Ending the Immunity of National Leaders for International Crimes

An event by SCRAP Weapons presenting newly discovered state practice in the 1940s, consisting of indictments prepared against Adolf Hitler and his officials.

The issue of the immunity of national leaders remains important in international criminal law and politics. For example, while the ICC has certain jurisdiction and the concept of Universal Jurisdiction opens other opportunities for judicial action, the International Court of Justice ruling against bilateral national prosecutions is restrictive.

New analysis by Uczkiewicz, Plesch and Adanan of the now unsealed archives of the 1943-1948 UNWCC reveals a previously barely public but in fact a rich mine of state practice and precedent and multilateral advisory opinions strengthening customary international law, not least in the context of universal jurisdiction..

They will present analysis of the 700 pages of indictments of Hitler and his entourage, and of the Italian fascist leadership developed by national governments and approved by the 16 nation UNWCC as meeting a prima facie standard. This system of positive complementarity has broader lessons that may be considered.

This seminar is part of the SOAS-led Leverhulme funded project on positive complementarity and is also part of a series of activities marking the first meeting of the UNWCC at the Royal Courts of Justice in London in the autumn of 1943.

Explore the United Nations War Crime Commission archives here and the documents which will be discussed here.

Speakers:

• Dr Dominika Uczkiewicz (Pilecki Institute)
• Professor Dan Plesch (SOAS/9BR)
• Dr Amina Adanan (Maynooth)

Chair:

• Dr Mba Chidi Nmaju

Lunch will be served.