''LIVRE III : DES CRIMES, DES DELITS ET DE LEUR PUNITION TITRE 1ER DES CRIMES CONTRE L' HUMANITE, CHAPITRE III: DES CRIMES DE GUERRE, ARTICLE 31''
On entend par crimes, de guerre :
a) L'homicide volontaire ;
b) La torture ou les traitements inhumains, y compris les expériences biologiques :
c) Le fait de causer intentionnellement de grandes souffrances ou de porter gravement atteinte à
l’intégrité physique ou à la santé ;
d) La destruction et l'appropriation de biens, non justifiées par des nécessités militaires et exécutées sur
une grande échelle de façon illicite et arbitraire ;
e) Le fait de contraindre un prisonnier de guerre ou une personne protégée a servir dans les forces d'une
puissance ennemie ;
f) Le fait de priver intentionnellement un prisonnier de guerre ou toute autre personne protégée de son
droit d'être jugé régulièrement et impartialement ;
g) Les déportations ou transferts illégaux ou les détentions illégales ;
h) Les prises d'otages;
i) Les autres violations graves des lois et coutumes applicables aux conflits armés internationaux dans le
cadre établi du droit international, à savoir les actes ci-après :
1) Le fait de lancer des attaques délibérées contre la population civile en général ou contre des civils qui
ne prennent pas directement part aux hostilités ;
2) Le fait de lancer des attaques délibérées contre la population civile en général ou contre des civils qui ne sont pas des objectifs militaires ;
3) Le fait de lancer des attaques délibérées contre le personnel, les installations, le matériel, les unités ou
les véhicules employés dans le cadre d'une mission d'aide humanitaire ou de maintien de la paix conformément à la Charte des Nations Unies, pour autant qu’ils aient droit à la protection que le droit international des conflits armés garantit aux civils et aux biens de caractère civil ;
4) Le fait de lancer une attaque délibérée en sachant quelle causera incidemment des pertes en vies
humaines et des blessures parmi la population civile, des dommages aux biens de caractère civil ou des dommages étendus, durables et graves à l’environnement naturel qui seraient manifestement excessifs par rapport à l'ensemble de l'avantage militaire concret et direct attendu ;
5) Le fait d'attaquer ou de bombarder, par quelque moyen que ce soit, des villes, villages, habitations ou
bâtiments qui ne sont pas défendus et qui ne sont pas des objectifs militaires :
7
6) Le fait de tuer ou de blesser un combattant qui, avant déposé les armes ou n'ayant plus de moyens de
se défendre, s'est rendu à discrétion ;
7) Le fait d'utiliser le pavillon parlementaire, le drapeau ou les insignes militaires et l'uniforme de l'ennemi ou de l'Organisation des Nations Unies., ainsi que les signes distinctifs prévus par les Conventions de Genève, et, ce faisant, de causer la perte de vies humaines ou des blessures graves,
8) Le transfert, direct ou indirect, par une puissance occupante d’une partie de sa population civile, dans le territoire qu'elle occupe, ou la déportation ou le transfert à l'intérieur ou hors du territoire occupé de la totalité ou d'une partie de la population de ce territoire ;
9) Le fait de lancer des attaques délibérées contre des bâtiments consacrés à la religion, à l'enseignement, à l'art, à la science ou à I’action caritative. des monuments historiques, des hôpitaux et des lieux où des malades ou des blessés sont rassemblés, pour autant que ces bâtiments ne soient pas alors utilisés à des fins militaires ;
10) Le fait de soumettre des personnes d'une partie adverse tombées en son pouvoir à des mutilations ou
à des expériences médicales ou scientifiques quelles qu'elles soient qui ne sont ni motivées par un traitement médical ni effectuées dans l'intérêt de ces personnes, et qui entraînent la mort de celles-ci ou mettent sérieusement en danger leur santé ;
11) Le fait de tuer ou de blesser par traîtrise des individus appartenant à la nation ou à l'armée ennemie ;
12) Le fait de déclarer qu'il ne sera pas fait de quartier
13) Le fait de détruire ou de saisir les biens de l’ennemi, sauf dans les cas où ces destructions ou saisies
seraient impérieusement commandées par les nécessités de la guerre ;
14) Le fait de déclarer éteints, suspendus ou non recevables en justice les droits et actions des nationaux
de la partie adverse ;
15) Le fait pour un belligérant de contraindre les nationaux de la partie adverse à prendre part aux opérations de guerre dirigées contre leur pays même s'ils étaient au service de ce belligérant avant le commencement de la guerre ;
16) Le pillage dune ville ou d'une localité, même prise d'assaut ;
17) Le fait d’utiliser du poison ou des armes empoisonnées;
18) Le fait d'utiliser des gaz asphyxiants, toxiques ou assimilés et tous liquides, matières ou engins
analogues;
19) Le fait d'utiliser des balles qui se dilatent ou s'aplatissent facilement dans le corps humain, telles que
des balles dont l'enveloppe dure ne recouvre pas entièrement le centre ou est percée d'entailles ;
20) Le fait d'employer les armes, projectiles, matériels et méthodes de combat de nature à causer des maux superflus ou des souffrances inutiles ou à agir sans discrimination en violation du droit international des conflits armés, à condition que ces moyens fassent l'objet d'une interdiction générale ;
21) Les atteintes à la dignité de la personne, notamment les traitements humiliants et dégradants ;
22) Le viol, l'esclavage sexuel, la prostitution forcée, la grossesse forcée, la stérilisation forcée ou toute
autre forme de violence sexuelle constituant une infraction grave aux Conventions de Genève ;
23) Le fait d'utiliser la présence d'un civil ou d'une autre personne protégée pour éviter que certains points,
zones ou forces militaires ne soient la cible d'opérations militaires ;
24) Le fait de lancer des attaques délibérées contre les bâtiments, le matériel, les unités et les moyens de
transport sanitaires, les signes distinctifs prévus par les Conventions de Genève ;
25) Le fait d'affamer délibérément des civils comme méthode de guerre, en les privant de biens
indispensables à leur survie, y compris en empêchant intentionnellement l'envoi des secours prévus par les Conventions de Genève ;
26) Le fait de procéder à la conscription ou à l'enrôlement d'enfants de moins de 15 ans dans les forces
armées nationales ou de les faire participer activement à des hostilités.
