These are documents and literature produced by the UNWCC itself, discussing its work and activities. Distinct from the until-recently sealed archives of the UNWCC’s own work, these were not kept classified in UN archives. That these documents should be widely used by legal scholars, human rights activists, and even peace campaigners, was always an intention of the UNWCC’s staff, as the following statement from Lord Wright, the Commission’s chairman, relates:
“One main purpose of this great campaign which I have outlined of justice in war, for the protection of human rights in war conditions, or at least some human rights, was to provide a body of legal doctrines, elaborated in many ramifications of fact, which would enlighten future generations and perhaps help to avert war in future, or if that is impossible, limit its atrociousness.”
Lord Wright, 1948
This has taken place to some extent – the Commission’s Law Reports of its cases formed a key component of the ICTY’s work, for example – but other documents, such as the UNWCC’s own history, or the contents of its conferences, have gone underused. This page aims to gather the UNWCC’s own documentation about itself.
HISTORY OF THE UNITED NATIONS WAR CRIMES COMMISSION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAWS OF WAR
In March 1948 – the same month the Commission was closed down – the UNWCC produced a comprehensive history of its activities and the legal developments in the field of war crimes that led up to its foundation. Pdf files for the individual files can be found below.
History of the UNWCC
File | Contents |
---|---|
[PDF] | Full UNWCC history |
[PDF] | Contents |
[PDF] | Chapter I: Introduction |
[PDF] | Chapter II: Outline of the developments of the laws of war prior to the First World War |
[PDF] | Chapter III: Developments of the laws of war during the First World War |
[PDF] | Chapter IV: Developments in the laws of war between the two World Wars |
[PDF] | Chapter V: Various developments in the concept of war crimes during the Second World War 1939 - 1943 |
[PDF] | Chapter VI: The establishment and organisation of the United Nations War Crimes Commission |
[PDF] | Chapter VII: General historical survey of the activities of the Commission |
[PDF] | Chapter VIII: Activities on questions of substantive law |
[PDF 1, PDF 2] | Chapter IX: Developments in the concepts of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes against peace |
[PDF] | Chapter X: Developments in the doctrines of individual responsibility of members of governments and administrators, of acts of state, of immunity of heads of state, and of superior orders |
[PDF 1, PDF 2] | Chapter XI: Development of the law respecting criminal groups and organisations |
[PDF 1, PDF 2] | Chapter XII: Machinery for the tracing and apprehension of war criminals |
[PDF] | Chapter XIII: Arrangements for the surrender of war criminals |
[PDF] | Chapter XIV: Developments in the concept and procedure of trying war criminals |
[PDF] | Chapter XV: Committee I - the examinations of cases and the listing of war criminals |
[PDF] | Appendix I: Personnel of the United Nations War Crimes Commission |
Appendix II: War Crimes Conference held by the United Nations War Crimes Commission in Conjunction with the National War Crimes Offices, 31st May, 1st and 2nd June, 1945 | |
[PDF] | Appendix III: Statistical report of cases listed by Committee I |
[PDF] | Appendix IV: Statistical of war crimes criminals |
[PDF] | Appendix V: Some noteworthy war criminals |
[PDF] | Appendix VI: War crimes under international law (reprint of an article by Lord Wright) |
[PDF] | Appendix VII: Bibliography of legal literature on war crimes and belligerent occupation in the Second World War |
[PDF] | Index |
LAW REPORTS OF TRIALS OF WAR CRIMINALS
These fifteen volumes of cases represent some of the more high-profile cases handled by the UNWCC, and deal with a wide range of important cases. Unlike the vast majority of the UNWCC’s caseload, these cases have widely disseminated and well-known throughout the international legal community, and have provided significant legal precedents for a significant number of subsequent cases.
Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals
Linked file | Case | Case summary | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Volume 1 | Peleus Trial | Killing of survivors of sunken ship by German submarine. | British military court, Hamburg |
Dostler Case | German general accused of ordering shooting of unarmed POWs. | US military commission, Rome | |
Almelo Trial | Killing without trial of POWs and civilians of an occupied country by German military personnel. | British military court, Almelo, Netherlands | |
Hadamar Trial | German civilians charged with killing foreign nationals by means of injections. | US military commission, Wiesbaden | |
Scuttled U-boats Case | Scuttling of U-boats in contravention of Instrument of Surrender. | British military court, Hamburg | |
Jaluit Atoll Case | Shooting of unarmed POWs by Japanese military personnel. | US military commission, Marshall Islands | |
Dreierwalde Case | Shooting of unarmed POWs by German military personnel. | British military court, Wuppertal, Germany | |
Essen Lynching Case | Killing of unarmed POWs by German civilians. Incitement by military authorities. | British military court, Essen, Germany | |
Zyklon-B Case | Complicity of German industrialists in murder of civilians by poison gas. | British military court, Hamburg | |
Annex I | British law concerning trials of war criminals by military courts. | - | |
Annex II | United States law and practice concerning trials of war criminals by military commissions, military government courts, and military tribunals | - | |
Volume 2 | Belsen Trial | Killing and ill-treatment of Allied military personnel and civilians in Belsen and Auschwitz concentration camps. | British military court, Luneburg |
Volume 3 | Trial of Klinge | Torturing and ill-treatment of civilians by German security personnel. | Norwegian civilian court |
Trial of Bruns and two others | Torture of civilians by German security personnel. | Norwegian civilian court | |
Trial of Wagner and six others | Crimes during the administration of occupied Alsace by Germany. | French military tribunal, Strasbourg | |
Trial of Thiele and Steinert | Ordering and carrying out the killing of unarmed POWs by German military personnel. | US military commission, Augsburg | |
Trial of Back | Murder of downed US airman by German civilian. | US military commission, Ahrweiler, Germany | |
Trial of Bury and Hafner | Murder of downed US airman by German police. | US military commission, Freising, Germany | |
Trials of Schosser, Goldbrunner and Wilm | Murder of downed US airman by German police. | US military commission, Dachau | |
Trial of Killinger and four others | Ill-treatment of POWs by in interrogation by German military personnel. | British military court, Wuppertal | |
Trial of Chusaboru | Murder of civilian by Japanese soldier. | British military court, Kuala Lumpur | |
Annex I | Norwegian law concerning trials of war criminals | - | |
Annex II | French law concerning trials of war criminals by military tribunals and by military government courts in the French zone of Germany | - | |
Annex III | United States law and practice concerning trials of war criminals by military commissions, military government courts, and military tribunals | - | |
Volume 4 | Trial of Yamashita | Responsibility of senior Japanese commander for offences committed by troops under his command. | US military commission, Manila; US Supreme Court |
Abbaye Ardenne Case. Trial of Meyer | Responsibility of German commander for inciting his troops to refuse quarter and kill POWs. | Canadian military court, Aurich, Germany | |
Trial of Rauer and six others | Killing of allied POWs by German military personnel. | British military court, Wuppertal | |
Trial of Student | Ill-treatment and killing of British POWs by German military personnel and the bombing of a hospital during the attack on Crete. | British military court, Luneburg | |
Annex I | Canadian law concerning trials of war criminals by military courts | ||
Volume 5 | Trial of Sawada and three others | Trial and killing of captured US airmen by Japanese military personnel. | US military commission, Shanghai |
Trial of Ohashi and six others | Killing of civilians by Japanese military personnel. | Australian military court, Rabaul | |
Trial of Shinohara and two others | Failure to provide a fair trial for civilians in occupied territory. | Australian military court, Rabaul | |
Trial of Kato | Murder of civilians by Japanese officer. | Australian military court, Rabaul | |
Trial of Buck and ten others | Murder of Allied POWs by German military personnel. | British military court, Wuppertal | |
Trial of Golkel and thirteen others. | Killing of Allied POWs by German military personnel. | British military court, Wuppertal | |
Trial of Rohde and eight others | Killing of four Allied female military personnel who had operated in plain clothes. | British military court, Wuppertal | |
Trial of Isayama and seven others | False trial and execution of POWs by Japanese military personnel. | US military commission, Shanghai | |
Trial of Hisakasu | False trial and execution of POW by Japanese military personnel. | US military commission, Shanghai | |
Trial of Hans | Execution of Norwegian civilians with or without trial. | Norwegian civilian courts | |
Annex I | Australian law concerning trials of war criminals by military courts | - | |
Volume 6 | Trial of Alstotter and others | Membership of criminal organisations and liability for war crimes and crimes against humanity whilst members of the German judicial system. | US military tribunal, Nuremburg |
