Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T16:10:00.909Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - War Crimes and the Path towards the UNWCC

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2021

Michael Fleming
Michael Fleming
Affiliation:
Polish University Abroad, London
Get access

Summary

This chapter explores the evolution of thinking on war crimes prior to and during the Second World War. The first part of the chapter considers how ’war crimes’ were understood before the Second World War. It discusses the Hague Conventions, the post-World War I settlement, the failure to try Kaiser Wilhelm II, and the legacy of the Leipzig trials. This is followed by an examination of the deliberations on war crimes in different international fora during the war years. The chapter also explores the debate within the Polish Government in Exile that resulted in the passing of war crimes legislation. It is argued that the debates in these fora helped advance understanding of the challenges of war crimes prosecution which, in turn, provided firm foundations for legal discussion and innovation within the UNWCC.

Keywords

International OrganisationsWar Crimes LegislationInternational London AssemblyHague ConventionsHersh Lauterpacht
Type
Chapter
Information
In the Shadow of the Holocaust
Poland, the United Nations War Crimes Commission, and the Search for Justice
 , pp. 113 - 143
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×