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Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 349', '§ 451', 'art 1', 'art 3', 'art 3', 'arts 327']

IN RE YAMASHITA, 327 U. S. 1 - Volume 327 - 1946 - Full Text - US Supreme Court Center - USSC Cases - Nolo
US Supreme Court Center > Volume 327 > IN RE YAMASHITA, 327 U. S. 1 (1946) > Full Text
No. 61 Miscellaneous is an application for leave to file a petition for writs of habeas corpus and prohibition in this Court. No. 672 is a petition for certiorari to review an order of the Supreme Court of the the Philippines (28 U.S.C. § 349) denying petitioner's application to that court for writs of habeas corpus and prohibition. As both applications raise substantially like questions, and because of the importance and novelty of some of those presented, we set the two applications down for oral argument as one case.
The petitions for habeas corpus set up that the detention of petitioner for the purpose of the trial was unlawful for
The Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands, after hearing argument, denied the petition for habeas corpus presented to it on the ground, among others, that its jurisdiction was limited to an inquiry as to the jurisdiction of the commission to place petitioner on trial for the offense charged, and that the commission, being validly constituted
We further pointed out that Congress, by sanctioning trial of enemy combatants for violations of the law of war by military commission, had not attempted to codify the law of war or to mark its precise boundaries. Instead, by Article 15, it had incorporated, by reference, as within the
We also emphasized in Ex parte Quirin, as we do here, that, on application for habeas corpus, we are not concerned with the guilt or innocence of the petitioners. We consider here only the lawful power of the commission to try the petitioner for the offense charged. In the present cases, it must be recognized throughout that the military tribunals which Congress has sanctioned by the Articles of War are not courts whose rulings and judgments are made subject to review by this Court. See Ex parte Vallandingham, 1 Wall. 243; In re Vidal, 179 U. S. 126; cf. Ex parte Quirin, supra, 317 U. S. 39. They are tribunals whose determinations are reviewable by the military authorities either as provided in the military orders constituting such tribunals or as provided by the Articles of War. Congress conferred on the courts no power to review their determinations save only as it has granted judicial power "to grant writs of habeas corpus for the purpose of an inquiry into the cause of the restraint of liberty." 28 U.S.C. §§ 451, 452. The courts may inquire whether the detention complained of is within the authority of those detaining the petitioner. If the military tribunals have lawful authority to hear, decide, and condemn, their action is not subject to judicial review merely because they have made a wrong decision on disputed facts. Correction of their errors of decision is not for the courts, but for the military authorities, which are alone authorized to review their decisions. See Dynes v. Hoover, 20 How. 5, 61 U. S. 81; Runkle v. United States, 122
Page 327 U. S. 9
U.S. 543, 122 U. S. 555-556; Carter v. McClaughry, 183 U. S. 365; Collins v. McDonald, 258 U. S. 416. Cf. Matter of Moran, 203 U. S. 96, 203 U. S. 105.
With these governing principles in mind, we turn to the consideration of the several contentions urged to establish want of authority in the commission. We are not here concerned with the power of military commissions to try civilians. See Ex parte Milligan, 4 Wall. 2, 71 U. S. 132; Sterling v. Constantin, 287 U. S. 378; Ex parte Quirin, supra, 317 U. S. 45. The Government's contention is that General Styer's order creating the commission conferred authority on it only to try the purported charge of violation of the law of war committed by petitioner, an enemy belligerent, while in command of a hostile army occupying United States territory during time of war. Our first inquiry must therefore be whether the present commission was created by lawful military command, and, if so, whether authority could thus be conferred on the commission to place petitioner on trial after the cessation of hostilities between the armed forces of the United States and Japan.
