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:
“The dead have been awakenedshall I sleep?
The worlds at war with tyrantsshall I crouch?
The harvests ripeand shall I pause to reap?
I slumber not; the thorn is in my couch;
Each day a trumpet soundeth in mine ear,
Its echo in my heart.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (17881824)
“I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with Blood.”
—John Brown (18001859)
“When law becomes despotic, morals are relaxed, and vice versa.”
—HonorĂ© De Balzac (17991850)