1. The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The Court has jurisdiction in accordance with this Statute with respect to the following crimes:
(c) War crimes;
1. The Court shall have jurisdiction in respect of war crimes in particular when committed as part of a plan or policy or as part of a large-scale commission of such crimes.
2. For the purpose of this Statute, ‘war crimes’ means:
(a) Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the following acts against persons or property protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention:
(i) Wilful killing;
(ii) Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments;
(iii) Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health;
(iv) Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly;
(v) Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power;
(vi) Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial;
(vii) Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement;
(viii) Taking of hostages.
(b) Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict, within the established framework of international law, namely, any of the following acts:
(i) Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities;
(ii) Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives;
(iii) Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict;
(iv) Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated;
(v) Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives;
(vi) Killing or wounding a combatant who, having laid down his arms or having no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion;
(vii) Making improper use of a flag of truce, of the flag or of the military insignia and uniform of the enemy or of the United Nations, as well as of the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions, resulting in death or serious personal injury;
(viii) The transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory;
(ix) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives;
(x) Subjecting persons who are in the power of an adverse party to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are neither justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the person concerned nor carried out in his or her interest, and which cause death to or seriously endanger the health of such person or persons;
(xi) Killing or wounding treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army;
(xii) Declaring that no quarter will be given;
(xiii) Destroying or seizing the enemy's property unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war;
(xiv) Declaring abolished, suspended or inadmissible in a court of law the rights and actions of the nationals of the hostile party;
(xv) Compelling the nationals of the hostile party to take part in the operations of war directed against their own country, even if they were in the belligerent's service before the commencement of the war;
(xvi) Pillaging a town or place, even when taken by assault;
(xvii) Employing poison or poisoned weapons;
(xviii) Employing asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices;
(xix) Employing bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions;
(xx) Employing weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering or which are inherently indiscriminate in violation of the international law of armed conflict, provided that such weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare are the subject of a comprehensive prohibition and are included in an annex to this Statute, by an amendment in accordance with the relevant provisions set forth in articles 121 and 123;
(xxi) Committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(xxii) Committing rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, as defined in article 7, paragraph 2 (f), enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence also constituting a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions;
(xxiii) Utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations;
(xxiv) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings, material, medical units and transport, and personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in conformity with international law;
(xxv) Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions;
(xxvi) Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into the national armed forces or using them to participate actively in hostilities.
(c) In the case of an armed conflict not of an international character, serious violations of article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the following acts committed against persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention or any other cause:
(i) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(ii) Committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(iii) Taking of hostages;
(iv) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all judicial guarantees which are generally recognized as indispensable.
(d) Paragraph 2 (c) applies to armed conflicts not of an international character and thus does not apply to situations of internal disturbances and tensions, such as riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence or other acts of a similar nature.
(e) Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in armed conflicts not of an international character, within the established framework of international law, namely, any of the following acts:
(i) Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities;
(ii) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings, material, medical units and transport, and personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in conformity with international law;
(iii) Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict;
(iv) Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives;
(v) Pillaging a town or place, even when taken by assault;
(vi) Committing rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, as defined in article 7, paragraph 2 (f), enforced sterilization, and any other form of sexual violence also constituting a serious violation of article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions;
(vii) Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities;
(viii) Ordering the displacement of the civilian population for reasons related to the conflict, unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand;
(ix) Killing or wounding treacherously a combatant adversary;
(x) Declaring that no quarter will be given;
(xi) Subjecting persons who are in the power of another party to the conflict to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are neither justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the person concerned nor carried out in his or her interest, and which cause death to or seriously endanger the health of such person or persons;
(xii) Destroying or seizing the property of an adversary unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of the conflict;
(xiii) Employing poison or poisoned weapons;
(xiv) Employing asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices;
(xv) Employing bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions.
(f) Paragraph 2 (e) applies to armed conflicts not of an international character and thus does not apply to situations of internal disturbances and tensions, such as riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence or other acts of a similar nature. It applies to armed conflicts that take place in the territory of a State when there is protracted armed conflict between governmental authorities and organized armed groups or between such groups.
3. Nothing in paragraph 2 (c) and (e) shall affect the responsibility of a Government to maintain or re-establish law and order in the State or to defend the unity and territorial integrity of the State, by all legitimate means.