the violations specified in Article 50 of the 1949 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, Article 51 of the 1949 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, Article 130 of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and Article 147 of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,
Europees Verdrag betreffende de niet-toepasselijkheid van verjaring terzake van misdrijven tegen de menselijkheid en oorlogsmisdrijven
Europees Verdrag betreffende de niet-toepasselijkheid van verjaring terzake van misdrijven tegen de menselijkheid en oorlogsmisdrijven
Opschrift
European Convention on the non-applicability of statutory limitation to crimes against humanity and war crimes
Preambule
The member States of the Council of Europe, signatory hereto,
Considering the necessity to safeguard human dignity in time of war and in time of peace;
Considering that crimes against humanity and the most serious violations of the laws and customs of war constitute a serious infraction of human dignity;
Concerned in consequence to ensure that the punishment of those crimes is not prevented by statutory limitations whether in relation to prosecution or to the enforcement of the punishment;
Considering the essential interest in promoting a common criminal policy in this field, the aim of the Council of Europe being to achieve a greater unity between its members,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Each Contracting State undertakes to adopt any necessary measures to secure that statutory limitation shall not apply to the prosecution of the following offences, or to the enforcement of the sentences imposed for such offences, in so far as they are punishable under its domestic law:
the crimes against humanity specified in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted on 9 December 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations;
- (a)
- (b)
any comparable violations of the laws of war having effect at the time when this Convention enters into force and of customs of war existing at that time, which are not already provided for in the above-mentioned provisions of the Geneva Conventions,
when the specific violation under consideration is of a particularly grave character by reason either of its factual and intentional elements or of the extent of its foreseeable consequences;
- (a)
any other violation of a rule or custom of international law which may hereafter be established and which the Contracting State concerned considers according to a declaration under Article 6 as being of a comparable nature to those referred to in paragraph 1 or 2 of this Article.