By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    HDB targets 25% growth in profits, various activities by 2023-end: CEO
    HDB targets 25% growth in profits, various activities by 2023-end: CEO
    June 4, 2023
    Bank ABC Egypt sees 158% profit growth in 1Q 2023, after merging with BLOM Bank
    Bank ABC Egypt sees 158% profit growth in 1Q 2023, after merging with BLOM Bank
    June 4, 2023
    146% growth in net profit of Attijariwafa bank Egypt reaching EGP 434.5m in 1Q 2023
    146% growth in net profit of Attijariwafa bank Egypt reaching EGP 434.5m in 1Q 2023
    June 4, 2023
    Al Ahly Pharos tops brokerage ranking in May
    Al Ahly Pharos tops brokerage ranking in May
    June 4, 2023
    Beltone Leasing signs EGP 500m sale-and-leaseback agreement With Hassan Allam Properties
    Beltone Leasing signs EGP 500m sale-and-leaseback agreement With Hassan Allam Properties
    June 4, 2023
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Iranian, Saudi FMs meet on bilateral ties
    Iranian, Saudi FMs meet on bilateral ties
    June 4, 2023
    Egypt’s PM inspects service, development projects in Alexandria
    Egypt’s PM inspects service, development projects in Alexandria
    June 4, 2023
    FM Shoukry attends inauguration ceremony of Turkish President
    FM Shoukry attends inauguration ceremony of Turkish President
    June 3, 2023
    1 Egyptian security personnel, 3 Israeli soldiers were killed in border shooting
    1 Egyptian security personnel, 3 Israeli soldiers were killed in border shooting 
    June 3, 2023
    India train crash kills at least 207, injures hundreds 
    India train crash kills at least 207, injures hundreds 
    June 3, 2023
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    EFG Finance to launch unified platform gathering all its financing services: Alaa Al-Afifi
    EFG Finance to launch unified platform gathering all its financing services: Alaa Al-Afifi
    May 31, 2023
    I changed my artistic path to create ‘state of wonder’: Tarek Lotfi
    I changed my artistic path to create ‘state of wonder’: Tarek Lotfi
    May 25, 2023
    I adore Ramadan drama, ‘Telt Al-Talata’ series achieved great success: Ghada Abdel Razek
    I adore Ramadan drama, ‘Telt Al-Talata’ series achieved great success: Ghada Abdel Razek
    May 8, 2023
    We aim to establish Egypt as nearshore centre for Software AG for MET region: Rami Kichli
    We aim to establish Egypt as nearshore centre for Software AG for MET region: Rami Kichli
    April 29, 2023
    Egypt-Spain relations witness remarkable development in recent years: Spanish ambassador in Cairo
    Egypt-Spain relations witness remarkable development in recent years: Spanish ambassador in Cairo
    April 18, 2023
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Reading: Nuremberg is valid precedent for Iraq War Trials
Share
Notification
Latest News
HDB targets 25% growth in profits, various activities by 2023-end: CEO
HDB targets 25% growth in profits, various activities by 2023-end: CEO
Banking
Bank ABC Egypt sees 158% profit growth in 1Q 2023, after merging with BLOM Bank
Bank ABC Egypt sees 158% profit growth in 1Q 2023, after merging with BLOM Bank
Banking
146% growth in net profit of Attijariwafa bank Egypt reaching EGP 434.5m in 1Q 2023
146% growth in net profit of Attijariwafa bank Egypt reaching EGP 434.5m in 1Q 2023
Banking
Al Ahly Pharos tops brokerage ranking in May
Al Ahly Pharos tops brokerage ranking in May
Business
Beltone Leasing signs EGP 500m sale-and-leaseback agreement With Hassan Allam Properties
Beltone Leasing signs EGP 500m sale-and-leaseback agreement With Hassan Allam Properties
Business
Aa
Aa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > Opinion > Nuremberg is valid precedent for Iraq War Trials
Opinion

Nuremberg is valid precedent for Iraq War Trials

Daily News Egypt
Last updated: 2014/01/04 at 4:03 PM
By Daily News Egypt 6 Min Read
Share
Dr. Cesar Chelala
SHARE
Dr. Cesar Chelala
Dr. Cesar Chelala

By Dr Cesar Chelala

As the number of deaths continues unabated in Iraq –the worst since 2008—so do calls for the prosecution of those that led both the United States and Great Britain into war, former US president George W. Bush and former prime minister Tony Blair. In December alone there were 44 deaths in just one day, over 766 for the whole month and over 9,200 civilian deaths in the whole year. If Nuremberg principles were applied, both Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair would have probably been condemned for their role in the Iraq war.

