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NCJRS Abstract

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NCJ Number:	164236

Title:	Gift of Clemency Following British War Crimes Trials in the Far East, 1946-48

Journal:	Criminal Law Forum Volume:7 Issue:1 Dated:(1996) Pages:15-50

Author(s):	R J Pritchard

Date Published:	1996

Page Count:	36

Type:	Legislation/Policy Analysis

Format:	Article

Language:	English

Country:	United States of America

Annotation:	This analysis of the pressures to reduce the sentences of Japanese offenders convicted in the British war crimes trials in southeast Asia following World War II concludes that future efforts to seek remedies against war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and gross violations of international human rights must anticipate and minimize the probable backlash supporting war criminals after conviction.

Abstract:	The British military tribunals processed at least 930 prosecutions of 890 defendants, followed by 776 convictions. Despite the heinous nature of many of the offenses, successive British governments came under considerable pressure to terminate the trials as quickly as possible and to release convicted war criminals well before they had completed their sentences. As a result almost none of these Japanese war criminals remained in custody longer than 10 years; all were released by the beginning of 1957. These events and actions indicate that international criminal attorneys and others who seek remedies against such crimes must recognize and deal with the political realities involved. Otherwise, their efforts to observe due process and mete out justice will be unraveled. Footnotes

Main Term(s):	War crimes

Index Term(s):	Criminology; Great Britain/United Kingdom; Human rights; Human rights violations; International criminal tribunals; Japan



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