Nuremberg Principles
Individuals have International Duties which Transcend National Obligations of Obedience
To choose to refuse orders, to not cooperate with established
authority, carries legal and personal risk. For those in the
military this is especially true. Such action should be done only
after much careful reflection, and exploration of the consequences of a
chosen path of resistance. We hope that people who are considering
such actions take full advantage of the resources available to them.
There are also risks associated with obeying orders that fall outside
what is acceptable by the standards of international law, or to
participate in a war of aggression, such as the brutal U.S. occupation
of Iraq. We urge people to consider this as well, especially those
within the U.S. military. The following comes from the principles
developed after the trial of Nazi war criminals, and is now considered
to be part of international law and the standard under which the actions
of nations, and the individuals that act under orders of national
leaders, are to be judged.
The Nuremberg Principles.
Principle I. Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime
under international law is responsible therefore and liable to
punishment.
Principle II. The fact that internal law does not impose a penalty for
an act which constitutes a crime under international law does not
relieve the person who committed the act from responsibility under
international law.
Principle III. The fact that a person who committed an act which
constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or
responsible government official does not relieve him from responsibility
under international law.
Principle IV. The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his
Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility
under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to
him.
Principle V. Any person charged with a crime under international law has
the right to a fair trial on the facts and law.
Principle VI. The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes
under international law:
(a) Crimes against peace:
(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression
or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or
assurances;
(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment
of any of the acts mentioned under (i).
(b) War Crimes:
Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but are not
limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation of slave-labor or for
any other purpose of the civilian population of or in occupied
territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the
seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton
destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified
by military necessity.
(c) Crimes against humanity:
Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts
done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political,
racial, or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such
persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any
crime against peace or any war crime.
Principle VII. Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a
war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a
crime under international law.