significance but the pilots had no idea of determining it aside from their orders The committee ruled that the aircrew involved in the attack should not be assigned any responsibility for the fact they were given the wrong target and that it is inappropriate to attempt to assign criminal responsibility for the incident to senior leaders because they were provided with wrong information by officials of another agency 46 The report also notes that Much of the material submitted to the OTP consisted of reports that civilians had been killed often inviting the conclusion to be drawn that crimes had therefore been committed Collateral casualties to civilians and collateral damage to civilian objects can occur for a variety of reasons 46 Rendulic Rule Edit The Rendulic Rule is a standard by which commanders are judged German General Lothar Rendulic was charged for ordering extensive destruction of civilian buildings and lands while retreating from a suspected enemy attack in what is called scorched earth policy for the military purpose of denying the use of ground for the enemy The German troops retreating from Finnish Lapland believed Finland would be occupied by Soviet troops and destroyed many settlements while retreating to Norway under the command of Rendulic He overestimated the perceived risk but argued that Hague IV authorized the destruction because it was necessary to war He was acquitted of that charge Under the Rendulic Rule persons must assess the military necessity of an action based on the information available to them at that time they cannot be judged based on information that subsequently comes to light 45 See also Edit War portal Law portal Politics portal Genocide portalCountry listings Edit Allied war crimes during World War II Bangladeshi genocide Bihari genocide Kashmiri genocide British war crimes East Timor Genocide German war crimes Consequences of Nazism The Holocaust Myth of the clean Wehrmacht War crimes of the Wehrmacht International Military Tribunal for the Far East Islamic State war crime findings Italian war crimes Japanese war crimes Korean War crimes Saudi Arabian led intervention in Yemen Soviet war crimes Russian war crimes United States Senate Committee on the Philippines United States war crimes Vietnam War War crimesLegal issues Edit American Service Members Protection Act Command responsibility Law of war Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit Rule of law Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project RULAC Russell Tribunal Special Court for Sierra Leone The International Criminal Court and the 2003 invasion of Iraq Universal jurisdiction War Crimes Law Belgium War Crimes Act 1991 War Crimes Act of 1996Miscellaneous Edit Civilian internee Chronicles of Terror Commando order Commissar order Crime of aggression Doctors Trial Forensic archaeology Human shield International Criminal Court investigations Katyn massacre List of denaturalized former citizens of the United States including those citizens who were denaturalized for concealing their involvement in war crimes in order to obtain that country s citizenship Looting Mass atrocity crimes Mass killing Military use of children Nazi human experimentation NKVD prisoner massacres No quarter Nuremberg Principles Razakars Pakistan Mukti Bahini Indian Army Satellite Sentinel Project Srebrenica massacre State terrorism State sponsored terrorism Terror bombing Transitional justice Unlawful combatant War and genocide Wartime sexual violence Winter Soldier InvestigationReferences Edit a b c d Cassese Antonio 2013 Cassese s International Criminal Law 3rd ed Oxford University Press pp 63 66 ISBN 978 0 19 969492 1 Archived from the original on April 29 2016 Retrieved October 5 2015 The evolution of individual criminal responsibility under international law Archived 10 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine By Edoardo Greppi Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Turin Italy International Committee of the Red Cross No 835 pp 531 553 30 October 1999 highlights the first international war crimes tribunal by Linda Grant Harvard Law Bulletin Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field Geneva 6 July 1906 International Committee of the Red Cross Archived from the original on February 22 2014 Retrieved July 20 2013 1949 Geneva Convention I for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field Centre for International Law nus edu sg Archived from the original on February 21 2014 David P Forsythe June 17 2007 The International Committee of the Red Cross A Neutral Humanitarian Actor Routledge p 43 ISBN 978 0 415 34151 6 Human Rights Watch Saudi strikes in Yemen violated international law Archived July 22 2015 at the Wayback Machine Deutsche Welle June 30 2015 Day L Edward Vandiver Margaret 2003 War