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<li id="toc-Before_1500" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Before_1500"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Before 1500</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Before_1500-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-1900–1947" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#1900–1947"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>1900–1947</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-1900–1947-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Court-martial_of_Breaker_Morant" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Court-martial_of_Breaker_Morant"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2.1</span> <span>Court-martial of Breaker Morant</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Court-martial_of_Breaker_Morant-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li 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War II</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Nuremberg_Trials_after_World_War_II-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-"Nuremberg_defense"" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#"Nuremberg_defense""> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2.5</span> <span>"Nuremberg defense"</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-"Nuremberg_defense"-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-1947–2000" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#1947–2000"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3</span> <span>1947–2000</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-1947–2000-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Israeli_law_since_1956" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Israeli_law_since_1956"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3.1</span> <span>Israeli law since 1956</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Israeli_law_since_1956-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-1968_Mỹ_Lai_massacre" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#1968_Mỹ_Lai_massacre"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3.2</span> <span>1968 Mỹ Lai massacre</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-1968_Mỹ_Lai_massacre-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-1987_Canadian_prosecution_of_Imre_Finta" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#1987_Canadian_prosecution_of_Imre_Finta"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3.3</span> <span>1987 Canadian prosecution of Imre Finta</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-1987_Canadian_prosecution_of_Imre_Finta-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-1998_Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#1998_Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3.4</span> <span>1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-1998_Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-2000–present" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#2000–present"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4</span> <span>2000–present</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-2000–present-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Legal_proceedings_of_Jeremy_Hinzman_in_Canada" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Legal_proceedings_of_Jeremy_Hinzman_in_Canada"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.1</span> <span>Legal proceedings of Jeremy Hinzman in Canada</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Legal_proceedings_of_Jeremy_Hinzman_in_Canada-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Legal_proceedings_of_Ehren_Watada_in_the_United_States" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Legal_proceedings_of_Ehren_Watada_in_the_United_States"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.2</span> <span>Legal proceedings of Ehren Watada in the United States</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Legal_proceedings_of_Ehren_Watada_in_the_United_States-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Legal_proceedings_of_Vadim_Shishimarin_in_Ukraine" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Legal_proceedings_of_Vadim_Shishimarin_in_Ukraine"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.3</span> <span>Legal proceedings of Vadim Shishimarin in Ukraine</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Legal_proceedings_of_Vadim_Shishimarin_in_Ukraine-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Summary" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Summary"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.5</span> <span>Summary</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Summary-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Arguments" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Arguments"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Arguments</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Arguments-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Bibliography" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Bibliography"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Bibliography</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Bibliography-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> 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mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Nuremberg_Trials_retouched.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Nuremberg_Trials_retouched.jpg/220px-Nuremberg_Trials_retouched.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="170" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Nuremberg_Trials_retouched.jpg/330px-Nuremberg_Trials_retouched.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Nuremberg_Trials_retouched.jpg/440px-Nuremberg_Trials_retouched.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2931" data-file-height="2259" /></a><figcaption>Defendants in the dock at the <a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_trials" title="Nuremberg trials">Nuremberg trials</a></figcaption></figure> <p><b>Superior orders</b>, also known as <b>just following orders</b> or <b>the Nuremberg defense</b>, is a <a href="/wiki/Plea" title="Plea">plea</a> in a court of law that a person, whether civilian, military or police, can be considered guilty of committing crimes ordered by a <a href="/wiki/Officer_(armed_forces)" title="Officer (armed forces)">superior officer</a> or <a href="/wiki/Official" title="Official">official</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It is regarded as a complement to <a href="/wiki/Command_responsibility" title="Command responsibility">command responsibility</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>One noted use of this plea or <a href="/wiki/Defense_(legal)" title="Defense (legal)">defense</a> was by the accused in the 1945–1946 <a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_trials" title="Nuremberg trials">Nuremberg trials</a>. These were a series of <a href="/wiki/Military_justice" title="Military justice">military tribunals</a> held by the main victorious <a href="/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II" title="Allies of World War II">Allies</a> of <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> to prosecute, among others, prominent members of the political, military and economic leadership of the defeated <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a>. Under the <a href="/wiki/London_Charter_of_the_International_Military_Tribunal" class="mw-redirect" title="London Charter of the International Military Tribunal">London Charter of the International Military Tribunal</a> that established them, the trials determined that the defense of superior orders was no longer enough to <i>escape</i> punishment but merely enough to <i>lessen</i> it.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Apart from the specific plea of superior orders, discussions about how the general concept of superior orders ought to be used, or ought not to be used, have taken place in various arguments, rulings and statutes that have not necessarily been part of "after the fact" <a href="/wiki/War_crimes_trials" class="mw-redirect" title="War crimes trials">war crimes trials</a>, strictly speaking. Nevertheless, these discussions and related events help to explain the evolution of the specific plea of superior orders and the history of its usage. </p><p>Historically, the plea of superior orders has been used both before and after the Nuremberg Trials, with <a href="#Summary">inconsistent rulings</a>, up to the final ruling of <a href="/wiki/International_Criminal_Court" title="International Criminal Court">International Criminal Court</a> in the <i>Prosecutor v <a href="/wiki/Bosco_Ntaganda" title="Bosco Ntaganda">Ntaganda</a></i> case.