Editing Nuremberg principles (section)

== The principles ==
=== Principle I ===
{{blockquote|Any person who commits an act which constitutes a [[international criminal law|crime under international law]] is responsible therefor<!-- "therefor", with no final "e", is not the same word as "therefore", with a final "e".  These are two different words that mean two different things.  This one should have NO final "e". --> and liable to punishment.}}

=== Principle II ===
{{blockquote|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.}}

=== Principle III ===
{{blockquote|The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime under international law, acted as [[Head of State]] or [[responsible government]] [[official]], does not relieve him from responsibility under international law.}}

=== Principle IV ===
{{Main|Superior orders}}
{{blockquote|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.}}

This principle could be paraphrased as follows: "It is not an acceptable excuse to say 'I was just following my superior's orders'".

Previous to the time of the [[Nuremberg Trials]], this excuse was known in common parlance as "[[superior orders]]".{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} After the prominent, high-profile event of the Nuremberg Trials, that excuse is now referred to by many as the "[[Nuremberg Defense]]".  In recent times, a third term, "[[lawful orders]]" has become common parlance for some people.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} All three terms are in use today, and they all have slightly different nuances of meaning, depending on the context in which they are used.

Nuremberg Principle IV is legally supported by the [[jurisprudence]] found in [[Conscientious objector#Universal Declaration of Human Rights|certain articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which deal indirectly with conscientious objection]].{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} It is also supported by [[Conscientious objector#Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status|the principles found in paragraph 171 of the Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status]] which was issued by the Office of the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR). Those principles deal with the conditions under which [[conscientious objector]]s can apply for refugee status in another country if they face persecution in their own country for refusing to participate in an illegal war.

=== Principle V ===
{{blockquote|Any person charged with a crime under international law has the [[right to a fair trial]] on the facts and law.}}

=== Principle VI ===

{{blockquote|The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:

:(a) '''[[Crime against peace|Crimes against peace]]''':

::(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a [[war of aggression]] or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;

::(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).

:(b) '''[[War crime]]s''':

:Violations of the [[laws or customs of war]] which include, but are not limited to, [[murder]], ill-treatment or [[deportation]] to [[slave labor]] or for any other purpose of [[civilian]] [[population]] of or in [[occupied territory]]; murder or ill-treatment of [[prisoners of war]] or [[shipwreck|persons on the Seas]], killing of [[hostage]]s, [[plunder]] of [[Public property|public]] or [[private property]], wanton destruction of [[cities]], [[town]]s, or [[villages]], or devastation not justified by [[military necessity]].

:(c) '''[[Crimes against humanity]]''':

:Murder, extermination, enslavement, [[deportation]] and other inhumane acts done against any civilian population, or [[persecutions]] on political, racial, or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime.
:Leaders, organizers, instigators and accomplices participating in the formulation or execution of a common plan or conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing crimes are responsible for all acts performed by any persons in execution of such plan. }}

=== Principle VII ===
{{blockquote|Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law.}}