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ALLA TYMOFEYEVA
CYIL 6 ȍ2015Ȏ
make a quick overview of the main points concerning crimes against peace in these
documents.
Principle VI of the Principles divides crimes against peace into two categories
already discussed in section 3 of this paper.
54
According to Principle VII this type of
crime was recognised as part of the notion of a crime under international law.
55
The
ILC set forth that heads of states or representatives of a government may also be held
responsible for an act which constitutes a crime under international law.
56
Moreover,
a person is not relieved from responsibility under international law if he/she acted
pursuant to an order of his/her superior.
57
With a view to Chapter IV of the IMT,
entitled ‘Fair Trial For Defendants’, the ILC decided to include in the Principles a
provision entailing the right of every person to a fair trial on the facts and law.
58
The first version of the Code was adopted by the ILC shortly after the Principles. Its
preparation was given preliminary consideration by the Commission at its first session,
in 1949. At that time the ILC appointed Mr. Spiropoulos as a special rapporteur on the
subject. It was also decided that a questionnaire should be circulated to governments
inquiring what offences, apart from those recognized in the Charter and Judgment,
should be included in the draft code.
59
The version of 1954 employed the term “offences” instead of the current “crimes
against peace”. The Code of 1996 added an article ‘the’ to the title of a crime in
question and now sounds as the “crimes against the peace”. Moreover, the Code
extended the title of this crime and the final notion is “
crime against the peace and
security of mankind
”. A grammatical interpretation of Part II of the Code, namely
in Articles 16 – 20, helps us to identify that this common notion entails a number of
split crimes, which are 1) crime of aggression; 2) crime of genocide; 3) crimes against
humanity; 4) crimes against United Nations and associated personnel; and 5) war
crimes. The Code does not distinguish between the crimes against the peace and the
crimes against security of mankind. Nevertheless, a comparison of the
corpus delicti
of
the crimes in the IMT’s Charter and the Code allows us to conclude that
the crime
of aggression is an heir to the crimes against peace under the Nuremberg trial
.
Simultaneously with the work on the Code, the ILC was occupied with writing
of the Draft Statute for an International Criminal Court, which was introduced to the
54
CASSESE, Antonio. Affirmation of the Principles of International Law Recognized by the Charter of
the Nürnberg Tribunal.
United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law, 2009.
55
Principles of International Law, cited above.
56
Principle III.
57
Principle IV.
58
Principle V.
59
Draft Code, 1954 with commentaries, cited above.