The authority to create the Commission. General Styer's order for the appointment of the commission was made by him as Commander of the United States Armed Forces, Western Pacific. His command includes, as part
By direction of the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the American Military Forces, on September 12, 1945, instructed General MacArthur, Commander in Chief, United States Army Forces, Pacific, to proceed with the trial, before
An important incident to the conduct of war is the adoption of measures by the military commander not only to repel and defeat the enemy, but to seize and subject to disciplinary measures those enemies who, in their attempt to thwart or impede our military effort, have violated the law of war. Ex parte Quirin, supra, 317 U. S. 28. The trial and punishment of enemy combatants who have committed violations of the law of war is thus not only a part of the conduct of war operating as a preventive measure against such violations, but is an exercise of the authority sanctioned by Congress to administer the system of military justice recognized by the law of war. That sanction is without qualification as to the exercise of this authority so
long as a state of war exists -- from its declaration until peace is proclaimed. See United States v. Anderson, 9 Wall. 56, 76 U. S. 70; The Protector, 12 Wall. 700, 79 U. S. 702; McElrath v. United States, 102 U. S. 426, 102 U. S. 438; Kahn v. Anderson, 255 U. S. 1, 255 U. S. 9-10. The war power, from which the commission derives its existence, is not limited to victories in the field, but carries with it the inherent power to guard against the immediate renewal of the conflict, and to remedy, at least in ways Congress has recognized, the evils which the military operations have produced. See Stewart v. Kahn, 11 Wall. 493, 78 U. S. 507.
No writer on international law appears to have regarded the power of military tribunals, otherwise competent to try violations of the law of war, as terminating before the formal state of war has ended. [Footnote 1] In our own military history,
It is not denied that such acts directed against the civilian population of an occupied country and against prisoners of war are recognized in international law as violations of the law of war. Articles 4, 28, 46, and 47, Annex to Fourth Hague Convention, 1907, 36 Stat. 2277, 2296, 2303, 2306, 2307. But it is urged that the charge does not allege that petitioner has either committed or directed the commission of such acts, and consequently that no violation is charged as against him. But this overlooks the fact that the gist of the charge is an unlawful breach of duty by petitioner as an army commander to control the operations of the members of his command by "permitting them to commit" the extensive and widespread atrocities specified. The question, then, is whether the law of war imposes
We do not make the laws of war, but we respect them so far as they do not conflict with the commands of Congress or the Constitution. There is no contention that the present charge, thus read, is without the support of evidence, or that the commission held petitioner responsible for failing to take measures which were beyond his control or inappropriate for a commanding officer to take in the circumstances. [Footnote 4]
Obviously, charges of violations of the law of war triable before a military tribunal need not be stated with the precision of a common law indictment. Cf. Collins v. McDonald, supra, 258 U. S. 420. But we conclude that the allegations of the charge, tested by any reasonable standard, adequately allege a violation of the law of war, and that the
and that, in particular, it might admit affidavits, depositions, or other statements taken by officers detailed for that purpose by military authority. The petitions in this case charged that, in the course of the trial, the commission received, over objection by petitioner's counsel, the deposition of a witness taken pursuant to military authority by a United States Army captain. It also, over like objection, admitted hearsay and opinion evidence tendered by the prosecution. Petitioner argues, as ground for the writ of habeas corpus, that Article 25 [Footnote 5] of the Articles of War prohibited the reception in evidence by the commission of depositions on behalf of the prosecution in a capital case, and that Article 38 [Footnote 6] prohibited the reception of hearsay and of opinion evidence.
Chapter 3 of Section V, Articles 45 through 67, is entitled "Penalties Applicable to Prisoners of War." Part 1 of that chapter, Articles 45 through 53, indicates what acts of prisoners of war committed while prisoners shall be considered offenses, and defines to some extent the punishment which the detaining power may impose on account of such offenses. [Footnote 8] Punishment is of two kinds -- "disciplinary" and
We think it clear, from the context of these recited provisions, that part 3, and Article 63 which it contains, apply only to judicial proceedings directed against a prisoner of war for offenses committed while a prisoner of war. Section
Petitioner relies on the failure to give the prescribed notice to the protecting power [Footnote 9] to establish want of authority in the commission to proceed with the trial.
