A commission of experts at the Paris Peace Conference

Paris Peace Conference, 1919

The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...

 in 1919 that dealt with the issue of prosecution for war crimes committed during the First World War.

Background

Already during the First World War, the Allied governments decided to try defeated leaders whom they considered responsible for violations of international law and the laws of war. For that purpose, it was decided to establish an expert committee to make recommendations to that effect. Following the conclusion of the Armistice in November 1918, actual preparations began. The defeated German government officially concurred with the initiative on grounds that

"A complete truthful account of the world conditions and of the negotiations among the powers in July 1914 and of the steps taken at that time by the several governments could and would go far toward demolishing the walls of hatred and misconstruction erected by the long war to separate the peoples":

In addition, the German government proposed to the Allied governments to establish a neutral committee of experts to study the matter. This the Allied governments refused, claiming that

"they (the Allied governments) do not consider that the German proposal requires any reply as the responsibility of Germany for the war has been long ago incontestably proved".

Composition of the Commission

The commission was established at the conference plenary session of January 25, 1919 and consisted of representatives of the five major Allied powers - Britain, France, Italy, USA and Japan - with the addition of Belgium, Greece, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia.
Its members were as follows:

USA:

• Secretary of State Robert Lansing
  Robert Lansing
  Robert Lansing served in the position of Legal Advisor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I where he vigorously advocated against Britain's policy of blockade and in favor of the principles of freedom of the seas and the rights of neutral nations...
  
  
• State Department legal adviser James Brown Scott
  James Brown Scott
  James Brown Scott, J.U.D. was an American authority on international law.-Biography:Scott was born at Kincardine, Ontario, Canada. He was educated at Harvard University . As Parker fellow of Harvard he traveled in Europe and studied in Berlin, Heidelberg , and Paris...
  
  

UK:

• Sir Gordon Hewart, MP
• Sir Ernest Pollock, MP
• W.F. Massey

France:

• André Tardieu
  André Tardieu
  André Pierre Gabriel Amédée Tardieu was three times Prime Minister of France and a dominant figure of French political life in 1929-1932.-Biography:...
  
  
• F. Larnaude

Italy:

• V. Scialoja
• Raimondo
• Brambilla
• M. d'Amelio

Japan:

• Mineichirō Adachi
  Mineichirō Adachi
  was a Japanese legal expert and President of the Permanent Court of International Justice at the Hague in 1931-1934.-Early life:Adachi was born in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. In 1892, he graduated from the law school of Tokyo University, and began his legal and diplomatic career.-Legal and...
  
  , Japanese Minister Plenipotentiary to Belgium
• Harukazu Nagaoka
  Harukazu Nagaoka
  was a Japanese diplomat and member of the Japanese delegation to the League of Nations at the 1st, 9th, 14th and 15th annual sessions of the Assembly...
  
  
• Sakutaro Tachi
  Sakutaro Tachi
  Sakutaro Tachi was a Japanese expert on international law.Studied law at Tokyo Imperial University, and graduated in 1897. In 1900-1904 studied law in Europe. In 1904 became professor of law at Tokyo Imperial University....
  
  

Belgium:

• Rolin-Jaequehiyns, Sec. Gen. of the Belgian Delegation to the Peace Conference

Greece:

• Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolaos Politis
  Nikolaos Politis
  Nikolaos Politis was a Greek diplomat of the Interwar period. He was a professor of law by training, and prior to the First World War taught law at Paris University. He served as Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs on 1916-1920 and again in 1922. Also served as Greek representative to the League of...
  
  

Poland:

• Constantin Skirmunt, member of the Polish National Committee
• Léon Lubienski

Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

:

• S. Rosental ?

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

:

• Prof. Slobodan Jovanović
  Slobodan Jovanovic
  Slobodan Jovanović was one of Serbia's most prolific jurists, historians, sociologists, journalists and literary critics. He distinguished himself with a characteristically clear and sharp writing style later called the "Belgrade style"...
  
  , Rector of the University of Belgrade
  University of Belgrade
  The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
  
  

The Commission was divided into three sub-commissions as follows:

• on Criminal Acts, charged with investigating into war crimes allegations
• on Responsibility for the War, charged with recommending which individuals to indict for bringing about the war (on the diplomatic level)
• on Responsibility for the Violation of the Laws and Customs of War, charged with deciding whom to indict for crimes committed during the war

Majority opinion

The Commission submitted its report on March 29, 1919. It concluded that the main to blame for the war were the governments of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and second with those of Bulgaria and Turkey. It recommended to establish an additional commission for a more exhaustive study of the alleged crimes of the defeated powers. It further recommended to establish an international tribunal to prosecute suspected war criminals, and not to grant immunity from prosecution even to defeated heads of states. It recommended the desired tribunal consist of 22 judges, three from each one of the major five powers and one additional six to be appointed from other countries.

Dissenting opinion by the US delegation

The US delegates submitted their own opinion on April 4, 1919, expressing their reservations to the report. They suggested to refrain from punishment of heads of states, while focusing on lower levels of the government and military. In addition, they suggested to refrain from charging defeated leaders or commanders with acts not considered criminal at the time of their commission, i.e., to refrain from making retroactive rules of conduct. They also suggested to refrain from establishin a permanent international tribunal for war crimes and suggested instead that following any future war, such tribunal was to be established by the governments of the nations affected by that war.

Dissenting opinion by the Japanese delegation

On the same day the US delegation submitted its minority opinion, the Japanese delegation submitted its own reservations. The Japanese delegation's main reservation was about the demand to indict heads of state for violations.

Legacy of the Commission

The recommendations made by the Commission were not followed through at the time. The suggested international tribunal for war crimes was not established, this due to the refusal by the German government to cooperate. Instead, few German individuals accused of war crimes were tried in 1921 at the Leipzig War Crimes Trial

Leipzig war crimes trial

Trial of German war criminals of the First World War, held in 1921 before the German supreme court, as part of the penalties imposed on the German government under the Treaty of Versailles.-Background:...

 by the German authorities themselves.
However, these recommendations had far reaching outcome. Following the Second World War, two international Allied tribunals were established in Nuremberg and Tokyo to try German and Japanese leaders accused of war crimes. The demand for a permanent tribunal for crimes against humanity continued even following the dissolution of the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals, leading to the establishment of the International Criminal Court

International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

in 2003.

For further reading

• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Violations of the Laws and Customs of War: Reports of Majority and Dissenting Reports American and Japanese Members of the Commission of Responsibilities, Conference of Paris, 1919 (London and New York, 1919)
• International Law Commission, Historical Survey of the Question of International Criminal Jurisdiction (New York, 1949) (UN Document: A/CN.4/7/Rev.1)

External links

• List of members of the commission