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Before_1500">Before 1500<span class="anchor" id="The_trial_of_Peter_von_Hagenbach"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Before 1500"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Command_responsibility" title="Command responsibility">Command responsibility</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Deutsche_Geschichte5-310.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Deutsche_Geschichte5-310.jpg/220px-Deutsche_Geschichte5-310.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="285" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Deutsche_Geschichte5-310.jpg/330px-Deutsche_Geschichte5-310.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Deutsche_Geschichte5-310.jpg/440px-Deutsche_Geschichte5-310.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1498" data-file-height="1939" /></a><figcaption>Hagenbach on trial, from <a href="/wiki/Bern" title="Bern">Berner</a> Chronik des Diebold Schilling dem Älteren</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1474, in the trial of <a href="/wiki/Peter_von_Hagenbach" title="Peter von Hagenbach">Peter von Hagenbach</a> by an ad hoc tribunal of the <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>, the first known "international" recognition of commanders' obligations to act lawfully occurred.<sup id="cite_ref-Greppi_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Greppi-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Grant_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Grant-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Specifically, Hagenbach was put on trial for atrocities committed under his command but not by him directly, during the occupation of <a href="/wiki/Breisach" title="Breisach">Breisach</a>. This was the earliest modern European example of the doctrine of <a href="/wiki/Command_responsibility" title="Command responsibility">command responsibility</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Schabas_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Schabas-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Mens_Rea_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mens_Rea-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Since he was convicted for crimes that "he as a knight was deemed to have a duty to prevent", Hagenbach defended himself by arguing that he was only following orders<sup id="cite_ref-Greppi_6-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Greppi-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Murray_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Murray-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> from the <a href="/wiki/Duke_of_Burgundy" title="Duke of Burgundy">Duke of Burgundy</a>, <a href="/wiki/Charles_the_Bold" title="Charles the Bold">Charles the Bold</a>, to whom the Holy Roman Empire had given Breisach,<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> but this defense was rejected and he was convicted of <a href="/wiki/War_crimes" class="mw-redirect" title="War crimes">war crimes</a> and beheaded.<sup id="cite_ref-Schabas_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Schabas-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="1900–1947"><span id="1900.E2.80.931947"></span>1900–1947<span class="anchor" id="History_from_1900_to_1947"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: 1900–1947"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Court-martial_of_Breaker_Morant">Court-martial of Breaker Morant</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Court-martial of Breaker Morant"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Court-martial_of_Breaker_Morant" title="Court-martial of Breaker Morant">Court-martial of Breaker Morant</a></div> <p>During the <a href="/wiki/Second_Boer_War" title="Second Boer War">Second Boer War</a>, four Australian officers (<a href="/wiki/Breaker_Morant" title="Breaker Morant">Breaker Morant</a>, <a href="/wiki/Peter_Handcock" title="Peter Handcock">Peter Handcock</a>, Henry Picton, and <a href="/wiki/George_Witton" title="George Witton">George Witton</a>) were indicted and tried for a number of murders, including those of prisoners who had surrendered and been disarmed. A significant part of the defense was that they were acting under orders issued by <a href="/wiki/Herbert_Kitchener,_1st_Earl_Kitchener" title="Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener">Lord Kitchener</a> to "<a href="/wiki/Take_no_prisoners" class="mw-redirect" title="Take no prisoners">take no prisoners</a>". However, these alleged orders were only issued verbally, were denied by Kitchener and his staff, and could not be validated in court. Furthermore, the crown prosecutor argued that even if such orders existed, they were "illegal orders" and was sustained by the court, resulting in a guilty verdict against all four men. In a ruling still reviled in modern <a href="/wiki/South_Africa" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> as a <a href="/wiki/Miscarriage_of_justice" title="Miscarriage of justice">miscarriage of justice</a>, the defendants' de facto commanding officer, Captain <a href="/wiki/Alfred_Taylor_(British_Army_officer)" title="Alfred Taylor (British Army officer)">Alfred Taylor</a>, whose own actions are widely considered to have been much more brutal and inhumane, was also tried but was acquitted on all charges. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="German_military_trials_after_World_War_I">German military trials after World War I</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: German military trials after World War I"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On June 4, 1921, the legal limits of superior orders were tested during the <a href="/wiki/Leipzig_War_Crimes_Trials" class="mw-redirect" title="Leipzig War Crimes Trials">Leipzig War Crimes Trials</a> that tried German military veterans for committing alleged <a href="/wiki/War_crimes_in_World_War_I" title="War crimes in World War I">war crimes in World War I</a> in a civilian court after the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles" title="Treaty of Versailles">Treaty of Versailles</a>. One of the most famous of these trials remains that of <i><a href="/wiki/Kapit%C3%A4nleutnant" title="Kapitänleutnant">Kapitänleutnant</a></i> Karl Neumann of <a href="/wiki/SM_UC-67" title="SM UC-67">SM UC-67</a>; the <a href="/wiki/U-boat" title="U-boat">U-boat</a> <a href="/wiki/Officer_Commanding" class="mw-redirect" title="Officer Commanding">Officer Commanding</a> who torpedoed and sank the British <a href="/wiki/Hospital_ship" title="Hospital ship">hospital ship</a> the <i><a href="/wiki/HMHS_Dover_Castle" title="HMHS Dover Castle">Dover Castle</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Even though Neumann frankly admitted to having sunk the ship, he stated that he had done so on the basis of authorisation supplied by the <a href="/wiki/German_Imperial_Admiralty_Staff" title="German Imperial Admiralty Staff">German Admiralty</a>. The Imperial German Government had accused the <a href="/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_I" title="Allies of World War I">Allies</a> of violating Articles X and XI of the <a href="/wiki/Hague_Conventions_of_1899_and_1907" title="Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907">Hague Convention of 1907</a> by using hospital ships for military purposes, such as transporting healthy troops,<sup id="cite_ref-gwpda_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gwpda-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the <a href="/wiki/Imperial_German_Navy" title="Imperial German Navy">Imperial German Navy</a> had accordingly decreed on 19 March 1917 that <a href="/wiki/Officer_commanding" title="Officer commanding">officers commanding</a> individual U-boats could choose to fire upon Allied hospital ships under certain conditions. The <a href="/wiki/Reichsgericht" title="Reichsgericht">Reichsgericht</a>, then Germany's supreme court, acquitted Lt.-Capt. Neumann, accepting the defense that he had believed the sinking to be a lawful act.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Further, the court stated "that all civilized nations recognize the principle that a subordinate is covered by the orders of his superiors".