The Nuremberg Principles, a set of guidelines established after World War II to try Nazi Party members, were developed to determine what constitutes a war crime. The principles can also be applied today when considering the conditions that led to the Iraq war and, in the process, to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, many of them children, and to the devastation of a country’s infrastructure.

In January 2003, a group of American law professors warned President George W. Bush that he and senior officials of his government could be prosecuted for war crimes if their military tactics violated international humanitarian law. The group, led by the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, sent similar warnings to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Although the United States is not part of the International Criminal Court (ICC), US officials could be prosecuted in other countries under the Geneva Convention, says Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. Ratner likened the situation to the attempt by Spanish magistrate Baltazar Garzón to prosecute former Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet when Pinochet was under house arrest in London.

Both former President George W. Bush and senior officials in his government could be tried for their responsibility for torture and other war crimes under the Geneva Conventions. Should the Nuremberg Principles be followed by an investigating tribunal former President Bush and other senior officials in his administration could be tried for violation of fundamental Nuremberg principles.

In 2007, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, then ICC’s chief prosecutor, told The Sunday Telegraph that he could envisage a scenario in which both British Prime Minister Tony Blair and then President Bush faced charges at The Hague.

Perhaps one of the most serious breaches of international law by the Bush administration was the doctrine of “preventive war”. In the case of the Iraq war, it was carried out without authorisation from the UN Security Council in violation of the UN Charter, which forbids armed aggression and violations of any state’s sovereignty except for immediate self-defense.

As stated in the US Constitution, international treaties agreed to by the United States are part of the “supreme law of the land”. “Launching a war of aggression is a crime that no political or economic situation can justify,” said Justice Jackson, the chief US prosecutor for the Nuremberg Tribunal.

Benjamin Ferencz, also a former chief prosecutor for the Nuremberg Trials, declared that “a prima facie case can be made that the United States is guilty of the supreme crime against humanity — that being an illegal war of aggression against a sovereign nation”.

The conduct and the consequences of the Iraq War are subsumed under “Crimes against Peace and War” of Nuremberg Principle VI, which defines as 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)”. In the section on war crimes, Nuremberg Principle VI includes “murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property”.

The criminal abuse of prisoners in US military prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo are clear evidence of ill-treatment and even murder.

As for the plunder of public or private property, there is evidence that even before the war started, members of the Bush administration had already drawn up plans to privatize and sell Iraqi property particularly that related to oil.

Although there are obvious hindrances to trying a former US president, a British prime minister and their associates, such a trial is fully justified by legal precedents such as the Nuremberg principles. And also by the extent of the toll in human lives that that breach of international law has exacted.

 

Dr Cesar Chelala, a co-winner of the Overseas Press Club of America award, writes extensively on human rights issues.   

You Might Also Like

Opinion| Russia and China promote stability in the Middle East after the US withdrawal from the region

Opinion| The American debt crisis and the 2024 elections

Opinion| Tips for startups operating in the tough environment of emerging markets

Opinion| Behind the scenes of the US-China conflict over Taiwan’s chips

Opinion| G7 Summit mobilizes Asian countries against China, while Beijing strengthens its position in Central Asia

TAGGED: Blair, Bush, Daily News Egypt, DNE, Dr. César Chelala, international, war crimes
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Previous Article Policeman injured, police car burnt outside Al-Azhar University dorms
Next Article Amr, Esraa and the Travolta Predicament
1 Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad image
Ad image

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

HDB targets 25% growth in profits, various activities by 2023-end: CEO
HDB targets 25% growth in profits, various activities by 2023-end: CEO
Banking
Bank ABC Egypt sees 158% profit growth in 1Q 2023, after merging with BLOM Bank
Bank ABC Egypt sees 158% profit growth in 1Q 2023, after merging with BLOM Bank
Banking
146% growth in net profit of Attijariwafa bank Egypt reaching EGP 434.5m in 1Q 2023
146% growth in net profit of Attijariwafa bank Egypt reaching EGP 434.5m in 1Q 2023
Banking
Al Ahly Pharos tops brokerage ranking in May
Al Ahly Pharos tops brokerage ranking in May
Business
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?