War Criminals

War Criminals

War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war", including but not limited to "murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war", the killing of hostages, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by military necessity".

Similar concepts, such as perfidy, have existed for many centuries as customary law between civilised countries. Many of these customary laws were clarified in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. 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. 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, but are different offenses under international law.

Article 22 of the Hague IV ("Laws of War: Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907") states that "The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited" and over the last century many other treaties have introduced positive laws that place constraints on belligerents (see International treaties on the laws of war). Some of the provisions, such as those in the Hague conventions, are considered to be part of customary international law, and are binding on all.[2] Others are only binding on individuals if the belligerent power to which they belong is a party to the treaty which introduced the constraint.
 
Definition
War crimes includes 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 flag of truce, or using that same flag as a ruse of war to mount an attack. Attacking enemy troops while they are being deployed by way of a parachute is not a war crime. However, Protocol I, Article 42 of the Geneva Conventions explicitly forbids attacking parachutists who eject from damaged airplanes, and surrendering parachutists once landed.[3] War crimes 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.

War crimes are significant in international humanitarian law 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 which is planning, preparing, initiating, or waging a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements, or assurances.

International Criminal Court
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. However, several nations, most notably the United States, China, and Israel, have criticized the court and refuse to participate in it or to permit the court to have jurisdiction over their citizens. Note, however, that a citizen of one of the ‘objector nations’ could still find himself before the Court if he were accused of committing war crimes in a country that was a state party, regardless of the fact that their country of origin was not a signatory.

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

The following acts as part of an international conflict:
– Directing attacks against civilians
– Directing attacks against humanitarian workers or UN peacekeepers
– Killing a surrendered combatant
– Misusing a flag of truce
– Settlement of occupied territory
– Deportation of inhabitants of occupied territory
– Using poison weapons
– Using civilians as shields
– Using child soldiers

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
– Taking hostages
– Summary execution
– Pillage
– Rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution or forced pregnancy