<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Many other German veterans similarly facing prosecution for war crimes at Leipzig were also acquitted by either alleging ignorance of the law or citing the superior orders defense, creating immense dissatisfaction among the <a href="/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_I" title="Allies of World War I">Allied</a> news media and public. On the other hand, when the defendants at Leipzig could not reasonably claim that they did not know at the time that they were obeying <a href="/wiki/Criminal_order_(international_law)" title="Criminal order (international law)">criminal orders</a>, this defense proved ineffective. For instance, following the sinking of the Canadian hospital ship <a href="/wiki/HMHS_Llandovery_Castle" title="HMHS Llandovery Castle">HMHS Llandovery Castle</a>, <i>Oberleutnants zur See</i> Ludwig Dithmar and John Boldt of <a href="/wiki/SM_U-86" title="SM U-86">SM U-86</a> were ordered to open fire with the <a href="/wiki/Deck_gun" title="Deck gun">deck gun</a> on the unarmed shipwreck survivors and obeyed the order. They were both found guilty and sentenced, despite the very deep stigma and humiliation involved for a military officer in pre-1945 <a href="/wiki/German_culture" class="mw-redirect" title="German culture">German culture</a>, to serve their terms of incarceration in a civilian prison. However, the verdict was later overturned on appeal, on the grounds that their fugitive former commanding officer, <a href="/wiki/Helmut_Br%C3%BCmmer-Patzig" title="Helmut Brümmer-Patzig">Helmut Brümmer-Patzig</a>, bore the lion's share of the guilt.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>According to American historian <a href="/wiki/Alfred-Maurice_de_Zayas" title="Alfred-Maurice de Zayas">Alfred de Zayas</a>, however, "generally speaking, the German population took exception to these trials, especially because the Allies were not similarly bringing their own soldiers to justice."<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (See <a href="/wiki/Victor%27s_justice" title="Victor's justice">Victor's justice</a>.) </p><p>Even so, dissatisfaction with the Leipzig trials is thought to be one of the main causes for the specific nullification of the superior orders defense in the August 8, 1945, <a href="/wiki/London_Charter_of_the_International_Military_Tribunal" class="mw-redirect" title="London Charter of the International Military Tribunal">London Charter of the International Military Tribunal</a>. The removal has been attributed to the actions of <a href="/wiki/Robert_H._Jackson" title="Robert H. Jackson">Robert H. Jackson</a>, a Justice of the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Supreme_Court" class="mw-redirect" title="United States Supreme Court">United States Supreme Court</a>, who was appointed Chief Prosecutor at the <a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_trials" title="Nuremberg trials">Nuremberg trials</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Dostler_case">Dostler case</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Dostler case"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Anton_Dostler_1945_a.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Anton_Dostler_1945_a.jpg/220px-Anton_Dostler_1945_a.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="180" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Anton_Dostler_1945_a.jpg/330px-Anton_Dostler_1945_a.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Anton_Dostler_1945_a.jpg/440px-Anton_Dostler_1945_a.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2936" data-file-height="2408" /></a><figcaption>Dostler tied to a stake before the execution</figcaption></figure> <p>On October 8, 1945, <a href="/wiki/Anton_Dostler" title="Anton Dostler">Anton Dostler</a> was the first <a href="/wiki/General_(Germany)" title="General (Germany)">German general</a> to be tried for war crimes by a US <a href="/wiki/Military_tribunal" class="mw-redirect" title="Military tribunal">military tribunal</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Palace_of_Caserta" title="Royal Palace of Caserta">Royal Palace of Caserta</a>. He was accused of ordering the execution of 15 captured US soldiers of <a href="/wiki/Operations_Ginny_I_and_II" title="Operations Ginny I and II">Operation Ginny II</a> in Italy in March 1944. He admitted to ordering the execution, but said that he could not be held responsible because he was following orders from his superiors. The execution of the <a href="/wiki/Prisoners_of_war" class="mw-redirect" title="Prisoners of war">prisoners of war</a> in Italy, ordered by Dostler, was an implementation of <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Commando_Order" title="Commando Order">Commando Order</a> of 1942, which required the immediate execution of all <a href="/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II" title="Allies of World War II">Allied</a> <a href="/wiki/Commandos" class="mw-redirect" title="Commandos">commandos</a>, whether they were in proper uniforms or not, without trial if they were apprehended by German forces. The tribunal rejected the defense of Superior Orders and found Dostler guilty of war crimes. He was sentenced to death and <a href="/wiki/Execution_by_firing_squad" title="Execution by firing squad">executed by a firing squad</a> on December 1, 1945, in <a href="/wiki/Aversa" title="Aversa">Aversa</a>. </p><p>The Dostler case became a precedent for the principle that was used in the Nuremberg Trials of German generals, officials, and Nazi leaders beginning in November 1945: using superior orders as a defense does not relieve officers from responsibility of carrying out illegal orders and their liability to be punished in court. The principle was codified in <a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_Principles#Principle_IV" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuremberg Principles">Principle IV</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_Principles" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuremberg Principles">Nuremberg Principles</a>, and similar principles are in the 1948 <a href="/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights" title="Universal Declaration of Human Rights">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Nuremberg_Trials_after_World_War_II">Nuremberg Trials after World War II</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Nuremberg Trials after World War II"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_trials" title="Nuremberg trials">Nuremberg trials</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Defendants_in_the_dock_at_nuremberg_trials.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Defendants_in_the_dock_at_nuremberg_trials.jpg/220px-Defendants_in_the_dock_at_nuremberg_trials.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="173" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Defendants_in_the_dock_at_nuremberg_trials.jpg/330px-Defendants_in_the_dock_at_nuremberg_trials.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Defendants_in_the_dock_at_nuremberg_trials.jpg/440px-Defendants_in_the_dock_at_nuremberg_trials.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1523" data-file-height="1200" /></a><figcaption>Photo of the trial at Nuremberg, depicting the defendants, guarded by American Military Police</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1945–46, during the <a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_trials" title="Nuremberg trials">Nuremberg trials</a> the issue of superior orders again arose. Before the end of World War II, the Allies suspected such a defense might be employed and issued the <a href="/wiki/London_Charter_of_the_International_Military_Tribunal" class="mw-redirect" title="London Charter of the International Military Tribunal">London Charter of the International Military Tribunal</a> (IMT), which explicitly stated that following an unlawful order is not a valid defense against charges of <a href="/wiki/War_crime" title="War crime">war crimes</a>. </p><p>Thus, under <a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_Principles#Principle_IV" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuremberg Principles">Nuremberg Principle IV</a>, "defense of superior orders" is not a defense for war crimes, although it might be a mitigating factor that could influence a sentencing authority to lessen the penalty. Nuremberg Principle IV states: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>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.</p></blockquote> <p>During the Nuremberg Trials, <a href="/wiki/Wilhelm_Keitel" title="Wilhelm Keitel">Wilhelm Keitel</a>, <a href="/wiki/Alfred_Jodl" title="Alfred Jodl">Alfred Jodl</a>, and other defendants unsuccessfully used the defense. They contended that while they knew Hitler's orders were unlawful, or at least had reason to believe they were unlawful, their place was not to question, but to obey. They claimed they were compelled to do so by the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/F%C3%BChrerprinzip" title="Führerprinzip">Führerprinzip</a></i></span> (leader principle) that governed the Nazi regime, as well as their own <a href="/wiki/Hitler_oath" class="mw-redirect" title="Hitler oath">oath of allegiance to Hitler</a>. In most cases, the tribunal found that the defendants' offenses were so egregious that obedience to superior orders could not be considered a mitigating factor. </p><p>Before the trials, there was little Allied consensus about prosecuting Nazi war prisoners. <a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> was inclined to have the leaders "executed as outlaws".<sup id="cite_ref-Timesarticle784041_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Timesarticle784041-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Soviets desired trials but wished there to be a <a href="/wiki/Reverse_onus" title="Reverse onus">presumption of guilt</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The German military law since 1872 said<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> that while the superior is ("solely") responsible for his order, the subordinate <em>is</em> to be punished for his participation in it if he either transgressed the order on his own account, or if he knew the order to be criminal.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Nazis did not bother (or were too reluctant) to formalize many of their offenses (e.g., killing a non-combatant without trial), so the prosecutors at Nuremberg could have argued that the defendants broke German law to begin with. However, this line of argument was infrequently used. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id=""Nuremberg_defense""><span id=".22Nuremberg_defense.22"></span>"Nuremberg defense"</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: "Nuremberg defense""><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The trials gained so much attention that the "superior orders defense" has subsequently become interchangeable with the label "Nuremberg defense", a <a href="/wiki/Legal_defense" class="mw-redirect" title="Legal defense">legal defense</a> that essentially states that defendants were "only following orders" (<span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">"Befehl ist Befehl"</i></span>, literally "an order is an order") and so are not responsible for their crimes. </p><p>However, US General <a href="/wiki/Telford_Taylor" title="Telford Taylor">Telford Taylor</a>, who had served as Chief Counsel for the United States during the Nuremberg trials, employed the term "Nuremberg defense" in a different sense. He applied it not to the defense offered by the Nuremberg defendants but to a justification put forward by those who refused to take part in military action (specifically America's involvement in the Vietnam War) that they believed to be criminal.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="1947–2000"><span id="1947.E2.80.932000"></span>1947–2000<span class="anchor" id="History_from_1947_to_2000"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: 1947–2000"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Adolf_Eichmann_at_Trial1961.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Adolf_Eichmann_at_Trial1961.jpg/170px-Adolf_Eichmann_at_Trial1961.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="227" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Adolf_Eichmann_at_Trial1961.jpg/255px-Adolf_Eichmann_at_Trial1961.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Adolf_Eichmann_at_Trial1961.jpg/340px-Adolf_Eichmann_at_Trial1961.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1753" data-file-height="2337" /></a><figcaption>Eichmann on trial in 1961</figcaption></figure> <p>The defense of superior orders again arose in the <a href="/wiki/Eichmann_trial" title="Eichmann trial">1961 trial</a> of Nazi war criminal <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Eichmann" title="Adolf Eichmann">Adolf Eichmann</a> in <a href="/wiki/Israel" title="Israel">Israel</a>, as well as the trial of <a href="/wiki/Alfredo_Astiz" title="Alfredo Astiz">Alfredo Astiz</a> of <a href="/wiki/Argentina" title="Argentina">Argentina</a>, who was responsible for many disappearances and kidnappings that took place during its <a href="/wiki/National_Reorganization_Process" title="National Reorganization Process">last civil-military dictatorship</a> (1976–1983). The dictators forced <a href="/wiki/State-sponsored_terrorism" title="State-sponsored terrorism">state-sponsored terrorism</a> upon the population,<sup id="cite_ref-cineaste.com_23-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-cineaste.com-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> resulting in what (to several sources) amounted to <a href="/wiki/Genocide" title="Genocide">genocide</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The 1950s and 1960s saw the defense of <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/Befehlsnotstand" title="Befehlsnotstand">Befehlsnotstand</a></i></span> (English: <span lang="en">compulsion to obey orders</span>), a concept in which a certain action is ordered which violates law but where the refusal to carry it out would lead to drastic consequences for the person refusing. This was quite successful in war crimes trials in Germany.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="margin-left:0.1em; white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify" title="Wikipedia:Please clarify"><span title="The text near this tag may need clarification or removal of jargon. (September 2021)">clarification needed</span></a></i>]</sup> With the formation of the <a href="/wiki/Central_Office_of_the_State_Justice_Administrations_for_the_Investigation_of_National_Socialist_Crimes" title="Central Office of the State Justice Administrations for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes">Central Office of the State Justice Administrations for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes</a> this changed, as its research revealed that refusing an unlawful order did not result in punishment.<sup id="cite_ref-Welt_2015_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Welt_2015-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Israeli_law_since_1956">Israeli law since 1956</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Israeli law since 1956"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In 1957, the Israeli legal system established the concept of a "blatantly illegal order" to explain when a military (or security-related) order should be followed, and when it <i>must not</i> be followed. The concept was explained in 1957 in the <a href="/wiki/Kafr_Qasim_massacre" title="Kafr Qasim massacre">Kafr Qasim massacre</a> ruling. The trial considered for the first time the issue of when Israeli security personnel are required to disobey illegal orders. The judges decided that soldiers do not have the obligation to examine each and every order in detail as to its legality, nor were they entitled to disobey orders merely on a subjective feeling that they might be illegal. On the other hand, some orders were manifestly illegal, and these must be disobeyed. Judge <a href="/wiki/Benjamin_Halevy" title="Benjamin Halevy">Benjamin Halevy</a>'s words, still much-quoted today, were that "The distinguishing mark of a manifestly illegal order is that above such an order should fly, like a black flag, a warning saying: 'Prohibited!' Illegality that pierces the eye and revolts the heart, if the eye is not blind and the heart is not impenetrable or corrupt."<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Captain (res.) Itai Haviv, a signatory of the 'courage to refuse' letter of 2002, told of his unhappiness about his service for the <a href="/wiki/Israeli_Defense_Forces" class="mw-redirect" title="Israeli Defense Forces">Israeli Defense Forces</a> (IDF) and said "For 35 years a black flag was proudly hanging over our heads, but we have refused to see it". A translation note explains the "Black Flag" principle but adds "In the 45 years that passed since [the ruling], not even a single soldier was protected by a military court for refusing to obey a command because it was a 'black flag' command."