The Tokyo Process and the Nuremberg Trials

More than seventy years ago, the firsthistory of the trial, which tried the criminals who took possession of Germany and turned it into a weapon for the commission of the most terrible crimes. This process was the first, as before in the legal practice there were no cases of trial of politicians who committed military aggression against other countries. It was the Nuremberg trial. A few months later, a similar trial took place in Tokyo over the war criminals of Japan.

Nuremberg

The Nuremberg and Tokyo trials of the militarycriminals were conducted not on simple participants of military operations from the number of rank-and-file or officers, namely over the most faithful assistants of A. Hitler. They were judged for having launched the most significant and large-scale war, thus engaging in it a lot of countries.

The basis for the first process was the agreement,concluded between allies-states. As a result, the International Military Tribunal was formed. His goal was to bring justice to the main Nazis.

The duration of the Nurembergalmost a whole year. On September 30, 1946, the tribunal began the announcement of the verdict, which was completed only the next day. Practically all the defendants who came under the tribunal were sentenced to the highest limit of punishment - death. Individuals are still lucky, they were sentenced to life imprisonment. Such associations such as the SS and SD, the Gestapo and the higher ranks of the Nazi Party of Germany were classified as criminal, and their members received severe punishment.

In total, 12 people were sentenced to death, among them were Rosenberg, Ribbentrop, Goering, Keitel, Kaltenbrunner and others.

Tokyo

The Tokyo trial of war criminals, bothas well as the court in Nuremberg, carried out justice over the criminals of the Second World War, but already in the capital of Japan. It began on May 3, 1946, and its duration was an order of magnitude greater than the tribunal in Germany. The Tokyo process lasted more than two years and ended on November 12, 1948.

International Military Tribunal for the Far EastEast issued a death sentence to the seven largest war criminals, among them the Minister of War, the Prime Minister and the highest ranking generals of the Land of the Rising Sun. To other criminals, the Tokyo trial brought various prison terms, sixteen of which were for life.

Among the charges that have been brought forwarddefendants, sounded such as preparing for war, unleashing war, participating in it, destroying civilians, prisoners, and many other serious criminal offenses.

The importance of trials in Nuremberg and Tokyo

The Tokyo process is similar to the trial conducted inNuremberg, was of great importance for history. Both tribunals recognized and established that the aggressive war that Nazi Germany had begun was a grave international crime.

In addition, the formation of the International Tribunalbecame a source and basis for individual legal norms used in international law. The charters of both tribunals, as well as the verdicts passed by them, were subsequently approved by the UN, and, consequently, the principles of these documents, according to which punishment was imposed and the composition of serious crimes were established, have become universally recognized norms in the field of international law.

Consequences of processes

It is thanks to the Nuremberg and Tokyothe judicial processes were subsequently prepared such important international instruments as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They also had a significant impact on various international covenants, including the Resolution on Combating Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in Military Clashes, as well as many other important documents.

In 1968, the UN Convention was adopted, according to whichwhich time is not applied to war criminals. Such a document was needed in connection with frequent attempts to stop the persecution of individual Nazi criminals.

Conclusion

The international and historical significance of judicialprocesses that took place after the Second World War in the cities of Nuremberg and Tokyo, it is difficult to overestimate. In carrying out these processes, it was noted that they will go down in history. The material and information received as a result of their conduct will be so significant that in the future historians will turn to these results in order to find the truth. At the same time, the trials of the forties will become a kind of warning for politicians and leaders of all countries of the world.