). Selection of primary defendants in the work of the Nuremberg and Tokyo International Military Tribunals

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of the process and results of the selection of the main accused for trials at the International Military Tribunal and the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. The evolution of the criteria that formed the basis of such selection is traced. It is shown that the official or unofficial position of a person in the system of the fascist state or Hitler’s inner circle was appeared as the first criterion for the selection of the accused. The second criterion proposed was the actual possibility of trying such a person in his presence. The third criterion was the principle of the impossibility of establishing an exact geographical framework for these crimes. Finally, the criterion for the representation of various sectors of the state machine of Nazi Germany and militaristic Japan is singled out. The article also analyzes the criteria that were initially considered acceptable, but which were abandoned at a later stage in the preparation of the indictments. Concludes that the experience of the IMT and the IMTFE in the selection of accused remains relevant for modern bodies of international criminal justice.