<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="1968_Mỹ_Lai_massacre"><span id="1968_M.E1.BB.B9_Lai_massacre"></span>1968 Mỹ Lai massacre</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: 1968 Mỹ Lai massacre"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Following the <a href="/wiki/M%E1%BB%B9_Lai_massacre" class="mw-redirect" title="Mỹ Lai massacre">Mỹ Lai massacre</a> in 1968, the defense was employed during the court martial of <a href="/wiki/William_Calley" title="William Calley">William Calley</a>. Some have argued that the outcome of the Mỹ Lai trial was a reversal of the <a href="/wiki/Laws_of_war" class="mw-redirect" title="Laws of war">laws of war</a> that were set forth in the <a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_War_Crimes_Tribunal" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal">Nuremberg</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tokyo_War_Crimes_Tribunal" class="mw-redirect" title="Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal">Tokyo War Crimes Tribunals</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Secretary_of_the_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="Secretary of the Army">Secretary of the Army</a> <a href="/wiki/Howard_Callaway" class="mw-redirect" title="Howard Callaway">Howard Callaway</a> was quoted in the <i>New York Times</i> as stating that Calley's sentence was reduced because Calley believed that what he did was a part of his orders. Calley used the exact phrase "just following orders" when another American soldier, <a href="/wiki/Hugh_Thompson_Jr." title="Hugh Thompson Jr.">Hugh Thompson</a>, confronted him about the ongoing massacre. </p><p>In <i><a href="/wiki/United_States_v._Keenan" title="United States v. Keenan">United States v. Keenan</a></i>, the accused was found guilty of murder after he obeyed an order to shoot and kill an elderly <a href="/wiki/Vietnam" title="Vietnam">Vietnamese</a> citizen. The <a href="/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Armed_Forces" title="United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces">Court of Military Appeals</a> held that "the justification for acts done pursuant to orders does not exist if the order was of such a nature that a man of ordinary sense and understanding would know it to be illegal". The soldier who gave the order, Corporal Luczko, was acquitted by reason of insanity.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="1987_Canadian_prosecution_of_Imre_Finta">1987 Canadian prosecution of Imre Finta</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: 1987 Canadian prosecution of Imre Finta"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The Canadian government prosecuted Hungarian Nazi collaborator <a href="/wiki/Imre_Finta" title="Imre Finta">Imre Finta</a> under its war crimes legislation in 1987. He was accused of organizing the deportation of over 8,000 Jews to Nazi death camps. He was acquitted on the defence that he was following the orders of a superior. The Canadian courts that accepted that verdict are the only ones in the world that recognize that legal defence.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="1998_Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court">1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/States_Parties_to_the_Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court" class="mw-redirect" title="States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court">States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court</a></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Rome_Statute" title="Rome Statute">Rome Statute</a> was agreed in 1998 as the foundation document of the <a href="/wiki/International_Criminal_Court" title="International Criminal Court">International Criminal Court</a>, established to try those accused of serious international crimes. Article 33, titled "Superior orders and prescription of law",<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> states: </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><div><ol><li>The fact that a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court has been committed by a person pursuant to an order of a Government or of a superior, whether military or civilian, shall not relieve that person of criminal responsibility unless: <div><ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha"><li>The person was under a legal obligation to obey orders of the Government or the superior in question;</li><li>The person did not know that the order was unlawful; and</li><li>The order was not manifestly unlawful.</li></ol></div></li><li>For the purposes of this article, orders to commit genocide or crimes against humanity are manifestly unlawful.</li></ol></div></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="2000–present"><span id="2000.E2.80.93present"></span>2000–present<span class="anchor" id="History_from_2000_to_present"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: 2000–present"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Legal_proceedings_of_Jeremy_Hinzman_in_Canada">Legal proceedings of Jeremy Hinzman in Canada</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Legal proceedings of Jeremy Hinzman in Canada"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Jeremy_Hinzman" title="Jeremy Hinzman">Jeremy Hinzman</a>, <a href="/wiki/Anne_L._Mactavish" class="mw-redirect" title="Anne L. Mactavish">Anne L. Mactavish</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Canada_and_Iraq_War_resisters" class="mw-redirect" title="Canada and Iraq War resisters">Canada and Iraq War resisters</a></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_Principles#Principle_IV" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuremberg Principles">Nuremberg Principle IV</a>, and its reference to an individual's responsibility, was at issue in <a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canada</a> in the case of <i>Hinzman v. Canada.</i> <a href="/wiki/Jeremy_Hinzman" title="Jeremy Hinzman">Jeremy Hinzman</a> was a <a href="/wiki/U.S._Army" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Army">U.S. Army</a> <a href="/wiki/Deserter" class="mw-redirect" title="Deserter">deserter</a> who claimed <a href="/wiki/Refugee" title="Refugee">refugee</a> status in Canada as a <a href="/wiki/Conscientious_objector" title="Conscientious objector">conscientious objector</a>, one of <a href="/wiki/Iraq_War_resisters_in_Canada" title="Iraq War resisters in Canada">many Iraq War resisters</a>. Hinzman's lawyer, (at that time <a href="/wiki/Jeffry_House" title="Jeffry House">Jeffry House</a>), had previously raised the issue of the <a href="/wiki/Legality_of_the_Iraq_War" title="Legality of the Iraq War">legality of the Iraq War</a> as having a bearing on their case. The <a href="/wiki/Federal_Court_(Canada)" title="Federal Court (Canada)">Federal Court</a> ruling was released on March 31, 2006, and denied the refugee status claim.<sup id="cite_ref-Mernagh,_M_34-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mernagh,_M-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the decision, Justice <a href="/wiki/Anne_Mactavish" title="Anne Mactavish">Anne L. Mactavish</a> addressed the issue of personal responsibility: </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>An individual must be involved at the policy-making level to be culpable for a crime against peace ... the ordinary foot soldier is not expected to make his or her own personal assessment as to the legality of a conflict. Similarly, such an individual cannot be held criminally responsible for fighting in support of an illegal war, assuming that his or her personal war-time conduct is otherwise proper.<sup id="cite_ref-Mernagh,_M_34-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mernagh,_M-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>On November 15, 2007, a quorum of the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Canada" title="Supreme Court of Canada">Supreme Court of Canada</a> made of Justices <a href="/wiki/Michel_Bastarache" title="Michel Bastarache">Michel Bastarache</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rosalie_Abella" title="Rosalie Abella">Rosalie Abella</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Louise_Charron" title="Louise Charron">Louise Charron</a> refused an application to have the Court hear the case on appeal, without giving reasons.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Legal_proceedings_of_Ehren_Watada_in_the_United_States">Legal proceedings of Ehren Watada in the United States</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Legal proceedings of Ehren Watada in the United States"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In June 2006, during the <a href="/wiki/Iraq_War" title="Iraq War">Iraq War</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ehren_Watada" title="Ehren Watada">Ehren Watada</a> refused to go to Iraq on account of his belief that the war was a <a href="/wiki/Crime_against_peace" class="mw-redirect" title="Crime against peace">crime against peace</a> (waging a <a href="/wiki/War_of_aggression" title="War of aggression">war of aggression</a> for territorial aggrandizement), which he believed could make him liable for prosecution under the command responsibility doctrine. In this case, the judge ruled that soldiers, in general, are not responsible for determining whether the order to go to war is itself a lawful order – but are only responsible for those orders resulting in a specific application of military force, such as shooting civilians or treating POWs inconsistently with the Geneva Conventions. This is consistent with the Nuremberg defense, as only the civilian and military principals of the Axis were charged with crimes against peace, while subordinate military officials were not.