War crime A war crime is a serious violation of the laws applicable in armed conflict ( also known as international humanitarian law ) giving rise to individual criminal responsibility . Examples of war crimes include " murder , the ill - treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camp s , " " the murder or ill - treatment of prisoners of war , " the killing of prisoners , " the wanton destruction of cities , towns and villages , and any devastation not justified by military necessity . " Similar concepts , such as perfidy , have existed for many centuries as customs between civilized countries , but these customs were first codified as international law in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 . The modern concept of a war crime was further developed under the auspices of the Nuremberg Trials based on the definition in the London Charter that was published on August 8 , 1945 . ( Also see Nuremberg Principles . ) Along with war crimes , the charter also defined crimes against peace and crimes against humanity , which are often committed during wars and in concert with war crimes . Article 22 of The Hague IV ( " Laws of War : Laws and Customs of War on Land ( Hague IV ) ; October 18 , 1907 " ) states that : " The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited . " Over the last century , many other treaties have introduced positive laws that place constraints on belligerents ( see International treaties on the laws of war ) . Some of the provisions , such as those in The Hague , the Geneva , and Genocide Conventions , are considered to be part of customary international law , and are binding on all . Others are only binding on individuals if the belligerent power to which they belong is a party to the treaty which introduced the constraint . History . Early example . The trial of Peter von Hagenbach by an ad hoc tribunal of the Holy Roman Empire in 1474 , was the first " international " war crimes trial , and also of command responsibility . He was convicted and beheaded for crimes that " he as a knight was deemed to have a duty to prevent " , although he had argued that he was only " following orders " . In 1865 , Henry Wirz , a Confederate officer , was held accountable by a military tribunal and hanged for appalling conditions at Andersonville Prison where many Union POW s died during the American Civil War . Hague Conventions . The Hague Conventions were international treaties negotiated at the First and Second Peace Conferences at The Hague , Netherlands , in 1899 and 1907 , respectively , and were , along with the Geneva Conventions , among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the nascent body of secular international law . Geneva Conventions . The Geneva Conventions are four related treaties adopted and continuously expanded from 1864 to 1949 that represent a legal basis and framework for the conduct of war under international law . Every single member state of the United Nations has currently ratified the conventions , which are universally accepted as customary international law , applicable to every situation of armed conflict in the world . However , the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions adopted in 1977 containing the most pertinent , detailed and virulent protections of international humanitarian law for persons and objects in modern warfare are still not ratified by a number of States continuously engaged in armed conflicts , namely the United States , Israel , India , Pakistan , Iraq , Iran , and others . Accordingly , states retain different codes and values with regard to wartime conduct . Some signatories have routinely violated the Geneva Conventions in a way which either uses the ambiguities of law or political maneuvering to sidestep the laws ' formalities and principles . Leipzig War Crimes Trial . A small number of German military personnel of the First World War were tried in 1921 by the German Supreme Court for alleged war crimes . London Charter / Nuremberg Trials 1945 . The modern concept of war crime was further developed under the auspices of the Nuremberg Trials based on the definition in the London Charter that was published on August 8 , 1945 . ( Also see Nuremberg Principles . ) Along with war crimes the charter also defined crimes against peace and crimes against humanity , which are often committed during wars and in concert with war crimes . International Military Tribunal for the Far East 1946 . Also known as the Tokyo Trial , the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal or simply as the Tribunal , it was convened on May 3 , 1946 to try the leaders of the Empire of Japan for three types of crimes : " Class A " ( crimes against peace ) , " Class B " ( war crimes ) , and " Class C " ( crimes against humanity ) , committed during World War II . International Criminal Court 2002 . On July 1 , 2002 , the International Criminal Court , a treaty - based court located in The Hague , came into being for the prosecution of war crimes committed on or after that date . Several nations , most notably the United States , China , Russia , and Israel , have criticized the court . The United States still participates as an observer . Article 12 of the Rome Statute provides jurisdiction over the citizens of non - contracting states in the event