For reasons already stated, we conclude that Article 60 of the Geneva Convention, which appears in part 3, Chapter 3, Section V, Title III of the Geneva Convention, applies only to persons who are subjected to judicial proceedings for offenses committed while prisoners of war. [Footnote 10]
It thus appears that the order convening the commission was a lawful order, that the commission was lawfully constituted, that petitioner was charged with violation of the law of war, and that the commission had authority to proceed with the trial, and, in doing so, did not violate any military, statutory, or constitutional command. We have considered, but find it unnecessary to discuss, other contentions which we find to be without merit. We therefore conclude that the detention of petitioner for trial and his detention upon his conviction, subject to the prescribed review by the military authorities, were lawful, and that the petition for certiorari, and leave to file in this Court
The answer is plain. The Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process of law applies to "any person" who is accused of a crime by the Federal Government or any of its agencies. No exception is made as to those who are accused of war crimes or as to those who possess the status of an enemy belligerent. Indeed, such an exception would be contrary to the whole philosophy of human rights which makes the Constitution the great living document that it is. The immutable rights of the individual, including those secured by the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, belong not alone to the members of those nations that excel on the battlefield or that subscribe to the democratic ideology. They belong to every person in the world, victor or vanquished, whatever may be his race, color, or beliefs. They rise above any status of belligerency or outlawry. They survive any popular passion or frenzy of the moment. No court or legislature or executive, not even the mightiest
A military commission was appointed to try the petitioner for an alleged war crime. The trial was ordered to be held in territory over which the United States has complete sovereignty. No military necessity or other emergency demanded the suspension of the safeguards of due process. Yet petitioner was rushed to trial under an improper charge, given insufficient time to prepare an adequate defense, deprived of the benefits of some of the most
In my opinion, such a procedure is unworthy of the traditions of our people or of the immense sacrifices that they have made to advance the common ideals of mankind. The high feelings of the moment doubtless will be satisfied. But in the sober afterglow will come the realization of the boundless and dangerous implications of the procedure sanctioned today. No one in a position of command in an army, from sergeant to general, can escape those implications. Indeed, the fate of some future President of the United States and his chiefs of staff and military advisers may well have been sealed by this decision. But even more significant will be the hatred and ill will growing out of the application of this unprecedented procedure. That has been the inevitable effect of every method of punishment disregarding the element of personal culpability. The effect in this instance, unfortunately, will be magnified infinitely, for here we are dealing with the rights of man on an international level. To subject an enemy belligerent
If we are ever to develop an orderly international community based upon a recognition of human dignity, it is of the utmost importance that the necessary punishment of those guilty of atrocities be as free as possible from the ugly stigma of revenge and vindictiveness. Justice must be tempered by compassion, rather than by vengeance. In this, the first case involving this momentous problem ever to reach this Court, our responsibility is both lofty and difficult. We must insist, within the confines of our proper
The determination of the extent of review of war trials calls for judicial statesmanship of the highest order. The ultimate nature and scope of the writ of habeas corpus are within the discretion of the judiciary unless validly circumscribed by Congress. Here, we are confronted with a use of the writ under circumstances novel in the history of the
It is important, in the first place, to appreciate the background of events preceding this trial. From October 9, 1944, to September 2, 1945, the petitioner was the Commanding General of the 14th Army Group of the Imperial Japanese Army, with headquarters in the Philippines. The reconquest of the Philippines by the armed forces of the United States began approximately at the time when
The day of final reckoning for the enemy arrived in August, 1945. On September 3, the petitioner surrendered to the United States Army at Baguio, Luzon. He immediately became a prisoner of war, and was interned in prison in conformity with the rules of international law. On September 25, approximately three weeks after surrendering, he was served with the charge in issue in this case. Upon service of the charge, he was removed from the status of a prisoner of war and placed in confinement as an accused war criminal. Arraignment followed on October 8 before a military commission specially appointed for the case. Petitioner pleaded not guilty. He was also served on that day with a bill of particulars alleging 64 crimes by troops under his command. A supplemental bill alleging 59 more crimes by his troops was filed on October 29, the same day that the trial began. No continuance was allowed for preparation of a defense as to the supplemental bill. The trial continued uninterrupted until December 5, 1945. On December 7 petitioner was found guilty as charged, and was sentenced to be hanged.