<sup id="cite_ref-SeattlePI060620_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SeattlePI060620-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It is often the case in modern warfare that while subordinate military officials are not held liable for their actions, neither are their superiors, as was the case with Calley's immediate superior Captain Ernest Medina. </p><p>Based on this principle, <a href="/wiki/International_law" title="International law">international law</a> developed the concept of individual criminal liability for war crimes, which resulted in the current doctrine of command responsibility.<sup id="cite_ref-Danner-Martinez_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Danner-Martinez-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Robin_Rowland_43-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Robin_Rowland-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Legal_proceedings_of_Vadim_Shishimarin_in_Ukraine">Legal proceedings of Vadim Shishimarin in Ukraine</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Legal proceedings of Vadim Shishimarin in Ukraine"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On February 28, 2022, during the <a href="/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine" title="Russian invasion of Ukraine">Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>, Russian Sergeant <a href="/wiki/Vadim_Shishimarin" class="mw-redirect" title="Vadim Shishimarin">Vadim Shishimarin</a> shot and killed unarmed civilian Oleksandr Shelipov, a 62 year old Ukrainian man. His trial started on 13 May 2022, and on Wednesday 18 May, Shishimarin pleaded guilty to the killing. On Friday 20 May, Shishimarin's defense lawyer asked for his client to be acquitted of war crimes.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He argued that Shishimarin had intended not to kill but only to carry out the order formally, which Shishimarin had refused twice before succumbing to pressure from other soldiers. He further argued that the shots were unaimed, fired from a moving vehicle with a faulty tire, and only one bullet out of the burst hit.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Summary">Summary<span class="anchor" id="Historical_overview_summary_table"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Summary"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 800px; height: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th>Date </th> <th>Preceding context </th> <th>Jurisdiction / decisionmaker </th> <th>Defendant(s) or case(s) </th> <th>[found] "responsible" despite superior orders </th> <th>[found] "not responsible" because of superior orders </th></tr> <tr bgcolor="#FBFB98"> <td>1474 </td> <td>the occupation of <a href="/wiki/Breisach" title="Breisach">Breisach</a> </td> <td>ad hoc tribunal of the <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Peter_von_Hagenbach" title="Peter von Hagenbach">Peter von Hagenbach</a> </td> <td>yes <a href="#The_trial_of_Peter_von_Hagenbach">(see details)</a> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#FBFB98"> <td>1921 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a> </td> <td>Germany's Supreme Court (trials after <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a>) </td> <td>Lieutenant Karl Neumann and others </td> <td> </td> <td>yes <a href="#German_military_trials_after_World_War_I">(see details)</a> </td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#FBFB98"> <td>1945 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_trials" title="Nuremberg trials">Nuremberg trials</a> after <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> </td> <td>all defendants </td> <td>yes <a href="#Nuremberg_Trials_after_World_War_II">(see details)</a> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>1998 </td> <td>preparation for future cases </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rome_Statute" title="Rome Statute">Rome Statute</a> of the <a href="/wiki/International_Criminal_Court" title="International Criminal Court">International Criminal Court</a> </td> <td>future cases under Article 33 of the <a href="/wiki/Rome_Statute" title="Rome Statute">Rome Statute</a> of the <a href="/wiki/International_Criminal_Court" title="International Criminal Court">International Criminal Court</a> </td> <td>in cases of <a href="/wiki/Genocide" title="Genocide">genocide</a> and possibly other cases <a href="#1998_Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court">(see details)</a> </td> <td>possibly in cases other than <a href="/wiki/Genocide" title="Genocide">genocide</a> <a href="#1998_Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court">(see details)</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>2006 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Iraq_War" title="Iraq War">Iraq War</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Anne_Mactavish" title="Anne Mactavish">Justice Anne L. Mactavish</a> – <a href="/wiki/Federal_Court_(Canada)" title="Federal Court (Canada)">Federal Court (Canada)</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Jeremy_Hinzman" title="Jeremy Hinzman">Jeremy Hinzman</a> (refugee applicant) </td> <td> </td> <td>equivalent to yes <a href="#Legal_proceedings_of_Jeremy_Hinzman_in_Canada">(see details)</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>2022 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine" title="Russian invasion of Ukraine">Russian invasion of Ukraine</a> </td> <td>Serhiy Agafonov </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Vadim_Shishimarin" class="mw-redirect" title="Vadim Shishimarin">Vadim Shishimarin</a> </td> <td>yes </td> <td> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Note</b>: Yellow rows indicate the use of the <i>precise</i> plea of superior orders in a war crimes trial, as opposed to events regarding the <i>general</i> concept of superior orders. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Arguments">Arguments<span class="anchor" id="Arguments_for_and_against"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Arguments"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/International_legal_theories" title="International legal theories">International legal theories</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sources_of_international_law" title="Sources of international law">Sources of international law</a>, <a href="/wiki/Law_of_war" title="Law of war">Law of war</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Rule_of_Law_in_Armed_Conflicts_Project" title="Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project">Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project</a></div> <p>The superior orders defense is still used with the following rationale in the following scenario: An "order" may come from one's superior at the level of <i>national</i> law. But according to Nuremberg Principle IV, such an order is sometimes "unlawful" according to <i>international</i> law. Such an "unlawful order" presents a legal dilemma from which there is no legal escape: On one hand, a person who <i>refuses</i> such an unlawful order faces the possibility of legal punishment <i>at the national level</i>. On the other hand, a person who <i>accepts</i> such an unlawful order faces the possibility of legal punishment <i>at the international level</i>. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Nuremberg_Principles#Principle_II" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuremberg Principles">Nuremberg Principle II</a> responds to that dilemma by stating: "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."<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>This might present a <i>legal</i> dilemma, but Nuremberg Principle IV speaks of "a <i>moral</i> choice" as being just as important as legal decisions: "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 <i>moral</i> choice was in fact possible to him". </p><p>In moral choices or <a href="/wiki/Ethical_dilemma" title="Ethical dilemma">ethical dilemmas</a> a decision is often made by appealing to a "higher ethic". One found in many religions and in secular ethics is the <i><a href="/wiki/Ethic_of_reciprocity" class="mw-redirect" title="Ethic of reciprocity">ethic of reciprocity</a></i>, or <i><a href="/wiki/Golden_Rule" title="Golden Rule">Golden Rule</a></i>. It states that one has a right to just treatment, and therefore has a reciprocal responsibility to ensure justice for others. </p><p>Although messengers are not usually responsible for the content of messages, the <a href="/wiki/Babylonian_Talmud" class="mw-redirect" title="Babylonian Talmud">Babylonian Talmud</a> (3rd to 5th century corpus of <a href="/wiki/Jewish_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Jewish law">Jewish law</a>) states, "There is no messenger in a case of sin."<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Telushkin" title="Joseph Telushkin">Joseph Telushkin</a> interprets the precept to mean that "if a person is sent to perform an evil act, he cannot defend his behavior by saying he was only acting as another's messenger. ... [T]he person who carries out the evil act bears responsibility for the evil he or she does."