![Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law [MPEPIL]](/view/covers/epil.jpg)
War Crimes
Alexander Schwarz
- Subject(s):
- Geneva Conventions 1949 — War crimes
Published under the auspices of the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law under the direction of Rüdiger Wolfrum.
1 The term and concept of ‘war crimes’ is not used uniformly. A wider approach defines war crimes as all acts constituting a violation of the laws or customs of war, irrespective of whether the conduct is criminal (Werle and Jessberger [2014] 391; US Army Military Manual, § 499, FM 27–10; JS Pictet, ed, Geneva Convention I [1957] 351). The present contribution is based on a definition of war crimes in stricto sensu: A war crime is any act, or omission, committed in an armed conflict that constitutes a serious violation of the laws and customs of international...