AMNESTY CLAUSE

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the concept of amnesty clause. Amnesty clauses are frequently found in peace treaties and signify the will of the parties to apply the principle of tabula rasa to past offences, generally political delicts such as treason, sedition and rebellion, but also to war crimes. As a sovereign act of oblivion, amnesty may be granted to all persons guilty of such offences or only to certain categories of offenders. While the typical amnesty clause prevents the parties from punishing enemy war offenders after the conclusion of peace, it does not necessarily prevent them from punishing members of their own forces or any of their own subjects who, during the war, may have deserted or committed treason unless the contrary has been expressly stipulated in the treaty of peace. Furthermore, one should also distinguish between internal and external amnesties; the former are frequently issued after revolutions or civil wars by municipal authorities, and are political acts of primarily domestic significance, whereas the latter are provided for in treaties of peace after international war.