<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This is because God's law (i.e. <a href="/wiki/Morality" title="Morality">morality</a>) supersedes human law. </p><p>Another argument against the use of the superior orders defense is that it does not follow the traditional legal definitions and categories established under <a href="/wiki/Criminal_law" title="Criminal law">criminal law</a>, where a <a href="/wiki/Principal_(criminal_law)" title="Principal (criminal law)">principal</a> is any actor who is primarily responsible for a criminal offense.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Such an actor is distinguished from others who may also be subject to criminal liability as <a href="/wiki/Accomplice" class="mw-redirect" title="Accomplice">accomplices</a>, <a href="/wiki/Accessory_(legal_term)" title="Accessory (legal term)">accessories</a> or <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy_(crime)" class="mw-redirect" title="Conspiracy (crime)">conspirators</a>. (See also the various degrees of liability: <a href="/wiki/Absolute_liability" title="Absolute liability">absolute liability</a>, <a href="/wiki/Strict_liability" title="Strict liability">strict liability</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Mens_rea" title="Mens rea">mens rea</a>.) </p><p>The common argument is that every individual under orders should be bound by law to immediately relieve of command an officer who gives an obviously unlawful order to their troops. This represents a rational check against organizational command hierarchies. </p><p>Nuremberg Principle IV, the <a href="/wiki/International_law" title="International law">international law</a> that counters the superior orders defense, is legally supported by the <a href="/wiki/Jurisprudence" title="Jurisprudence">jurisprudence</a> found in <a href="/wiki/Conscientious_objector#Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights" title="Conscientious objector">certain articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that deal indirectly with conscientious objection</a>. It is also supported by <a href="/wiki/Conscientious_objector#Handbook_on_Procedures_and_Criteria_for_Determining_Refugee_Status" title="Conscientious objector">the principles found in paragraph 171 of the Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status</a>, which was issued by the Office of the <a href="/wiki/United_Nations_High_Commissioner_for_Refugees" title="United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees">United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees</a> (UNHCR). Those principles deal with the conditions under which <a href="/wiki/Conscientious_objector" title="Conscientious objector">conscientious objectors</a> can apply for refugee status in another country if they face persecution in their own for refusing to participate in an illegal war. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Bibliography">Bibliography</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Bibliography"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Yoram Dinstein: <i>The Defence of Obedience to Superior Orders in International Law</i>, Sijthoff-Leyden, 1965.</li> <li>Paola Gaeta: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://ejil.org/pdfs/10/1/571.pdf"><i>The Defence of Superior Orders: The Statute of the International Criminal Court versus Customary International Law</i></a>, pdf, European Journal of International Law, 1999.</li> <li>Matthew Lippman: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://elibrary.law.psu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1398&context=psilr"><i>Conundrums of Armed Conflict: Criminal Defenses to Violations of the Humanitarian Law of War</i></a> pdf, Penn State International Law Review, 1996, Volume 15.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Corpse-like_obedience" title="Corpse-like obedience">Corpse-like obedience</a> (<i>Kadavergehorsam</i>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Milgram_experiment" title="Milgram experiment">Milgram experiment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radbruch_formula" title="Radbruch formula">Radbruch formula</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tu_quoque_defense" title="Tu quoque defense">Tu quoque defense</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vicarious_liability" title="Vicarious liability">Vicarious liability</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>See</i> L.C. Green, <i>Superior Orders in National and International Law</i>, (A. W. Sijthoff International Publishing Co., Netherlands, 1976)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mark J. Osiel, <i>Obeying Orders: Atrocity, Military Discipline, and the Law of War</i>, (Transactions Publishers, New Brunswick, N.J., 1999).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>See</i> James B. Insco, <i>Defense of Superior Orders Before Military Commissions</i>, Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law, 13 DUKEJCIL 389 (Spring, 2003). Asserting in the author's view that a <i><a href="/wiki/Respondeat_superior" title="Respondeat superior">respondeat superior</a></i> approach to superior orders is an "underinclusive extreme".</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">H. T. King Jr., <i>The Legacy of Nuremberg</i>, Case Western Journal of International Law, Vol. 34. (Fall 2002) at p. 335.e</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/CourtRecords/CR2021_03027.PDF">"Situation In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo In The Case Of The Prosecutor V. Bosco Ntaganda"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>icc-cpi.int</i>. International Criminal Court. 30 March 2021. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220715105508/https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/CourtRecords/CR2021_03027.PDF">Archived</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> from the original on 15 July 2022<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">18 October</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=icc-cpi.int&rft.atitle=Situation+In+The+Democratic+Republic+Of+The+Congo+In+The+Case+Of+The+Prosecutor+V.+Bosco+Ntaganda&rft.date=2021-03-30&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.icc-cpi.int%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FCourtRecords%2FCR2021_03027.PDF&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASuperior+orders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Greppi-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Greppi_6-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Greppi_6-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.icrc.ch/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/57JQ2X">The evolution of individual criminal responsibility under international law</a> By Edoardo Greppi, Associate Professor of International Law at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Turin" title="University of Turin">University of Turin</a>, <a href="/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italy</a>, <a href="/wiki/International_Committee_of_the_Red_Cross" title="International Committee of the Red Cross">International Committee of the Red Cross</a> No. 835, p. 531–553, October 30, 1999.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Grant-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Grant_7-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/alumni/bulletin/2006/spring/gallery.php">Exhibit highlights the first international war crimes tribunal</a> by Linda Grant, Harvard Law Bulletin.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Schabas-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Schabas_8-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Schabas_8-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/81258/excerpt/9780521881258_excerpt.pdf">An Introduction to the International Criminal Court</a> William A. Schabas, <a href="/wiki/Cambridge_University_Press" title="Cambridge University Press">Cambridge University Press</a>, Third Edition</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Mens_Rea-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Mens_Rea_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.globalpolicy.org/intljustice/general/2005/command.htm">Command Responsibility</a> The Mens Rea Requirement, By Eugenia Levine, <a href="/wiki/Global_Policy_Forum" title="Global Policy Forum">Global Policy Forum</a>, February 2005</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Murray-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Murray_10-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/murray/20020718.html">Judge and master</a> By Don Murray, <a href="/wiki/CBC_News" title="CBC News">CBC News</a>, July 18, 2002.