1 A Short History of Crimes Against Humanity
This introductory chapter provides a background of crimes against humanity. The first formal acknowledgement of crimes against humanity as a separate category of international crimes can be found in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal. However, the view that there are overarching legal principles, sometimes referred to as the laws of humanity, that regulate the conduct of men above and beyond the laws of individual nations long pre-dated this instrument. During the First World War, references to the laws of humanity became increasingly frequent. The notion was generally used to describe a category of violent actions that disturbed the international order and that could be directly imputed not only to people but also to states. Significant to the development of the law of crimes against humanity was the work of the Inter-Allied Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and Enforcement of Penalties. The chapter then details the drafting of the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal as well as its legacy.