The History of the Draft Code of Crimes Against the Peace and Security of Mankind

Abstract

Since 1946, the United Nations efforts to codify international crimes and to establish an international criminal court have overlapped, with scant results from either endeavor.The Assembly began its efforts to codify international crimes in its first session when the United States sponsored resolution 95 (I), adopted on December 11, 1946, which affirmed “the principles of international law recognized by the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and the judgment of the Tribunal”. Furthermore, the Assembly directed the Committee on the Codification of International Law, the International Law Commission's predecessor, to formulate a general codification of offenses against the peace and security of mankind.In 1947, the United Nations established the International Law Commission (ILC). In a resolution again sponsored by the United States the United Nations directed the ILC to:(a) formulate the principles of international law recognized in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, and(b) prepare a draft code of offenses against the peace and security of mankind, indicating clearly the place to be accorded to the principles mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) above.