Evening star., 1946-09-30

I
down for As minutes.
Special Associated Press tele-
phone lines also broke down for |
a short period during the morn
ing session, but these facilities |
were able to carry the bulk of |
the copy.
ask was to receive fair trial on thu
facts and the law in accordance witt
the principles of justice.
Aggression Defended.
The main argument of the defense
had dealt with the question OF ag-
gressive war 1t was contended thai
no sovereign power had made ag-
greSsive war a crime at the time the
alleged criminal acts were commit.
ted, that no statute had defined ag.
gressive war. that no penalty hac
been fixed for its commission anc
no court had been created to try ano
punish offenders in these circum-
stances.
1t was said that, to punish de-
| PENDANTS for the crime of aggressive
war, was to indulge in ex-poSt factc
legislation abhorrent to the law o1
all civilized nations In the judg-
ment of the tribunal, these conten-
tions ignore the true nature of in
ternational law which is continually
developing, adapting itself to the
needs of changing world as the
wisdom and experience of the Sue
ceeding generation dictate. The
tribunal had been concerned with
matters of substance and not mere
procedure.
The Hague Convent IN contains
no statement that a oreach of it.
provisions is crir {, nor is any
sentence imposed nor is there any
mention .-ie court in which of.
tenders will be tried. Yet the acts
| outlaWed in The Hague Convention
are recognized to be crimes as fully
as though they had been expressly
defined as such.
The general treaty for the re.
nunciation of war of the 9th Au.
gust, 1928, generally known as the
Pact of Paris or the Kellogg -Briane
Pact, was binding upon 63 nations
including Germany, Italy ane
Japan.
At the outbreak of war in 1913!
that pact which had for its objec
"a frank denunciation of war as al
instrument of national policy" con
demned recourse to war for the so
luton OF international controversial
and renounced war as an instrumen
of national policy.
1t further enacted that the set
tlement or solution of all dispute
or conflicts shall never be sough
except by pacific means"
After 1928 was was an illega
thing, in the opinion Of the tribuna
The solemn remuneration of wa
as an instrument of national polio,
necessarily involves the proposition
that such war is illegal in inter
national law and that those VIII
plan and wage such war, with it
inevitable and terrible consequences
are committing crime in so doing
War for the solution of interna
tlonal controversies undertaken a.
an instrument of national polio,
certainly includes a war of aggres
sion, and such war is therefor,
outiaWed by the pact.
Individual Responsibility.
The contention was made that tn,
official position of defendants a!
heads of state should free then
from responsibility and that inter,
national law did not apply to indi
viduals. The tribunal declared tha
the doctrine of the immunity O
heads of state had no application
where state had violated interna
tlonal law and that for many year
past military tribunals had trie,
and punished individuals guilty O
violating the rules of land warfar,
laid down by The Hague Conven
ton.
i The defense of superior orders
has never been recognized as a de
tense to crime but is considere,
in mitigation as the charter her
provides. The first acts of aggression
were the seizure of Austria an,
CzechoSlovakia. Captured docu
ments have revealed that Hitler hel,
four secret meetings dealing witt
his plans of aggression, when h
made declarations which were quit
unmistakable in their terms.
On November %, 1899, in tn
presence of his supreme command
ers at a time when Austria an
Czechoslovakia had been incor
! porated into the German Reich an
Poland had been conquered by tn
German armies. Hitler reviewed hi
political task since 1919 and In tn
S course of his address he said:
"One year later Austria cam,
l This step also was considered doubt
full. 1t brought about a considera
BILE reinforcement of the Reich. TIL
! next step was Bohemia, Moravi
J. and Poland. This step also was nc
f possible to accomplish in one cam
S palgn. 1t was not possible to reac
r the goal in one effort 1t was cles
n to me from the first moment that
i could not be satisfied with tn
= Sudeten German territory. Ths
= was only partial solution. tn
r decision to march into Bohemia we
h made. Then followed the erectio
= of the protectorate and with thu
n the basis for the action again
e Poland WAS laid ~