In the first of a two-part series, Simon Parsons charts the development of individual liability for international crimes
- Prior to 1945, there was little evidence that crimes against peace and crimes against humanity had crystallised as international crimes as part of customary international law.
- The Nuremberg trials laid the foundations of modern international criminal law based on individual criminal responsibility.
This article explores the lack of individual liability for international crime up until 1945. It is noted that the Nuremberg war crime trials of leading Nazi officials laid the groundwork for personal international criminal liability for a criminal war, and for the international criminal justice process in which those responsible for such a war are held responsible. It is hoped, one day, this same process may be applied against the major war criminal Vladimir Putin and his subordinates.
International criminal law pre-1945
The evidence for individual criminal liability for international crime in this period is limited. However, the conviction of Peter von Hagenbach in 1474 for war crimes, after he allowed his soldiers to
