Opinion ID: 708054
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;

Text: 47 (d) the passing of sentences and carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court.... 48 Geneva Convention I art. 3(1). Thus, under the law of war as codified in the Geneva Conventions, all parties to a conflict--which includes insurgent military groups--are obliged to adhere to these most fundamental requirements of the law of war. 8 49 The offenses alleged by the appellants, if proved, would violate the most fundamental norms of the law of war embodied in common article 3, which binds parties to internal conflicts regardless of whether they are recognized nations or roving hordes of insurgents. The liability of private individuals for committing war crimes has been recognized since World War I and was confirmed at Nuremberg after World War II, see Telford Taylor, Nuremberg Trials: War Crimes and International Law, 450 Int'l Conciliation 304 (April 1949) (collecting cases), and remains today an important aspect of international law, see Jordan Paust, After My Lai: The Case for War Crimes Jurisdiction Over Civilians in Federal District Courts, in 4 The Vietnam War and International Law 447 (R.Falk ed., 1976). The District Court has jurisdiction pursuant to the Alien Tort Act over appellants' claims of war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law. 50 (c) Torture and summary execution. In Filartiga, we held that official torture is prohibited by universally accepted norms of international law, see 630 F.2d at 885, and the Torture Victim Act confirms this holding and extends it to cover summary execution. Torture Victim Act Secs. 2(a), 3(a). However, torture and summary execution--when not perpetrated in the course of genocide or war crimes--are proscribed by international law only when committed by state officials or under color of law. See Declaration on Torture art. 1 (defining torture as being inflicted by or at the instigation of a public official); Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment pt. I, art. 1, 23 I.L.M. 1027 (1984), as modified, 24 I.L.M. 535 (1985), entered into force June 26, 1987, ratified by United States Oct. 21, 1994, 34 I.L.M. 590, 591 (1995) (defining torture as inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity); Torture Victim Act Sec. 2(a) (imposing liability on individuals acting under actual or apparent authority, or color of law, of any foreign nation). 51 In the present case, appellants allege that acts of rape, torture, and summary execution were committed during hostilities by troops under Karadzic's command and with the specific intent of destroying appellants' ethnic-religious groups. Thus, many of the alleged atrocities are already encompassed within the appellants' claims of genocide and war crimes. Of course, at this threshold stage in the proceedings it cannot be known whether appellants will be able to prove the specific intent that is an element of genocide, or prove that each of the alleged torts were committed in the course of an armed conflict, as required to establish war crimes. It suffices to hold at this stage that the alleged atrocities are actionable under the Alien Tort Act, without regard to state action, to the extent that they were committed in pursuit of genocide or war crimes, and otherwise may be pursued against Karadzic to the extent that he is shown to be a state actor. Since the meaning of the state action requirement for purposes of international law violations will likely arise on remand and has already been considered by the District Court, we turn next to that requirement. 52