We live in a world at war.
More than 30 conflicts, both national and international, currently plague the current landscape. War is intrinsic to human beings: from the Punic Wars, through the Crusades in the Middle Ages, to current wars such as the afghanistan war.
But what happens when the war ends?
Like wars, society has evolved.
As the years have progressed, enemies have been treated differently, until reaching war courts.
It was with the Second World War when the foundations for them were laid. We talk about the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials.
Nuremberg and Tokyo trials
In the Nuremberg trials, they were judged by the allies who won in World War II to the senior officials of Adolf Hitler's National Socialist regime.
They started the November 20, 1945 and ended on October 1, 1946.
Directed by the International Military Court, composed of a titular judge of each of the winning countries, in addition to their respective substitute, and 24 main leaders of the National Socialist government who were captured during the war.
They were judged crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the atrocities committed.
Amongst the 24 accused included senior officials such as Hermann Göring (commander of the Luftwaffe and president of the Reichstag) or Alfred Rosenberg (ideologist of racism and minister of the occupied territories), and the sentences ranged from the death penalty to acquittal, although some committed suicide (such as Robert Ley, Head of the German Labor Front).
International Military Criminal Tribunal for the Far East
In parallel with Nuremberg, the International Military Criminal Tribunal for the Far East to judge the American occupation of Japan; composed of the United States, the USSR, Great Britain, France, Holland, China, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India and the Philippines.
He started the August 3, 1946 in Tokyo and ended on November 12, 1948.
In this court the charges brought were crimes against peace and war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and war plot.
He was executed 25 senior officials, including Hideki Tojo (prime minister) or Sadao Araki (Minister of War), whose sentences ranged from 7 years in prison to the death penalty.
The legacy of these International Courts lays the foundations of the International Criminal Court, established in 1998 through the Rome Statute and which served for the war courts that we will now comment on.
Su headquarters is in the hague (Netherlands) and learn about the crimes included in article 5 of the Rome Statute (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or crime of aggression).
We find the following cases:
Rwanda
In 1994, in Rwanda, the Hutu people, mercilessly attacked the Tutsi people with genocidal intent.
La cruelty of this crime It lies in the fact that with the use of a weapon as “basic” as the machetes The number of victims was reached 300.000 people in just three months.
The court was created on November 8, 1994 by the Security Council.
Its headquarters were Arusha (Tanzania) and the Prosecutor's Office was located in Kigali (Rwanda).
La Commission of independent experts concluded that There was evidence that the “Hutus” had perpetrated acts of genocide for the destruction of the “Tutsi” group".
This case was particular, because despite being a internal conflict, the situation had important international implications.
Court Statute
The Statute of the Tribunal for Rwanda is essentially the same as that of Yugoslavia, as we will see below, and is competent to judge the genocide and crimes against humanity.
Now, it refers to the violations of common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II, since both contemplate internal armed conflicts.
Its jurisdiction applies to acts committed between January 1 and December 31, 1994, both in Rwanda and its neighboring countries.
The Court was formed by 16 judges appointed by the United Nations General Assembly, and the president and vice president were the Norwegian Erik Møse and the Cameroonian Florence Rita Arrey, respectively.
In the middle of year 2000 , the number of those convicted amounted to around fifty.
The sentences were increased to life sentences, as was the case of Akayesu, mayor of the Rwandan city of Taba, who is serving a sentence in a prison in Mali.
Yugoslavia
In the 90s, in ancient Yugoslavia, a growing feeling of “paranoid” nationalism ended in one of the dirtiest wars of the 20th century, in which everything from symbols to religion were attacked.
This court is based in The Hague (Holland), and the May 25, 1993 by the United Nations Security Council to prosecute those allegedly responsible for serious crimes committed in the territory of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from January 1, 1991 and the date that the Security Council determined once peace was restored: the 31th December 2017.
Se They try four types of crimes: serious violations of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, violation of the laws or customs of war, genocide and crimes against humanity or against humanity.
The maximum penalty imposed is imprisonment.
This court was made up of 16 judges appointed by the United Nations General Assembly, renewed every 4 years, and may be re-elected.
The president between 2001 and 2007 was the American Theodor Meron.
These types of courts are the evolution that we find in our societies.
after the wars Those who committed atrocities under the protection of the “vacuum of legality” do not go unpunished. (given in war conflicts by which commanders order their soldiers).
Usually, the atrocities of wars end up being judged, in which there are cases that the ethical codes of war that have been given in the various declarations, sentences, treaties and agreements during the last century are not respected.
Criminologist with a mention in crime and international security and jurist with special interest in the world of compliance, law and mediation. I am a musician, debater, runner, music lover, movie buff and reader in my free time. See you in Córdoba.
