New Technologies in International Law / Tymofeyeva, Crhák et al.

2.2 War crimes in Britsh law As one of the victorious states of WW II, the UK took an active part in trying war criminals. This undoubtedly contributed to the subsequent development of national criminal law concerning serious violations of IHL. Less than ten years after the Nuremberg trials, the UK authorities decided to regulate the punishment of crimes committed during armed conflict. 595 The act introduced criminal responsibility for individuals committing grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and AP I. In addition, responsibility for grave breaches of PD III was incorporated into the national criminal system by the 2009 amendment. The regulation applies to any person, whatever his nationality, who in the UK or any other country commits, aids, or abets this crime (see Chapter 52(1) Geneva Conventions Act 1957). In October 2001 UK ratified the ICC Statute. 596 A few months earlier, the British government had prepared national legislation under which the UK recognizes genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes under the ICC Statute. 597 A few years later, the British justice system faced the trial of war criminals. According to NGO reports and witness testimony, British armed forces allegedly committed serious violations of international law during the intervention in Iraq between 2003 and 2009 598 . In 2006, a soldier was convicted of inhuman treatment (beating a prisoner who died as a result) 599 . He was the only person convicted of war crimes committed in Iraq by British armed forces. Later, a special team was established to investigate violations of international law during the British intervention in Iraq (mainly inhumane treatment of prisoners held in British prisons). 600 The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) operated for seven years, from 2010 to 2017, without leading to the prosecution of any soldier who remained suspected of having committed a war crime. 601 The activity of prosecution bodies to explain the alleged war crimes committed by British soldiers in Iraq between 2003 and 2006 indicates a reluctance to bring to justice those soldiers who committed the crimes. Despite the intensive work of the aforementioned bodies, only one person has been convicted, while NGO reports and witness testimonies have pointed to more soldiers involved in violations of international 595 Geneva Conventions Act 1957, 31 July 1957, UK Public General Acts 1957 c. 52. 596 The States Parties to the Rome Statute: United Kingdom, accessed 30 October 2023. 597 International Criminal Court Act c. 17 , UK (2001). 598 Human Rights Watch, ‘Pressure Point: The ICC’s Impact on National Justice’ ( HRW , 3 May 2018) accessed 30 October 2023. 599 ‘British soldier admits war crime’ ( BBC News , 30 October 2023) accessed 30 October 2023. 600 ‘Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT)’ ( Gov.UK ) accessed 30 October 2023. 601 ‘The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) Quarterly Update’ (The Iraq Historic Allegations Team , 20 July 2017) accessed 30 October 2023, pp. 2-3.

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