Faults in Implementation
Despite the Allies' goal of holding a fair trial, there were some inevitable faults in the establishment of unprecedented liberal principles.
Ex Post Facto
Some of the crimes identified by the IMT hadn't been defined until after they had been committed, making them ex post facto laws that violated existing liberal principles.
"Technically, the indictments they came up with, ‘war crimes’ and ‘crimes against humanity,’ ‘crimes against peace,’ those weren’t crimes at the time. … and so … you could actually be prosecuted for something that wasn’t a crime at the time."
- Associate Professor Sindee Kerker, Lynn University
- Associate Professor Sindee Kerker, Lynn University
The Kellogg-Briand Pact, signed before WWII to renounce war as an instrument of national policy, was not sufficient precedence for the Allies' actions.
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"Although the Kellogg-Briand Pact, had sought to renounce war as an instrument of national policy, neither it nor its predecessors declared the pursuit of aggressive wars — the unprovoked attack by one nation against another — to be illegal under international law." -James Podgers, author of "Remembering Nuremberg"
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While there may have been contention with regard to the unprecedented nature of some of the crimes identified by the IMT, without their official legal definition there would have been no standard on which to try defendants, and accordingly no standard for international criminal justice in the future.
Tu Quoque
Tu Quoque, the principle that an accuser's equal guilt of their own accusation invalidates it, has been argued against the Allies in the case of the "War Crimes" count.
"...the [IMT Charter] did not contain an arbitrary selection of law, ... But, as it stands, it applies only to the enemy."
- Justice Birkett, British alternate judge
- Justice Birkett, British alternate judge
Allied Cities were not the only ones that had been bombed. The Allies, argued the Germans, were just as guilty of committing crimes against Germany, as evidenced by these images of bombed German cities.
Defense of Superior Order
When prosecuting and assigning blame, the Allies refused to pardon individuals for operating under higher orders. While it may have been considered in assigning punishment, the Allies would not acknowledge orders as an excuse for committing crimes.
Click on a defendant's picture to view his quote