The Nuremberg Principles

The Nuremberg Principles

By The International Law Commission
Thursday, April 26, 2018

The Nuremberg Principles were a set of guidelines for determining
what constitutes a war crime.

The document was created by the International Law Commission
of the United Nations to codify the legal principles underlying the
Nuremberg Trials of Nazi party members following World War II.

Principle I

"Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under
international law is responsible therefore and liable to
punishment."

Principle II

"The fact that internal law does not impose a penalty for an act
which constitutes a crime under international law does not relieve
the person who committed the act from responsibility under
international law."

Principle III

"The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes
a crime under international law, acted as Head of State or
responsible government official, does not relieve him from
responsibility under international law."

Principle IV

Main article: Superior orders

"The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government
or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under
international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible
to him".

This principle could be paraphrased as follows:

"It is not an acceptable excuse to say 'I was just following
my superior's orders'".

Previous to the time of the Nuremberg Trials, this excuse
was known in common parlance as "Superior Orders".

After the prominent, high-profile event of the Nuremberg Trials,
that excuse is now referred to by many as the "Nuremberg
Defense".

In recent times, a third term, "lawful orders" has become common
parlance for some people.

All three terms are in use today, and they all have slightly different
nuances of meaning, depending on the context in which they are
used.

Nuremberg Principle IV is legally supported by the jurisprudence
found in certain articles in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights which deal indirectly with conscientious objection.

It is also supported by the principles found in paragraph 171 of
the Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee
Status which was issued by the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Those principles deal with the conditions under which conscientious
objectors can apply for refugee status in another country if they
face persecution in their own country for refusing to participate in
an illegal war.

Principle V

"Any person charged with a crime under international law has
the right to a fair trial on the facts and law."

Principle VI

"The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under
international law:

(a) Crimes against peace:

(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression
or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or
assurances;

(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the
accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).

(b) War crimes:

Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but are not
limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labor or
for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied
territory; murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on
the Seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property,
wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not
justified by military necessity.

(c) Crimes against humanity:

Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other
inhumane acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions
on political, racial, or religious grounds, when such acts are done
or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection
with any crime against peace or any war crime."

Principle VII

"Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war
crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI
is a crime under international law."