War Crimes Law (Belgium)

War Crimes Law (Belgium)

Belgium's War Crimes Law invokes the concept of universal jurisdiction to allow anyone to bring war crime charges in Belgian courts, regardless of where the alleged crimes have taken place.

Note that this is a Belgian law and is different from the International Criminal Court, which is a treaty body to try war crimes, and also different from the International Court of Justice, which is a U.N. body to settle disputes between countries. Both of these bodies reside in nearby The Hague, Netherlands, although some have said that American Servicemen's Protection Act passed by the US was also directed against the War Crimes Law.

Read more about War Crimes Law (Belgium):  Background, Universal Jurisdiction, Problems With Implementation of The Law, Most Cases Dropped, Modified Law and Criticism, Court of Arbitration

Famous quotes containing the words war, crimes and/or law:

    Stiller ... took part in the Spanish Civil War ... It is not clear what impelled him to this military gesture. Probably many factors were combined—a rather romantic Communism, such as was common among bourgeois intellectuals at that time.
    Max Frisch (1911–1991)

    Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name!
    Emma Goldman (1869–1940)

    It is time that we start thinking about foundational issues: about our attitudes toward fair trials... Who are the People in a multicultural society?... The victims of discrimination are now organized. Blacks, Jews, gays, women—they will no longer tolerate second-class status. They seek vindication for past grievances in the trials that take place today, the new political trial.
    George P. Fletcher, U.S. law educator. With Justice for Some, p. 6, Addison-Wesley (1995)