that they are accused of committing crimes in the territory of one of the state parties . However the court only has jurisdiction over these crimes where they are " " part of a plan or policy or as part of a large - scale commission of such crimes " " . To date , the present and former heads of state and heads of government that have been charged with war crimes include : Definition . War crimes are serious violations of the rules of customary and treaty law concerning international humanitarian law that have become accepted as criminal offenses for which there is individual responsibility . Colloquial definitions of " war crime " include violations of established protections of the " laws of war " , but also include failures to adhere to norms of procedure and rules of battle , such as attacking those displaying a peaceful flag of truce , or using that same flag as a ruse to mount an attack on enemy troops . Wearing enemy uniforms or civilian clothes to infiltrate enemy lines for espionage or sabotage missions is a legitimate ruse of war , though fighting in combat while so disguised is not , as it constitutes unlawful perfidy . Attacking enemy troops while they are being deployed by way of a parachute is not a war crime . However , Protocol I , Article 42 of the Geneva Conventions explicitly forbids attacking pilot s who eject from damaged aircraft in parachute s and surrendering parachutists once landed . Article 30 of the 1907 Hague Convention " IV - The Laws and Customs of War on Land " explicitly prohibits belligerent s to punish enemy spies without previous trial . War crimes include such acts as mistreatment of prisoners of war or civilians . In 2008 , the U . N . Security Council adopted Resolution 1820 , which noted that “ rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes , crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide ” ; see also war rape . War crimes are sometimes part of instances of mass murder and genocide though these crimes are more broadly covered under international humanitarian law described as crimes against humanity . War crimes are significant in international humanitarian law because it is an area where international tribunals such as the Nuremberg Trials and Tokyo Trials have been convened . Recent examples are the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , which were established by the UN Security Council acting under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter . Under the Nuremberg Principles , " war crimes " are different from crimes against peace which is planning , preparing , initiating , or waging a war of aggression , or a war in violation of international treaties , agreements , or assurances . Because the definition of a state of " war " may be debated , the term " war crime " itself has seen different usage under different systems of international and military law . It has some degree of application outside of what some may consider to be a state of " war " , but in areas where conflicts persist enough to constitute social instability . The legalities of war have sometimes been accused of containing favoritism toward the winners ( " Victor ' s justice " ) , as some controversies have not been ruled as war crimes . Some examples include the Allies ' destruction of Axis cities during World War II , such as the firebombing of Dresden and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ; and the mass killing of Biharies by Kader Siddique and Mukti Bahini before or after victory of Bangladesh Liberation War in Bangladesh between 1971 and 1972 . In regards to the strategic bombing during World War II , it should be noticed that at the time , there was no international treaty or instrument protecting a civilian population specifically from attack by aircraft , therefore the aerial attacks on civilians were not officially war crimes . Because of this , the Allies at the trials in Nuremberg and Tokyo never prosecuted the Germans , including Luftwaffe commander - in - chief Hermann Göring , for the bombing raids on Warsaw , Rotterdam , and British cities during the Blitz as well as the indiscriminate attacks on Allied cities with V - 1 flying bomb s and V - 2 rocket s nor the Japanese for the aerial attacks on crowded Chinese cities . Although there are no treaties specific to aerial warfare , Protocol 1 , Article 51 of the Geneva Conventions explicitly prohibits the bombardment of cities where civilian population might be concentrated regardless of any method . Controversy aroused when the Allies re - designated German POW s ( under the protection of the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War ) as Disarmed Enemy Forces ( allegedly unprotected by the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War ) , many of which then were used for forced labor such as clearing minefield s . By December 1945 , six months after the war had ended , it was estimated by French authorities that 2 , 000 German prisoners were still being killed or maimed each month in mine - clearing accidents . The wording of the 1949 Third Geneva Convention was intentionally altered from that of the 1929 convention so that soldiers who " fall into the power " following surrender or mass capitulation of an enemy are now protected as well as those taken prisoner in the course of fighting .