Trial of Flesch | Murder and execution of Norwegian civilians and allied POWs. | Norwegian civilian courts | |
Volume 7 | Trial of Goeth | Membership of a criminal organisation, liquidation operations and genocide by a German military officer. | Supreme National Tribunal of Poland |
Trial of Hoess (Commandant of Auschwitz) | Membership of a criminal organisation, extermination and genocide by German officer. | Supreme National Tribunal of Poland | |
Trial of Milch | Forced labour and illegal experiments on POWs, civilians from occupied territories and German civilians by senior German officer. | US military tribunal, Nuremburg | |
Trial of Becker, Weber and 18 others | Unlawful arrests and ill-treatment by German customs officers in occupied France. | French permanent military tribunal, Lyon | |
Trial of Lex | Denouncing French civilians to the occupying authorities by German civilian and looting their property. | French Permanent Military Tribunal, Nancy | |
Trial of Gericke and seven others (Velpke Childrens Home Case) | Killing by wilful neglect of the children of Polished force labourers by German civilians. | British military court, Brunswick | |
Annex I | Polish law concerning trials of war criminals | - | |
Volume 8 | Trial of Von Mackensen and Maelzer | Killing as a reprisal of Italian civilians by German military personnel. | British military court, Rome |
Trial of Kesselring | Command responsibility in killing as reprisal of Italian civilians. | British military court, Venice | |
Trial of Bauer, Schrameck and Falten | Responsibility of German military personnel in the killing of three French partisans taken as POWs. | French Permanent Military Tribunal, Dijon | |
Trial of Holstein and twenty three others | Responsibility of German military personnel for reprisal operations involving the killing of French civilians and destruction of property. | French Permanent Military Tribunal, Dijon | |
Trial of List and others (Hostages Trial) | Command responsibility for reprisal actions including the taking of hostages, the killing of civilians and the destruction of property. | US military tribunal, Nuremburg | |
Volume 9 | Trial of Flick and five others | Responsibility of leading German industrialists for the use of slave labour and POWs, the spoliation of industrial capacity in occupied territories and funding a criminal organisation (the SS). | US military tribunal, Nuremburg |
Trial of Szabados | Killing of hostages, destruction of property and pillage by German military NCO. | French Permanent Military Tribunal, Clermont Ferrand | |
Trial of Alois and Anna Bommer and their two daughters | Theft and receiving stolen goods from pillage by German civilians. | French Permanent Military Tribunal, Metz | |
Trial of Lingenfelder | Destruction of French war memorial by German citizen. | French Permanent Military Tribunal, Metz | |
Trial of Baus | Theft of property from French civilians by German civilian. | French Permanent Military Tribunal, Metz | |
Trial of Rust | Illegal and abusive requisitioning of French civilian property by German military officer. | French Permanent Military Tribunal, Metz | |
Trial of Moehle | Command responsibility of senior German naval officer for orders to U-boat crews to not rescue survivors and to destroy shipping. | British military court, Hamburg | |
Trial of Von Ruchteschell | Continuing to fire on surrendered ships, killing and abandonment of crews from destroyed shipping. | British military court, Hamburg | |
Trial of Skorzeny and others | Misuse of American uniforms and equipment by German military personnel in combat. | General Military Government Court of the US Zone of Germany | |
Volume 10 | IG Farben Trial. Trial of Krauch and others | Responsibility of leading German industrialists for encouraging and supporting aggressive war, the use of forced labour and POWs, the production of gases for extermination and the membership of illegal organisations. | US military tribunal, Nuremburg |
Krupp Trial | Responsibility of leading German industrialists for encouraging and supporting aggressive war, the use of forced labour and POWs, the production of gases for extermination and plunder and spoliation. | US military tribunal, Nuremburg | |
Volume 11 | Trial of Koshiro | Use of Allied POWs for prohibited war-related labour by Japanese officer. | Netherlands special court martial, Macassar |
Dachau Concentration Camp Trial. Trial of Weiss and thirty nine others | Ill-treatment, murder and extermination of allied POWs and civilians from occupied territories and Germany by German military and civilian personnel. | General Military Government Court of the United States Zone, Dachau | |
Trial of Von Falkenhorst | Command responsibility of senior German officer for the killing of Allied POWs on the basis of the Commando order. | British military court, Brunswick | |
Stalag Luft III Case. Trial of Wielen and seventeen others. | Killing of escaped POWs by German military personnel. | British military court, Hamburg | |
Trial of Maelzer | Responsibility of senior German officer for exposing Allied POWs to public abuse and violence. | US military commission, Florence | |
Trial of Masao | Command responsibility of senior Japanese officer for ill-treatment and brutality towards Allied POWs. | Australian military court, Rabaul | |
Trial of Chuichi and two others | Ill-treatment of Allied POWs by Japanese military personnel. | Australian military court, Rabaul | |
Trial of Schonfeld and nine others | Killing of Allied POWs by German military personnel. | British military court, Essen | |
