The Development of International Criminal-Law Rules and Some Legal Problems of Bringing to Justice the War Criminals of the Second World War

2019 ◽  
pp. 48-54
Author(s):  
Ruslan Sednev ◽  
Evgeny Shatalov
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Second World War ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
World War ◽  
War Criminals ◽  
Legitimate Interests ◽  
Second World

The authors highlight the problems of qualifying the wrongful acts of Nazi criminals through the lens of modern ideas of crimes and the principles of international law. The study used formal logical and comparative methods, the method of structural analysis. The subjects of analysis are statements, notes, directives, orders and other documents of the USSR, instructions of the German command, as well as some international documents. The authors state that the legislative technique of the documents under consideration was imperfect, but nevertheless they laid the foundation for development of international criminal law. It is indicated that the territorial principle of jurisdiction was in force for the war crimes of the Second World War. The quotations from declassified orders and directives are given, and a conclusion is drawn that it is possible to extend the approach to understanding the subject of international criminal prosecution, up to political and state institutions. Some legal peculiarities of the Nuremberg trial were also considered, concerning, in particular, the extradition of war criminals and the methods of their legal protection. It is noted that despite the significant doubts of German lawyers in the fairness of the trial, the rights and legitimate interests of the accused and suspects were fully respected.

The (Failed) Attempt to Try the Kaiser and the Long (Forgotten) History of International Criminal Law: Thoughts Following The Trial of the Kaiser by William A Schabas

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-186
Author(s):  
Ziv Bohrer
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
First World War ◽  
Second World War ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World ◽  
First World

The conventional historic account maintains that international criminal law (ICL) was ‘born’ after the Second World War. This account is incomplete, as William Schabas's book, The Trial of the Kaiser (2018), captivatingly shows by richly portraying the (aborted) First World War initiative to try the German Kaiser before an international tribunal. However, this article (after providing an overview of Schabas's book) argues that Schabas's account of a First World War ICL ‘birth’ is also incomplete. ICL during the First World War era was but one link in a much longer historical chain. The essay demonstrates this fact by presenting certain elements of the long (forgotten) history of ICL, which provide answers to questions that have been left unanswered, not only by the conventional account (of a Second World War ICL ‘birth’) but also by Schabas's account (of a First World War ICL ‘birth’). As the article discusses, the unveiling of a greater ICL history indicates that international criminal tribunals are not a modern innovation, and reveals the origins of ‘crimes against humanity’, of ‘aggression’ and of the universal jurisdiction doctrine. The essay further discusses reasons for the non-remembrance of the long history of ICL, the importance of acknowledging that history, and the likelihood of it becoming widely acknowledged in the near future.

scholarly journals Is There any Blood on my Hands? Deportation as a Crime of International Law

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 917-943
Author(s):  
VINCENT CHETAIL
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Crime ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
Nuremberg Trials ◽  
Second World

AbstractThe present article revisits international criminal law as a tool for sanctioning the most patent abuses against migrants. Although deportation is traditionally considered as an attribute of the state inherent to its territorial sovereignty, this prerogative may degenerate into an international crime. The prohibition of deportation has been a well-established feature of international criminal law since the Nuremberg trials following the Second World War. This prohibition has been further refined over the past 15 years by an extensive jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court.Against such a background, this article demonstrates that, in some circumstances, deportation may amount to a war crime, a crime against humanity or even a crime of genocide, depending on the factual elements of the case and the specific requirements of the relevant crime. This article accordingly reviews the constitutive elements of each crime and transposes them into the context of migration control. It highlights in turn that, although its potential has been neglected by scholars and practitioners, international criminal law has an important role to play for domesticating the state's prerogative of deportation and infusing the rule of law into the field of migration. The article concludes that there are reasonable grounds for asserting that a crime against humanity would have been committed in the Dominican Republic and Australia with regard to their deportation policy.

scholarly journals Dekret Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej o odpowiedzialności karnej za zbrodnie wojenne z dnia 30 marca 1943 roku

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-123
Author(s):  
Dominika Uczkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Second World War ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
Retroactive Effect ◽  
War Criminals ◽  
Polish Government ◽  
Second World

On 30 March 1943 the Decree of the President of the Polish Republic on Criminal Liability for War Crimes, the first normative act setting down the legal basis for persecution of war criminals issued by one of the Allies during the Second World War, was proclaimed. The promulgation of the decree can be considered as the turning point in the Polish government-in-exile’s policy towards the problem of the prosecution and punishment of Nazi criminals, which started in autumn 1939. After the announcement of the draft decree, developed by the Polish minister of justice, professor of state law, Wacław Komarnicki and by an international lawyer, professor of criminal law, Stefan Glaser in the spring of 1942, a fierce discussion on the legal act’s concept broke out in the Polish government and lasted until November 1942. Although all Polish politicians agreed on the need to define the principles of individual criminal liability for war crimes, the proposal to promulgate criminal legislation with retroactive effect aroused much controversy. However, as the course of these debates shows, the critical point was not the mere fact of violating the lex retro non agit principle. The scepticism of some Polish politicians towards this idea resulted from purely pragmatic reasons and was caused by lack of support from the American and British governments for the proposal to define legal frames for the future trials of war criminals this attitude changed only in spring 1945. This article presents the genesis and provisions of the Decree of the President of the Polish Republic on Criminal Liability for War Crimes of 30 March 1943 in the context of international debates on international criminal law and individual liability for war crimes. It argues that the legislative works on the decree and its proclamation in March 1943 mark an important point in the process of shaping the concept of prosecution and punishment of war criminals during the Second World War.