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://law.gsu.edu/Miller_Lecture/2006/MillerLecture-S06-BassiouniDraft.pdf">The Perennial Conflict Between International Criminal Justice and Realpolitik</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080910183610/http://law.gsu.edu/Miller_Lecture/2006/MillerLecture-S06-BassiouniDraft.pdf">Archived</a> 2008-09-10 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> February 10, 2006 Draft by M. Cherif Bassiouni -Distinguished Research Professor of Law and President, <a href="/w/index.php?title=International_Human_Rights_Law_Institute&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="International Human Rights Law Institute (page does not exist)">International Human Rights Law Institute</a>, <a href="/wiki/DePaul_University_College_of_Law" title="DePaul University College of Law">DePaul University College of Law</a>, Presented March 14, 2006 as the 38th <a href="/w/index.php?title=Henry_J._Miller_Distinguished_Lecture&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture (page does not exist)">Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture</a>, <a href="/wiki/Georgia_State_University_College_of_Law" title="Georgia State University College of Law">Georgia State University College of Law</a>, and to appear in the <a href="/wiki/Georgia_State_University_Law_Review" title="Georgia State University Law Review">Georgia State University Law Review</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C04EEDA1739E133A25756C0A9609C946095D6CF">"Free Man Who Sank a Hospital Ship; Leipsic Judges Acquit Neumann on the Ground That He Acted Under Orders. He Admitted Torpedoing. Prosecutor Demanded Acquittal, Calling Dover Castle Culpable in Carrying Wounded Soldiers"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/New_York_Times" class="mw-redirect" title="New York Times">New York Times</a></i>. June 5, 1921<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">10 April</span> 2010</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=New+York+Times&rft.atitle=Free+Man+Who+Sank+a+Hospital+Ship%3B+Leipsic+Judges+Acquit+Neumann+on+the+Ground+That+He+Acted+Under+Orders.+He+Admitted+Torpedoing.+Prosecutor+Demanded+Acquittal%2C+Calling+Dover+Castle+Culpable+in+Carrying+Wounded+Soldiers.&rft.date=1921-06-05&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fgst%2Fabstract.html%3Fres%3D9C04EEDA1739E133A25756C0A9609C946095D6CF&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASuperior+orders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-gwpda-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-gwpda_13-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSir_Andrew_Macphail2000" class="citation web cs1">Sir Andrew Macphail (28 February 2000). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.gwpda.org/naval/rcnmed00.htm">"Royal Canadian Naval Medical Service"</a>. Great War Primary Documents Archive<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2 September</span> 2009</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Royal+Canadian+Naval+Medical+Service&rft.pub=Great+War+Primary+Documents+Archive&rft.date=2000-02-28&rft.au=Sir+Andrew+Macphail&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gwpda.org%2Fnaval%2Frcnmed00.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASuperior+orders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"German War Trials: Judgement in Case of Commander Karl Neumann", <i>The American Journal of International Law</i>, Vol. 16, No. 4. (October 1922), pp. 704–708.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">G. A. Finch, "Superior Orders and War Crimes", <i>The American Journal of International Law</i>, Vol. 15, No. 3. (July 1921), pp. 440–445.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"German War Trials: Judgment in Case of Lieutenants Dithmar and Boldt". <i>The American Journal of International Law</i>, vol. 16, no. 4, 1922, pp. 708–724.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFde_Zayas1989" class="citation book cs1">de Zayas, Alfred-Maurice (1989). <i>The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau, 1939-1945</i>. University of Nebraska Press. p. 5. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8032-9908-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-8032-9908-7"><bdi>0-8032-9908-7</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Wehrmacht+War+Crimes+Bureau%2C+1939-1945&rft.pages=5&rft.pub=University+of+Nebraska+Press&rft.date=1989&rft.isbn=0-8032-9908-7&rft.aulast=de+Zayas&rft.aufirst=Alfred-Maurice&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASuperior+orders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Timesarticle784041-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Timesarticle784041_18-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCrossland2006" class="citation news cs1">Crossland, John (2006-01-01). <span class="id-lock-subscription" title="Paid subscription required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/churchill-execute-hitler-without-trial-7875nptrm3r">"Churchill: execute Hitler without trial"</a></span>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_Times" title="The Times">The Times</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2024-05-26</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Times&rft.atitle=Churchill%3A+execute+Hitler+without+trial&rft.date=2006-01-01&rft.aulast=Crossland&rft.aufirst=John&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thetimes.co.uk%2Farticle%2Fchurchill-execute-hitler-without-trial-7875nptrm3r&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASuperior+orders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMoghalu2006" class="citation book cs1">Moghalu, K. C. (2006). <i>Global Justice: The Politics of War Crime Trials</i>. 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The difference to the present regulation, as found in the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Wehrstrafgesetz</i></span> § 5, is only marginal, at least as far as the letter of the law is concerned.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">"... wenn ihm bekannt gewesen, daß der Befehl des Vorgesetzten eine Handlung betraf, welche ein bürgerliches oder militärisches Verbrechen oder Vergehen bezweckte"</i></span>, i.e., "... if it was known to him that the superior's order concerned an action that aimed at a civil or military felony or misdemeanor". According to general legal interpretation,<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> "if he knew" means "unless he did not know <i>and</i> had a valid excuse for not knowing".</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTaylor1970" class="citation book cs1">Taylor, Telford (1970). <i>Nuremberg and Vietnam: An American Tragedy</i>. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 October</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Die+Welt&rft.atitle=Hatten+SS-Mitglieder+damals+wirklich+%27keine+Wahl%27%3F&rft.date=2015-07-15&rft.aulast=Kellerhoff&rft.aufirst=Sven+Felix&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.welt.de%2Fgeschichte%2Fzweiter-weltkrieg%2Farticle144067359%2FHatten-SS-Mitglieder-damals-wirklich-keine-Wahl.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASuperior+orders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">M. R. Lippman, "Humanitarian Law: The Development and Scope of the Superior Orders Defense", <i>Penn State International Law Review</i>, Fall 2001.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Leora Y. 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Campa, 679 F.2d 1006, 1013 (lst Cir. 1982).</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Superior_orders&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/militarylaw1/a/obeyingorders_2.htm">usmilitary.about.com: To Obey or Not to Obey</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output 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title="International Military Tribunal for the Far East">International Military Tribunal for the Far East</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Criminal_Tribunal_for_the_former_Yugoslavia" title="International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia">International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Criminal_Tribunal_for_Rwanda" title="International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda">International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Special_Court_for_Sierra_Leone" title="Special Court for Sierra Leone">Special Court for Sierra Leone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Criminal_Court" title="International Criminal Court">International Criminal Court</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Khmer_Rouge_Tribunal" title="Khmer Rouge Tribunal">Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Special_Panels_for_Serious_Crimes_(East_Timor)" title="Special Panels for Serious Crimes (East 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