International law makes no attempt to define the duties of a commander of an army under constant and overwhelming assault, nor does it impose liability under such circumstances for failure to meet the ordinary responsibilities of command. The omission is understandable. Duties, as well as ability to control troops, vary according to the nature and intensity of the particular battle. To find an unlawful deviation from duty under battle conditions requires difficult and speculative calculations. Such calculations become highly untrustworthy when they are made by the victor in relation to the actions of a vanquished commander. Objective and realistic norms of conduct are then extremely unlikely to be used in forming a judgment as to deviations from duty. The probability that vengeance will form the major part of the victor's judgment is an unfortunate but inescapable fact. So great is that probability that international law refuses to recognize such a judgment as a basis for a war crime, however fair the judgment may be in a particular instance. It is this consideration that undermines the charge against the petitioner in this case. The indictment permits -- indeed compels -- the military commission of a victorious nation to
Another authority has stated that the word "responsible" in this particular context means "presumably to a higher authority," or "possibly it merely means one who controls his subordinates, and who therefore can be called to account for their acts." Wheaton, International Law (14th ed., by Keith, 1944, p. 172, fn. 30). Still another authority, Westlake, International Law (1907, Part II, p. 61), states that "probably the responsibility intended is nothing more than a capacity of exercising effective control." Finally, Edwards and Oppenheim, Land Warfare (1912, p. 19, par. 22) state that it is enough "if the commander of the corps is regularly or temporarily commissioned as an officer or is a person of
Even the laws of war heretofore recognized by this nation fail to impute responsibility to a fallen commander for excesses committed by his disorganized troops while under attack. Paragraph 347 of the War Department publication, Basic Field Manual, Rules of Land Warfare, FM 27-10 (1940), states the principal offenses under the laws of war recognized by the United States. This includes all of the atrocities which the Japanese troops were alleged to have committed in this instance. Originally,
There are numerous instances, especially with reference to the Philippine Insurrection in 1900 and 1901, where commanding officers were found to have violated the laws of war by specifically ordering members of their command to commit atrocities and other war crimes. Francisco Frani, G.O. 143, Dec. 13, 1900, Hq. Div. Phil.; Eugenio Fernandez and Juan Soriano, G.O. 28, Feb. 6, 1901, Hq.Div.Phil.; Ciriaco Cabungal, G.O. 188, Jul. 22, 1901, Hq.Div.Phil.; Natalio Valencia, G.O. 221, Aug. 17, 1901, Hq.Div.Phil.; Aniceta Angeles, G.O. 246, Sept. 2, 1901, Hq.Div.Phil.; Francisco Braganza, G.O. 291, Sept. 26, 1901, Hq.Div.Phil.; Lorenzo Andaya, G.O. 328, Oct. 25, 1901, Hq.Div.Phil. And, in other cases, officers have been held
The Government claims that the principle that commanders in the field are bound to control their troops has been applied so as to impose liability on the United States in international arbitrations. Case of Jeannaud, 1880, 3 Moore, International Arbitrations (1898) 3000; Case of The Zafiro, 1910, 5 Hackworth, Digest of International Law (1943) 707. The difference between arbitrating property rights and charging an individual with a crime against the laws of war is too obvious to require elaboration. But even more significant is the fact that even these arbitration cases fail to establish any principle of liability where troops are under constant assault and demoralizing influences by attacking forces. The same observation applies to the common law and statutory doctrine, referred to by the Government, that one who is under a legal duty to take protective or preventive action is guilty of criminal homicide if he willfully or negligently omits to act and death is proximately caused. State v. Harrison, 107 N.J.L. 213, 152 A. 867; State v. Irvine, 126 La. 434, 52 So. 567; Holmes, The Common Law, p. 278. No one denies that inaction or negligence may give rise to liability, civil or criminal. But it is quite another thing to say that the inability to control troops under highly competitive and disastrous battle conditions renders one guilty of a war crime in the absence of personal culpability. Had there been some element of knowledge or direct connection with the atrocities, the problem would be entirely different. Moreover, it must be remembered that we are not dealing
At a time like this when emotions are understandably high it is difficult to adopt a dispassionate attitude toward
More is at stake than General Yamashita's fate. There could be no possible sympathy for him if he is guilty of the atrocities for which his death is sought. But there can be and should be justice administered according to law. In this stage of war's aftermath, it is too early for Lincoln's great spirit, best lighted in the Second Inaugural, to have wide hold for the treatment of foes. It is not too early -- it is never too early -- for the nation steadfastly to follow its great constitutional traditions, none older or more universally protective against unbridled power than due process
