Superior orders

Superior orders is a legal defense claiming that an accused committed an offense under orders from a superior. Its availability depends on the offense and the applicable legal system.

Manifestly unlawful order: An order whose illegality is clear to a person in the recipient’s position. Some legal systems deny the defense when the order’s criminality was plainly apparent.
Nuremberg trials: The postwar international trials of major German officials and military leaders for crimes committed during World War II. The tribunal rejected superior orders as a complete excuse while allowing them to mitigate punishment.
Hugo Grotius: A seventeenth-century Dutch jurist whose writings helped shape modern international law. His work contributed to early debates about responsibility for unlawful commands.
Superior orders in international law: The rules governing superior orders as a defense in international criminal law. This broader doctrine distinguishes international standards from national military rules.
Duress: A defense based on committing an offense under a threat of imminent harm. Unlike superior orders, duress focuses on coercion rather than a command’s authority.
Eichmann trial: The 1961 Jerusalem trial of Adolf Eichmann for his role in the Holocaust. The proceedings examined obedience to orders in the administration of mass murder.
Lieber Code: The 1863 United States military code governing conduct during the Civil War. It instructed soldiers not to obey orders that violated the laws of war.
Nuremberg Principle IV: The principle that acting on a government or superior’s order does not automatically free a person from international responsibility. It states the postwar rule against treating orders as a complete defense.
Command responsibility: A doctrine holding military commanders criminally liable for certain crimes by subordinates they failed to prevent or punish. It shifts attention from the subordinate’s obedience to a superior’s failure to control forces.
Calley court-martial: The 1971 United States Army court-martial that convicted William Calley for crimes at My Lai. The case tested whether military orders could excuse participation in the massacre.

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