Individuals as subjects of Int'l Law

Case: The Nuremberg Judgment (1946)

Notes: This tribunal was created after WWII and have the power to try and punish
persons who had committed crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against
humanity.

Notes

• How does the tribunal explain where it gets its authority from?
○ Created a charter to create this tribunal
§ Germans consented to this power
○ This is ex-post facto law enforcement (law came up after the fact)
§ Winner of war is making new laws now, and enforcing them
retroactively
§ Kellogg-Briand Pact - signed by nations. Aspirational and not
binding, so why should we hold people to it? Even if binding, binding only
between the states
□ Maybe not tribunal who should be trying the D's, but West
Germany (new gov't)
□ We know that oftentimes countries sign onto agreements, but not
always binding
§ Other sources of law other than treaties. Even though Kellogg-Briand
pact is only aspirational, but the idea of CIL.
□ Pg. 374 - recognized a limitation on who can start wars. Is it
a just war? WWII not.
□ Don’t have to only rely on Kellogg-Briand Pact
§ Kellogg-Briand Pact is between the states, so why being held against
individuals.
□ It's the individuals who start wars. Cant prevent wars if ppl
would have the defense that they did it on behalf of the state, so they are not
individually responsible.
® They cite the Treaty of Versailles and US Supreme Court.
• Pg. 372 crimes that come within jurisdiction of the tribunal where there is
individual responsibility
○ Crimes against peace
○ War crimes
○ Crimes against humanity
§ Enslavement, extermination, etc.
• Hard to hold gov't responsible - b/c what does it mean to hold the regime
responsible, not usually the same gov't, so this is why it makes more sense to
hold individuals responsible.

• This started the whole movement of treating individuals as having

responsibilities