This trial is unprecedented in our history. Never before have we tried and convicted an enemy general for action taken during hostilities or otherwise in the course of military operations or duty. Much less have we condemned one for failing to take action. The novelty is not lessened by the trial's having taken place after hostilities ended and the enemy, including the accused, had surrendered. Moreover, so far as the time permitted for our
It is not in our tradition for anyone to be charged with crime which is defined after his conduct, alleged to be criminal, has taken place, [Footnote 2/1] or in language not sufficient to inform him of the nature of the offense or to enable him to make defense. [Footnote 2/2] Mass guilt we do not impute to individuals, perhaps in any case, but certainly in none where the person is not charged or shown actively to have participated in or knowingly to have failed in taking action to
Our tradition does not allow conviction by tribunals both authorized and bound [Footnote 2/7] by the instrument of their creation to receive and consider evidence which is expressly excluded by Act of Congress or by treaty obligation; nor is it in accord with our basic concepts to make the tribunal, specially constituted for the particular trial, regardless of those prohibitions, the sole and exclusive judge of the credibility,
Only on one view, in my opinion, could either of these conclusions be avoided. This would be that an enemy
We are technically still at war, because peace has not been negotiated finally or declared. But there is no longer the danger which always exists before surrender and armistice. Military necessity does not demand the same measures. The nation may be more secure now than at any time after peace is officially concluded. In these facts is one great difference from Ex parte Quirin, 317 U. S. 1. Punitive action taken now can be effective only for the next war, for purposes of military security. And enemy aliens, including belligerents, need the attenuated protections our system extends to them more now than before hostilities ceased or than they may after a treaty of peace is signed. Ample power there is to punish them or others for crimes, whether under the laws of war during its course or later during occupation. There can be no question of that. The only question is how it shall be done, consistently
Necessarily, only a short sketch can be given concerning each matter. And it may be stated at the start that, although it was ruled in Ex parte Quirin, supra, that this Court had no function to review the evidence, it was not there or elsewhere determined that it could not ascertain whether conviction is founded upon evidence expressly excluded by Congress or treaty; nor does the Court purport to do so now.
The fountainhead of the commission's authority was General MacArthur's directive by which General Styer was ordered to and pursuant to which he did proceed with constituting the commission. [Footnote 2/8] The directive was accompanied by elaborate and detailed rules and regulations prescribing the procedure and rules of evidence to be followed, of which, for present purposes, Section 16, set forth below, [Footnote 2/9] is crucial.
It acted accordingly. As against insistent and persistent objection to the reception of all kinds of "evidence," oral, documentary and photographic, for nearly every kind of defect under any of the usual prevailing standards for admissibility and probative value, the commission not only consistently ruled against the defense, but repeatedly stated it was bound by the directive to receive the kinds of evidence it specified, [Footnote 2/10] reprimanded counsel for continuing to make objection, declined to hear further objections, and, in more than one instance during the course of the proceedings, reversed its rulings favorable to the defense where initially it had declined to receive what the prosecution offered. Every conceivable kind of statement, rumor, report at first, second, third or further hand, written, printed, or oral, and one "propaganda" film were allowed to come in, most of this relating to atrocities committed
This vagueness, if not vacuity, in the findings runs throughout the proceedings, from the charge itself, through the proof and the findings, to the conclusion. It affects
Although it is impossible to determine from what is before us whether petitioner in fact has been convicted of one or the other or of both these things, [Footnote 2/17] the case has been
Moreover, counsel assert in the brief, and this also is not denied, that the sole proof made of certain of the specifications
These two basic elements in the proof -- namely, proof of knowledge of the crimes and proof of the specifications in the bills, that is, of the atrocities themselves -- constitute the most important instances, perhaps, if not the most flagrant, [Footnote 2/20]
He points out in this connection that the commission based its decision on a finding as to the extent and number
Petitioner surrendered September 3, 1945, and was interned as a prisoner of war in conformity with Article 9
But there was more. On the first day of the trial, October 29, the prosecution filed a supplemental bill of particulars
But what is more important is that defense counsel, as they felt was their duty, at once moved for a continuance. [Footnote 2/26] The application was denied. However the commission indicated that if, at the end of the prosecution's presentation
Stating it realized "the tremendous burden which we have placed on the Defense" and its "determination to give them the time they require," the commission again adhered to its ruling of October 29.