scholarly journals As Condições para uma Paz Duradoura. Uma Leitura de "A Paz pelo Direito", de Hans Kelsen

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnaldo Bastos Santos Neto ◽  
Ricardo Martins Spindola Diniz
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
World War ◽  
War Criminals ◽  
Lasting Peace ◽  
Hans Kelsen ◽  
Second World

AS CONDIÇÕES PARA UMA PAZ DURADOURA. UMA LEITURA DE "A PAZ PELO DIREITO", DE HANS KELSEN CONDITIONS FOR A LASTING PEACE. A READING OF HANS KELSEN’S “PEACE THROUGH LAW”                                                            Arnaldo Bastos Santos NetoRicardo Martins Spindola DinizRESUMO: O pensador central da Escola Vienense de Direito, Hans Kelsen, dedicou-se ao exame de questões fundamentais do Direito Internacional, especialmente, após a eclosão da Segunda Guerra Mundial. Entre os seus textos mais interessantes da nova fase internacionalista, destaca-se "A paz pelo Direito", cujas teses mais importantes, como a defesa de um Tribunal Penal Internacional, a punição dos criminosos de guerra tanto dos lados vencidos como dos vencedores e ainda o papel propugnado por ele para os princípios do Direito Internacional, analisamos no presente artigo. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Tribunal Penal Internacional; Crimes de Guerra; Teoria Pura do Direito.  ABSTRACT: The central thinker of the Viennese School of Law, Hans Kelsen, devoted himself to the examination of the fundamental questions of International Law, especially after the break of the Second World War. Among his most interesting texts of this new internationalist phase, "Peace through Law" stands out, whose most important thesis, such as the defense of an International Criminal Court, the punishment of war criminals both for losers and winners, and also the role advocated by him to the principles of International Law, are analyzed in this article.KEYWORDS: International Criminal Court; War Crimes; Pure Theory of Law.SUMÁRIO: Introdução 1. O pacifismo jurídico kelseniano. 2. Além da soberania dos estados nacionais. 3. Por um tribunal penal internacional. 4. A questão da soberania. 5. O papel dos princípios. Considerações finais. Referências.

15. International criminal law

2021 ◽  
pp. 296-316
Author(s):  
Anders Henriksen
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Recent Addition ◽  
Second World

This chapter looks at the purposes and principles of international criminal law. International criminal law seeks to ensure that perpetrators of certain heinous acts are criminally liable for their acts, either before national or international criminal courts or tribunals. It is a fairly recent addition to international law and it was not until after the end of the Second World War that it became accepted that international law authorizes the criminal prosecution of individual perpetrators of serious offences. The chapter begins by discussing the most important sources of international criminal law. It then examines the prosecution of international crimes before international criminal courts, including the conditions for prosecuting suspected international criminals before the International Criminal Court. It also discusses the national prosecution of international crimes and the obligation found in a number of conventions to criminalize and prosecute certain conduct.

15. International criminal law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Henriksen
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Recent Addition ◽  
Second World

This chapter looks at the purposes and principles of international criminal law. International criminal law seeks to ensure that perpetrators of certain heinous acts are criminally liable for their act, either before national or international criminal courts or tribunals. It is a fairly recent addition to international law and it was not until after the end of the Second World War that it became accepted that international law authorizes the criminal prosecution of individual perpetrators of serious offences. The chapter begins by discussing the most important sources of international criminal law. It then examines the prosecution of international crimes before international criminal courts, including the conditions for prosecuting suspected international criminals before the International Criminal Court. It also discusses the national prosecution of international crimes and the obligation found in a number of conventions to criminalize and prosecute certain conduct.

Genocidal Intent Before the Icty

2003 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 447-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Tournaye
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
Second World War ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Genocide Convention ◽  
Legal Interpretation ◽  
World War ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
Second World

Several crimes recognized in international criminal law are intimately linked to the horrors of the holocaust. Persecution, extermination, and genocide are historically intertwined notions that in all minds refer to the ordeal of the Jewish people before and during the Second World War. This is particularly so with genocide. The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the ‘Genocide Convention’) is a legal answer to the holocaust. Yet, as any legal notion, genocide goes beyond the characterisation of a specific historical tragedy. It is fated to evolve through legal interpretation, which operates pursuant to certain rules and principles that only subsidiarily rely on the drafting history.

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