Abstract

HUHLE, Rainer. Towards an Understanding of "Crimes Against Humanity" since Nuremberg. Estud. Socio-Juríd [online]. 2011, vol.13, n.2, pp.43-76. ISSN 0124-0579.

This article makes an historical analysis of the manner in which crimes against humanity have acquired an independent status from crimes of war and aggression ever since the concept was first introduced in discussions between the Allies during the establishment of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. It describes the manner in which the concept has evolved and been discussed in several international bodies, and how it was finally included in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The article shows how the Nuremberg trials have a fundamental legal and historical meaning in that they institutionalized individual responsibility for a new category of crimes before an international tribunal. It also shows how after the Nuremberg trials, crimes against humanity have been gradually withdrawn from the competency of government sovereignty to become a matter for the international community of nations.

Keywords : Nuremberg trials; crimes against humanity; International Criminal Court; war crimes; crimes against peace.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )