Knowra International Military Tribunal for the Far East International Military Tribunal for the Far East The International Military Tribunal for the Far East was an international court established in Tokyo after World War II to prosecute Japanese leaders for wartime crimes. Known as the Tokyo Trial, it operated from 1946 to 1948.
Charter of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East : The 1946 instrument that established the Tokyo tribunal, defined its jurisdiction, and set rules for its proceedings. It supplied the legal authority and procedures under which the judges tried the accused.
International Military Tribunal : The international court that tried major German leaders in Nuremberg from 1945 to 1946. It was the Tokyo tribunal’s European counterpart, with a similar postwar mandate and a separate set of defendants.
Joseph B. Keenan : An American lawyer who served as chief prosecutor at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. He led the prosecution that presented the case against Japan’s senior wartime leaders.
Crimes against peace : The planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of a war of aggression in violation of international law. The tribunal’s prosecution of this crime helped establish individual liability for aggressive war in postwar trials.
Class A war crimes : Crimes against peace, chiefly the planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of aggressive war. These charges formed the tribunal’s distinctive case against Japan’s political and military leaders.
International Criminal Court : A permanent international court that prosecutes individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. Unlike the ad hoc Tokyo tribunal, it was created as a standing institution decades later.
William F. Webb : An Australian judge who presided over the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. As president, he directed a bench whose national perspectives often diverged.
Tokyo War Crimes Trial : The 1946–1948 proceedings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, commonly called the Tokyo Trial. This name emphasizes the trial as a historical event, including its courtroom proceedings and public reception.
Individual criminal responsibility : The principle that individuals, including state officials, can be held criminally liable for their conduct. The tribunal judged named officials rather than treating state responsibility as the sole question.
Victor's justice : The criticism that postwar trials punish defeated powers while exempting the victors from comparable scrutiny. Critics used this charge to question the tribunal’s selective jurisdiction and treatment of Allied conduct.
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