Von Nürnberg nach Den Haag From Nuremberg to The Hague
  • Nuremberg was little more than a beginning

    Nuremberg was little more than a beginning. Its progress was paralyzed by cold-war antagonisms.

    Nuremberg was little more than a beginning

    Nuremberg was little more than a beginning. Its progress was paralyzed by cold-war antagonisms.

  • A historic milestone – The Nuremberg Trial 1945–1946

    Robert H. Jackson, US Chief Prosecutor in his opening statement in Nuremberg on 21 November 1945: “…that four great nations…

    A historic milestone – The Nuremberg Trial 1945–1946

    Robert H. Jackson, US Chief Prosecutor in his opening statement in Nuremberg on 21 November 1945: “…that four great nations flushed with victory and stung with injury stay the hand of vengeance and voluntarily submit their captive enemies to the judgment of the law is one of the most significant tributes that power has ever paid to reason.”   The Road to the Nuremberg Trial Early in 1942, nine governments-in-exile of states occupied by Nazi Germany’s armies were the first…

  • The Nuremberg Principles – Blueprint for a new international criminal law

    Robert H. Jackson, US Chief Prosecutor in his opening statement in Nuremberg on 21 November 1945: “…we must never forget…

    The Nuremberg Principles – Blueprint for a new international criminal law

    Robert H. Jackson, US Chief Prosecutor in his opening statement in Nuremberg on 21 November 1945: “…we must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants today is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow. To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is to put it to our own lips as well.”   The Nuremberg Principles After the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, many years passed without any further international proceedings being instituted against war criminals…

  • The cry for justice

    Civil society carries the flame With the outbreak of the Cold War, it became clear that an agreement on outlawing…

    The cry for justice

    Civil society carries the flame With the outbreak of the Cold War, it became clear that an agreement on outlawing core international crimes was not going to be reached in the near future. But war crimes, mass murder and other serious human rights violations continued to be committed. Between the end of World War II and the close of the 20th century, war, civil strife and political mass murder has claimed the lives of around 50 million people. It was above…

  • Prominent Truth Commissions

    Latin America 1982 Bolivia · Comisión Nacional de Investigación de Desaparecidos (National Commission of Inquiry into Disappearances): Established on 28…

    Prominent Truth Commissions

    Latin America 1982 Bolivia · Comisión Nacional de Investigación de Desaparecidos (National Commission of Inquiry into Disappearances): Established on 28 October 1982 by President Hernan Siles Suazo, to investigate the disappearance of citizens during 1967–1982. The commission documented 155 cases of disappearances. It disbanded three years after its creation without issuing a final report. 1983 Argentina · Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas, CONADEP (National Commission on the Disappeared – “Nunca Más” Report): Created by President Raul Alfonsin on…

  • The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

    The wars in the former Yugoslavia Efforts to obtain independence were intensified by various national groups in Yugoslavia from 1988…

    The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

    The wars in the former Yugoslavia Efforts to obtain independence were intensified by various national groups in Yugoslavia from 1988 onwards and in 1990/91 some of the former constituent Republics went so far as to declare their independence. The central government in Belgrade, which was dominated by Greater Serbian nationalists, sent in the army in an attempt to preserve the state‘s unity. The subsequent conflict between the federal forces and the newly created Croatian army became a full-fledged civil war,…

  • The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

    The genocide in Rwanda 1994 The historic conflicts between the Tutsi and Hutu had been aggravated during Colonial times and…

    The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

    The genocide in Rwanda 1994 The historic conflicts between the Tutsi and Hutu had been aggravated during Colonial times and had already erupted into violence several times since Independence in 1962. Then, too, it had come to mass murder and displacement. In the early 1990s, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), composed primarily of ethnic Tutsis, was formed in Ugandan exile. The RPF’s aim was to enable refugees to return and to assume control of the Government in Kigali. The RPF’s…

  • Internationalized Courts – Prospects and Challenges

    Timor Leste The work of the Special Panels for Serious Crimes in the District Court of Dili, established by a…

    Internationalized Courts – Prospects and Challenges

    Timor Leste The work of the Special Panels for Serious Crimes in the District Court of Dili, established by a 1999 UN Security Council Resolution, was completed in 2005. Kosovo After the de-facto separation of Kosovo from Serbia in 1999, as a consequence of NATO bombings, the UN Security Council established, by Resolution 1244, a UN administration for Kosovo. In 2000 this entity created “Regulation 64” Panels in the Courts of Kosovo, mixed chambers at the local courts, consisting of…

  • Universal jurisdiction for core international crimes

    Crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes may in principle be tried by the normal criminal courts of any country…

    Universal jurisdiction for core international crimes

    Crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes may in principle be tried by the normal criminal courts of any country under the principle of universal jurisdiction. This principle has long been part of international law. When prosecuting on this basis, the courts of one country act in the general interest of all (law-abiding) states. Some countries‘ legal systems make it relatively easy to bring such prosecutions; others make it difficult unless their own nationals are involved. The Pinochet case Universal…