Trial of Oenning and Nix | Killing of British POW by German civilians. | British military court, Borken, Germany | |
Trial of Renoth and three others | Brutality and murder of POW by German police and customs officials. | British military court, Elten, Germany | |
Trial of Heering | Ill-treatment of POWs by German soldier. | British military court, Hanover | |
Trial of Mackensen | Ill-treatment of POWs by German officer. | British military court, Hanover | |
Trial of Schoengrath and six others | Killing of downed airman by German military personnel. | British military court, Burgsteinfurt, Germany | |
Annex I | Netherland law concerning Trials of War Criminals | - | |
Volume 12 | German High Command Trial. Trial of Von Leeb and thirteen others | Command responsibility of senior German officers for the issuing of orders and directives that led to war crimes and crimes against humanity. | US military tribunal, Nuremburg |
Volume 13 | Trial of Greifelt and others | Criminal responsibility for racial persecution and genocide by German military personnel along with membership of criminal organisations. | US military tribunal, Nuremburg |
Trial of Greiser | Responsibility of a German administrator for membership of a criminal organisation, crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity including the murder of POWs and the extermination of racial groups. | Supreme National Tribunal of Poland | |
Trial of Wagner | Killing and ill treatment of civilians used as slave labour by German civilian. | General Military Government Tribunal of the French Zone of Occupation in Germany | |
Trial of Awochi | Enforced prostitution by Japanese civilian. | Netherlands temporary court martial, Batavia | |
Trial of Motosuke | Murder of Indonesian civilians by Japanese officer. | Netherlands temporary court martial, Amboina | |
Trial of Gerbsch | Ill-treatment of civilians in internment camp by German soldier. | Special Court in Amsterdam, First Chamber | |
Trial of Motomura and fifteen others | Membership of a criminal group involved in ill-treatment and torture of civilians by Japanese military personnel. | Netherlands temporary court martial, Macassar | |
Trial of Hagendorf | Improper use of Red Cross insignia by German soldier. | US Intermediate Military Government Court, Dachau | |
Trial of Weiss and Mundo | Murder of an Allied airman by German police. | US General Military Government Court, Ludwigsburg | |
Trial of Schmidt | Mutilation of dead POW by German medical personnel. | US General Military Government Court, Dachau | |
Volume 14 | Trial of Sakai | Command responsibility of senior Japanese officer for crimes against peace and war crimes In China from 1937. | Chinese War Crimes Military Tribunal of the Ministry of National Defence, Nanking |
Trial of Eisentrager and others | German personnel accused of supporting Japanese war effort despite terms of surrender. | US military commission, Shanghai | |
Trial of Buhler | Responsibility of German administrator of occupied Poland for War crimes and crimes against humanity. | Supreme National Tribunal of Poland | |
Trial of Latza and two others | German judges accused of refusing a fair trail leading to the killing of Norwegian civilians. | Norwegian civilian courts | |
Trial of Hangobl | Killing of downed airman by Austrian soldier. | General Military Court, Dachau | |
Trial of Rauter | Persecution of Jews, deportations for slave labour, collective penalties and killing of civilians by senior German SS leader. | Netherlands special courts | |
Trial of Zuehlke | Ill-treatment and illegal detention of civilians by German soldier. | Netherlands special courts | |
Annex I | Chinese law concerning trials of war criminals | - | |
Volume 15 | Digest of Laws and Cases | Includes extensive legal discussion on the background to and nature of international law on war crimes, and the mission of the UNWCC. | - |
Annex I | Certain jurisdictional provisions relating to Belgian, Czechoslovak and Yugoslav courts empowered to try war criminals | - | |
Annex II | Index of cases reported or cited in these volumes | - |
INFORMATION CONCERNING HUMAN RIGHTS ARISING FROM TRIALS OF WAR CRIMINALS
Even as political stresses were undermining the success of the UNWCC, it was also planning for the future. The newly-emerged Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) requested a report on the implications of postwar international criminal justice for the burgeoning field of human rights. The UNWCC responded with a report detailing the human rights issues raised by the prosecutions of war criminals – both the implications of the trials themselves (what were the standards for a fair trial, what laws were applicable in this context, and other questions that would be the foundations for international criminal justice in years to come), and for human rights more broadly (what kinds of atrocity would need to be covered under international law, and what kinds of crimes human rights would need to protect against).
The report can be found here.
MINUTES OF THE NATIONAL OFFICES’ CONFERENCE
In May 1945 – towards the end of the war – representatives of all sixteen national offices that worked with the Commission met to discuss the project of coordinating and giving impetus to the unprecedented set of war crimes trials planned. As well as being an overview of the Commission’s own plans and approaches at a critical point, it also illustrates some of the roles that individual states played and their relationships – including the major role of India in developing this early important period of international law.
The Minutes of the NOC can be found here.