Atrocities Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime Thousand Oaks CA SAGE Publications Inc doi 10 4135 9781412950619 n482 ISBN 9780761924371 retrieved October 12 2021 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 1998 UN Treaty Organization Archived from the original on October 19 2013 Retrieved October 13 2010 Rome Statute Part II Article 8 United Nations Office of Legal Affairs Archived from the original on October 19 2013 Retrieved October 18 2013 Decision on Motion for Judgement of Acquittal in the Milosevic Case International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Archived from the original on August 18 2017 Retrieved August 17 2017 Trial of Charles Taylor ends Europe Al Jazeera English Archived from the original on April 1 2011 Retrieved May 2 2012 Liberia ex leader Charles Taylor get 50 years in jail BBC May 30 2012 Retrieved June 4 2021 Simons Marlise March 24 2016 Radovan Karadzic a Bosnian Serb Gets 40 Years Over Genocide and War Crimes The New York Times Archived from the original on March 24 2016 Retrieved March 24 2016 Karadzic sentenced to 40 years for genocide CNN March 24 2016 Archived from the original on March 26 2016 Retrieved March 26 2016 UN appeals court increases Radovan Karadzic s sentence to life imprisonment Washington Post Archived from the original on March 22 2019 Retrieved March 20 2019 Omar al Bashir Sudan s ex president on trial for 1989 coup BBC News July 21 2020 Sudan s Forces for Freedom and Change Hand Al Bashir to ICC Radio Dabanga Muktijuddho Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 Butcher of Bengal General Tikka Khan takes charge in East Pakistan History of Bangladesh Londoni Retrieved July 6 2021 BBC News Ratko Mladic trial Charge sheet amended Brammertz Bbc co uk June 1 2011 Archived from the original on February 24 2012 Retrieved May 2 2012 Shaw M N 2008 International Law Cambridge University Press pp 433 434 ISBN 978 0 521 89929 1 permanent dead link Smith Michael 2007 Killer Elite The Inside Story of America s Most Secret Special Operations Team New York New York St Martin s Press ISBN 978 0 312 36272 0 Beckwith Charlie A Knox Donald 2003 Delta Force The Army s Elite Counterterrorist Unit Avon ISBN 978 0 380 80939 4 United States of America Practice Relating to Rule 65 Perfidy Section I Simulation of civilian status International Red Cross Archived from the original on September 26 2013 Retrieved September 22 2013 United States of America Practice Relating to Rule 62 Improper Use of Flags or Military Emblems Insignia or Uniforms of the Adversary International Red Cross Archived from the original on September 26 2013 Retrieved September 22 2013 Military Legal Resources Library of Congress Archived from the original on December 18 2017 Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August 12 1949 and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflict International Committee of the Red Cross Geneva Switzerland Protocol I Archived December 10 2008 at the Wayback Machine Convention IV respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land The Hague 18 October 1907 International Committee of the Red Cross Archived from the original on September 26 2013 Retrieved July 24 2013 Smith S Devine M Taddeo J McAlister VC 2017 Injury profile suffered by targets of antipersonnel improvised explosive devices prospective cohort study BMJ Open 7 7 e014697 doi 10 1136 bmjopen 2016 014697 PMC 5691184 PMID 28835410 Security Council Demands Immediate and Complete Halt to Acts of Sexual Violence un org Archived from the original on August 23 2014 Retrieved June 29 2017 Kevin Sieff March 21 2016 In historic ruling international court cites rape in war crimes conviction of ex Congo official The Washington Post Geoff Gilbert September 30 2006 Responding to International Crime International Studies in Human Rights p 358 ISBN 978 90 04 15276 2 Yuma Totani April 1 2009 The Tokyo War Crimes Trial The Pursuit of Justice in the Wake of World War II Harvard University Asia Center p 57 Stephen C McCaffrey September 22 2004 Understanding International Law AuthorHouse pp 210 229 The Program for Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research Brief Primer on IHL Archived from the original on April 19 2010 Zolo Danilo November 2 2009 Victors Justice From Nuremberg to Baghdad Verso ISBN 978 1 84467 317 9 The Atomic Bombing The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal and the Shimoda Case Lessons for Anti Nuclear Legal Movements by Yuki Tanaka and Richard Falk Wagingpeace org Archived from the original on March 18 2012 Retrieved May 2 2012 Javier Guisandez Gomez June 30 1998 The Law of Air Warfare International Review of the Red Cross 323 347 363 Archived from the original on April 3 2013 Retrieved June 21 2013 Terror from the Sky The Bombing of German Cities in World