Further comment is hardly required. Obviously the burden placed upon the defense, in the short time allowed for preparation on the original bill, was not only "tremendous." In view of all the facts, it was an impossible one, even though the time allowed was a week longer than asked. But the grosser vice was later, when the burden was more than doubled by service of the supplemental bill on the eve of trial, a procedure which, taken in connection with the consistent denials of continuance and the commission's later reversal of its rulings favorable to the defense
The Court rules that Congress has not made Article 25 and 38 applicable to this proceeding. It think it has made them applicable to this and all other military commissions or tribunals. If so, the commission not only lost all power to punish petitioner by what occurred in the proceedings. It never acquired jurisdiction to try him. For the directive by which it was constituted, in the provisions of Section 16, [Footnote 2/28] was squarely in conflict with Articles 25 and 38 of the Articles of War, [Footnote 2/29] and therefore was void.
Article 38, moreover, limits the President's power. He is, so far as practicable, to prescribe "the rules of evidence generally recognized in the trial of criminal cases in the
Article 2, in defining persons "subject to the articles of war," was, I think, specifying those to whom the Articles in general were applicable. And there is no dispute that most of the Articles are not applicable to the petitioner. It does not follow, however, and Article 2 does not provide, that there may not be in the Articles specific provisions
In order to effectuate the first purpose, the Army proposed Article 15. [Footnote 2/31] To effectuate the second purpose, Articles
25 and 38 and several others were proposed. [Footnote 2/32] But, as the Court now construes the Articles of War, they have no application to military commissions before which alleged offenders against the laws of war are tried. What the Court holds, in effect, is that there are two types of military commissions, one to try offenses which might be cognizable by a court-martial, the other to try war crimes, and that Congress intended the Articles of War referring in terms to military commissions without exception to be applicable only to the first type.
The testimony of General Crowder is perhaps the most authoritative evidence of what was intended by the legislation,
Article 12 thus, in conformity with Article 15, gives the general court-martial concurrent jurisdiction of war crimes and war criminals with military commissions. Neither it nor any other Article states or indicates there are to be two kinds of general courts-martial for trying war crimes; yet
At no point in the testimony is there suggestion that there are two types of military commission, one bound by
the procedural provisions of the Articles, the other wholly free from their restraints, or, as the Court strangely puts the matter, that there is only one kind of commission, but that it is bound or not bound by the Articles applicable in terms, depending upon who is being tried and for what offense; for that very difference makes the difference between one and two. The history and the discussion show conclusively that General Crowder wished to secure, and Congress intended to give, statutory recognition to all forms of military tribunals; to enable commanding officers in the field to use either court-martial or military commission as convenience might dictate, thus broadening to this extent the latter's jurisdiction and utility; but, at the same time, to preserve its full preexisting jurisdiction, and also to lay down identical provisions for governing or providing for the government of the procedure and rules of evidence of every type of military tribunal, wherever and however constituted. [Footnote 2/35]
All this seems so obvious upon a mere reading of the Articles themselves and the legislative history as not to require demonstration. And all this Congress knew, as that history shows. In the face of that showing, I cannot accept the Court's highly strained construction, first, because I think it is in plain contradiction of the facts disclosed by the history of Articles 15, 25 and 38 as well as their language, and also because that construction defeats at least two of the ends General Crowder had in mind -- namely, to secure statutory recognition for every form of military tribunal and to provide for them a basic uniform
The Court does not hold that the Geneva Convention is not binding upon the United States, and no such contention has been made in this case. [Footnote 2/36] It relies on other
arguments to show that Article 60, which provides that the protecting power shall be notified in advance of a judicial proceeding directed against a prisoner of war, and Article 63, which provides that a prisoner of war may be tried only by the same courts and according to the same procedure as in the case of persons belonging to the armed forces of the detaining power, are not properly invoked by the petitioner. Before considering the Court's view that these Articles are not applicable to this proceeding by their terms, it may be noted that, on his surrender, petitioner was interned in conformity with Article 9 of this Convention.
