The label "victor's justice" (in German, Siegerjustiz) is applied by advocates to a situation in which they believe that a victorious nation is applying different rules to judge what is right or wrong for their own forces and for those of the (former) enemy. Advocates generally charge that the difference in rules amounts to hypocrisy and leads to injustice. Targets of the label may consider it derogatory. Hypocrisy is the act of condemning another person, where the stated basis for the criticism is the breach of a rule which also applies to the critic and of which the critic is in breach to a similar or greater extent. ...

Closely related is "Vae Victis behaviour", where victor unilaterally changes the agreed treaties or their interpretations and is seen as a form of victor's justice. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Why should victors be just?

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The concept that a victor should be just appears to be a recent idea, possibly being part of the just war doctrine. In previous times, victors did as they liked with their defeated enemies, killing, torturing, mutilating and enslaving their populations. This was accepted as the way the world was. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Just war is a specific concept of how warfare might be justified, typically in accordance with a particular situation, or scenario, and expanded or supported by reference to doctrine, tradition, or historical commentary. ...

For example, Viriathus was assassinated by traitors on Roman orders. When the traitors tried to get their pay, a Roman general ordered their execution allegedly saying: "Rome does not pay traitors". Statue of Viriathus, at Viseu, Portugal Viriathus (known as Viriato in Portuguese and Castilian) (180 BC - 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian tribe that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of Western Iberia, where the Roman province of Lusitania would be established (in the areas comprising...

However, the world subsequently aspired to higher ethical standards, and in the 19th century the Geneva conventions set up laws of war that proscribed extreme behavior, and created the concept of war crimes. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Development of the Geneva Conventions from 1864 to 1949. ... In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ...

The unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers at the end of World War II was unusual (although World War II was itself markedly different from earlier conflicts). Prior to World War II, most international wars ended in a conditional surrender and/or armistice followed by a peace treaty. When wars ended with a peace treaty, if there were any prosecutions for war crimes then they were usually carried out under the jurisdiction of the alleged criminal's own justice system or by an international court such as the International Criminal Court, staffed by nationals other than those party to the conflict. Unconditional surrender refers to a surrender without conditions, except for those provided by international law. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A white flag is traditionally used to represent a truce. ... Official logo of the ICC. The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, crime of aggression, and war crimes, as defined by several international agreements, most prominently the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. ...

Allegations of victor's justice

At the Nuremberg Criminal Court for war crimes and other subsidiary courts like the Dachau International Military Tribunal, only Axis nationals or those who had collaborated with the Axis Powers were prosecuted. However it is usual that the armed forces of a civilised country ^[1] issue their forces with detailed guidance on what is and is not permitted under their military code. These are drafted to include any international treaty obligations and the customary laws of war. For example at the trial of Otto Skorzeny his defence was in part based on the Field Manual published by the War Department of the United States Army, on 1 October 1940, and the American Soldiers' Handbook ^[2] . If a member of the armed forces breaks their own military code they can expect to face a court martial. When members of the Allied armed forces broke their military codes they could be and were tried, for example the Biscari Massacre trials. The unconditional surrender of the Axis powers was unusual and led directly to the formation of the international tribunals. Usually international wars end conditionally and the treatment of suspected war criminals makes up part of the peace treaty. In most cases those who are not prisoners of war are tried under their own judicial system if they are suspected of committing war crimes – as happened the end of the concurrent Continuation War where Allied Control Commission provided a list of occurrences of war crimes and crimes against peace, and the investigation and judgement of these cases were left to Finnish courts according to Finnish law. However, in that case an ex post facto law had to be stated, as the Finnish Criminal Act didn't contain a concept of being responsible of politics resulting in a war. In restricting the international tribunal to trying suspected Axis war crimes, the Allies were acting within normal international law. The Süddeutsche Zeitung announces The Verdict in Nuremberg. ... The Dachau Military Tribunal was set up after World War II by the Judge Advocate Department of the U.S. Third Army to conduct proceedings against minor war criminals found in the United States sectors of occupation in Germany and Austria, and those accused of committing war crimes against American... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... After Operation Greif, Otto Skorzeny was labelled the most dangerous man in Europe Otto Skorzeny (June 12, 1908 - July 6[1] 1975) was an Obersturmbannführer in the German Waffen-SS during World War II. After fighting on the Eastern Front, he is known as the commando leader who rescued... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ... The Biscari massacre was a war crime committed by U.S. troops during World War II, where unarmed German and Italian prisoners of war were supposedly killed at Biscari in 1943. ... Unconditional surrender refers to a surrender without conditions, except for those provided by international law. ... Combatants  Finland Germany  Soviet Union Commanders C.G.E. Mannerheim Kirill Meretskov Leonid Govorov Strength 250,000 (total 530,000) Finns[1] + 100,000 (total 220,000) Germans 650,000 (total estimates 900,000-1,500,000)[2] Casualties 58,715 dead or missing 158,000 wounded 1,500 civilian... Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allied Powers were in control of the defeated Axis countries, anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Eastern Advisory Commission to make recommendations for the post war... A crime against peace, in international law, consists of illegally starting a war. ... The war-responsibility trials in Finland (Finnish: ) was a trial of the Finnish wartime leaders held responsible for the starting or continuation of the war of aggression against the Soviet Union during the Continuation War, 1941-1944. ... An ex post facto law (from the Latin for from something done afterward) or retroactive law, is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of acts committed or the legal status of facts and relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law. ...