War II Berghahn Books 2010 p 167 ISBN 978 1 84545 844 7 a b S P MacKenzie The Treatment of Prisoners of War in World War II The Journal of Modern History Vol 66 No 3 Sep 1994 pp 487 520 ICRC Commentaries on the Convention III relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War Archived April 4 2013 at the Wayback Machine Article 5 Archived October 23 2013 at the Wayback Machine One category of military personnel which was refused the advantages of the Convention in the course of the Second World War comprised German and Japanese troops who fell into enemy hands on the capitulation of their countries in 1945 6 The German capitulation was both political involving the dissolution of the Government and military whereas the Japanese capitulation was the only military Moreover the situation was different since Germany was a party to the 1929 Convention and Japan was not Nevertheless the German and Japanese troops were considered as surrendered enemy personnel and were deprived of the protection provided by the 1929 Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War ICRC Commentaries on the Convention III relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War Archived April 4 2013 at the Wayback Machine Article 5 Archived October 23 2013 at the Wayback Machine Under the present provision the Convention applies to persons who fall into the power of the enemy This term is also used in the opening sentence of Article 4 replacing the expression captured which was used in the 1929 Convention Article 1 It indicates clearly that the treatment laid down by the Convention applies not only to military personnel taken prisoner in the course of fighting but also to those who fall into the hands of the adversary following surrender or mass capitulation United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect UN org Retrieved October 18 2021 Germany Territory under Allied occupation 1945 1955 U S Zone 1997 Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals under Control Council law no 10 Nuremberg October 1946 April 1949 William S Hein ISBN 1575882159 OCLC 37718851 a b Department of Defense law of war manual United States Department of Defense Office of General Counsel OCLC 953877027 a b Final Report to the Prosecutor by the Committee Established to Review the NATO Bombing Campaign Against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Further reading EditRobert Cryer 2007 An introduction to international criminal law and procedure Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 87609 4 Yoram Dinstein 2004 The conduct of hostilities under the law of international armed conflict Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 54227 2 Retrieved November 14 2010 Hagopian Patrick 2013 American Immunity War Crimes and the Limits of International Law Amherst MA University of Massachusetts Press Horvitz Leslie Alan Catherwood Christopher 2011 Encyclopedia of War Crimes amp Genocide Hardcover Vol 2 Revised ed New York Facts on File ISBN 978 0 8160 8083 0 ISBN 0 8160 8083 6 Malcolm N Shaw November 24 2008 International law Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 72814 0 Retrieved November 14 2010 Gary D Solis 2010 The Law of Armed Conflict International Humanitarian Law in War Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 87088 7 Retrieved November 14 2010 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to War crimes Wikiquote has quotations related to War crime Australian Bunker And Military Museum abmm org Amnesty International Amnesty International Retrieved July 29 2015 International criminal jurisdiction International Committee of the Red Cross October 3 2013 Cambodia Tribunal Monitor Northwestern University School of Law Center for International Human Rights and Documentation Center of Cambodia Retrieved December 17 2008 Burns John January 30 2008 Quarter Giving No Crimes of War Project Archived from the original on December 31 2008 Retrieved December 17 2008 Human Rights First Command s Responsibility Detainee Deaths in U S Custody in Iraq and Afghanistan TheRule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project Iraqi Special Tribunal Crimes of War Project Rome Treaty of the International Criminal Court Special Court for Sierra Leone Ad Hoc Court for East Timor CBC Digital Archives Fleeing Justice War Criminals in Canada A Criminological Analysis of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq By Ronald C Kramer and Raymond J Michalowski Investigating Human Rights Reaching Out to Diaspora Communities in U S for War Crimes Tips FBI UK s Geneva Conventions Amendment Act 1995 which bans War Crimes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title War crime amp oldid 1134969565, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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