The chief argument is that Articles 60 and 63 have reference only to offenses committed by a prisoner of war while a prisoner of war, and not to violations of the law of war committed while a combatant. This conclusion is derived from the setting in which these articles are placed. I do not agree that the context gives any support to this argument. The argument is, in essence, of the same type as the argument the Court employs to nullify the application of Articles 25 and 38 of the Articles of War by restricting their own broader coverage by reference to Article 2. For reasons set forth in the margin, [Footnote 2/37] I think it equally invalid here.
The United States has complied with neither of these Articles. It did not notify the protecting power of Japan in advance of trial, as Article 60 requires it to do, although the supplemental bill charges the same failure to petitioner
Finally, the Government has argued that Article 60 has no application after the actual cessation of hostilities, as there is no longer any need for an intervening power between the two belligerents. The premise is that Japan no longer needs Switzerland to intervene with the United
Wholly apart from the violation of the Articles of War and of the Geneva Convention, I am completely unable to
Apart from a tribunal concerned that the law as applied shall be an instrument of justice, albeit stern in measure to the guilt established, the heart of the security lies in two things. One is that conviction shall not rest in any essential part upon unchecked rumor, report, or the results of the prosecution's ex parte investigations, but shall stand on proven fact; the other, correlative, lies in a fair chance to defend. This embraces at the least the rights to know with reasonable clarity in advance of the trial the exact nature of the offense with which one is to be charged; to have reasonable time for preparing to meet the charge, and to have the aid of counsel in doing so, as also in the
All this the Court puts to one side with the short assertion that no question of due process under the Fifth Amendment or jurisdiction reviewable here is presented. I do not think this meets the issue, standing alone or in conjunction with the suggestion which follows that the Court gives no intimation one way or the other concerning
Armour Packing Co. v. United States, 209 U. S. 56, 209 U. S. 83-84; United States v. Cohen Grocery Co., 255 U. S. 81, cf. Screws v. United States, 325 U. S. 91. See note 17 and text.
See notes 19 and 20.
Queen v. Hepburn, 7 Cranch. 290; Donnelly v. United States, 228 U. S. 243, 228 U. S. 273. See 327 U. S. note 21.
Motes v. United States, 178 U. S. 458, 178 U. S. 471; Paoni v. United States, 281 F. 801. See Parts 327 U. S. S. 56|>III.
See 327 U. S. S. 1fn2/10|>10, 19; 327 U. S.
But see note 19.
Cf. text infra at note 19 concerning the prejudicial character of the evidence.
Cf. note 13.
The charge, set forth at the end of this note, is consistent with either theory -- or both -- and thus ambiguous, as were the findings. See note 15. The only word implying knowledge was "permitting." If "willfully" is essential to constitute a crime or charge of one, otherwise subject to the objection of "vagueness," cf. Screws v. United States, 325 U. S. 91, it would seem that "permitting" alone would hardly be sufficient to charge "willful and intentional" action or omission; and, if taken to be sufficient to charge knowledge, it would follow necessarily that the charge itself was not drawn to state, and was insufficient to support, a finding of mere failure to detect or discover the criminal conduct of others.
The supplemental bill contains allegations similar to those set out in the original bill. See note 23. For example, it charged that members of the armed forces of Japan under the command of the accused "during the period from 9 October 1944 to about 1 February 1945 at Cavite City, Imus, and elsewhere in Cavite Province," were permitted to commit the acts of "brutally mistreating, torturing, and killing or attempting to kill, without cause or trial, unarmed noncombatant civilians."
See note 39 and text, 327 U. S.
In addition to the statements of General Crowder with relation to Article 15, set out in note 31, supra, see the following statements made with reference to Article 25 in 1912 at a hearing before the Committee on Military Affairs of the House:
We are informed that Japan has not ratified the Geneva Convention. See discussion of Article 82 in the paragraphs below. We are also informed, however -- and the record shows this at least as to Japan -- that, at the beginning of the war, both the United States and Japan announced their intention to adhere to the provisions of that treaty. The force of that understanding continues, perhaps with greater reason, if not effect, despite the end of hostilities. See note 40 and text.
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