Attempts to ensure the fairness of war crimes prosecutions

Since World War II, the accusation of victor's justice has arisen in every subsequent conflict where war crimes prosecutions have been made. Examples of include the wars in the former Yugoslavia, in Rwanda and Afghanistan. This does not cite its references or sources. ...

The International Criminal Court was set up in 2003 as a treaty arrangement between member states in an attempt to provide a neutral international court that avoids the accusation of "victor's justice", and that would prosecute all alleged war crimes, on either side of any conflict. The United States has currently refused to join the ICC, and critics of this decision sometimes claim that this comes out of a desire for victor's justice - given that the United States is almost certain to win any war in which it participates. See the article on the court for more detail on US and other objections to it. Official logo of the ICC. The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, crime of aggression, and war crimes, as defined by several international agreements, most prominently the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, as defined by several international agreements, most prominently the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. ...

Current allegations of victor's justice

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• The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTFY), financed mostly by NATO countries, prosecutes mostly people from states attacked by NATO countries.

Two further recent conflicts in which the U.S. have been involved have led to allegations of victor's justice: Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Tribunal building in The Hague. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague. ...

• After the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. administration set up detention camps such as Camp X-Ray where they asserted that as these detainees are Illegal enemy combatants in an ongoing war, and as such can be denied protection under the Geneva Conventions. It is by no means clear that this is the correct legal interpretation of the detainees legal rights under United States and International law. Although judicial review of this position is currently under way in the United States it is in no way certain a final legal ruling will be made since the Bush administration has argued that habeas corpus no longer applies to these detainees.

• There has been concern that the new regime in Iraq may not have the legal skills or inclination to try war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by the former Iraqi Ba'ath regime fairly and that this represents a desire for victor's justice through show trials. Commentators on international humanitarian law have stated that it has to be done this way because, the ICC cannot prosecute crimes committed prior to its creation and the U.S. administration claims that there is not the international will to set up another ICTFY style court. In accordance to international law all members of the coalition armed forces during the war and subsequent military occupation can only be tried in an Iraqi or International court if their own judicial systems do not fulfil the requirements of international law. So far several countries have tried some of the military personnel for committing humanitarian crimes, for example both the United States and the United Kingdom have tried soldiers for physically abusing prisoners in Iraq.

Camp X-Ray, shown here under construction, was a temporary holding facility for detainees held at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. ... Unlawful combatant (also illegal combatant or unprivileged combatant) describes a person who engages in combat without meeting the requirements for a lawful combatant according to the laws of war as specified in the Third Geneva Convention. ... Development of the Geneva Conventions from 1864 to 1949. ... Unlawful combatant (also illegal combatant or unprivileged combatant) describes a person who engages in combat without meeting the requirements for a lawful combatant according to the laws of war as specified in the Third Geneva Convention. ... In common law, habeas corpus (/heɪbiəs kɔɹpəs/) (Latin: [We command that] you have the body) is the name of a legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. ... The term show trial serves most commonly to label a type of public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the accused: the actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as an impressive example and... Torture, the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain upon an individual to extract information, a confession or as a punishment, is prohibited by international law and illegal in most countries. ...

See also

• Camp X-Ray
• Nuremberg Trials
• Command responsibility
• Combatant Status Review Tribunal
• World War II; Adolf Hitler

Camp X-Ray, shown here under construction, was a temporary holding facility for detainees held at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. ... The Süddeutsche Zeitung announces The Verdict in Nuremberg. ... Peace Palace in The Hague Command responsibility, sometimes referred to as the Yamashita standard, or the Medina standard is the doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of war crimes. ... This is the trailer where the Combatant Status Review Tribunals were held. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Hitler redirects here. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ Judgement : The Law Relating to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity contained in the Avalon Project archive at Yale Law School. "but by 1939 these rules laid down in the [Hague] Convention [of 1907] were recognised by all civilised nations, and were regarded as being declaratory of the laws and customs of war"
2. ^ Trial of Otto Skorzeny and Others, General Military Government Court of the U.S. Zone of Germany, 18 August to 9 September 1947.