United States of America v. Alstoetter et al. (“The Justice ... - Courses

Nicholas HabermanCase Brief #5April 3 rd , 2008I. Name – United States of America v. Alstoetter et al. (“The Justice Cases”) (1947)II. Facts and Situationa. Court and Datei. The case was brought to US Military courts.ii. Also known as the “Trial of War Criminals before the NurembergMilitary Tribunals.”iii. Judges-C. Marshall-J. Brand-M. Blair-J. Hardingiv. A judgment on the case was delivered on December 3 rd and 4 th , 1947.b. Statement of Events and Circumstancesi. During World War II, many German judges began enforcing lawsfollowing the Nazi party’s ideology.ii. They approved of racial cleansing by allowing eugenic and persecutionprograms.iii. They also upheld laws that would ‘preserve’ the purity of Germanblood by forbidding sexual intercourse with Jews.iv. The judges did not resist the “Nazification” of German law.v. Consequently, this made the mass murder of millions of innocentpeople legal according to the domestic laws of Germany.c. Plaintiff and Claimi. United States of Americaii. Claim the judges committed the following four crimes:-Conspiring to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity.-War crimes through the abuse of the domestic judicial process.-Crimes against humanity.-Membership in a criminal organization.d. Defendant and Argumenti. Josef Alstoetter et al.ii. The defense argued the following:-Nullum crimen sine lege- that no crime may be committed withoutit being a law, say that they were performing German law.-Ex post facto principle - Argue that the violations occurred beforethe 1945 articles were created and therefore may not be imposed.-Argue that they were just complying with German law underHitler and the Nazi regime.III. Questions or Issues in the Casea. Were the defendants complying with domestic law?

3victim, or any other connection to the state exercising such jurisdiction”(Slomanson, 245).ii. The overriding nature of “the big three crimes” according tointernational law.b. Most Important Rule Illustrated in Casei. The most important rule demonstrated by the case is that, althoughinternational law was not designed to directly interfere with thedomestic laws of a State, committing any one of the three “big crimes”against international law overrides the domestic laws of any givenstate.c. General Rules the Case Demonstratesi. Although sometimes thought of as two entirely separate spheres of law,the case proves that the standards of the international community mayhold superiority over domestic laws.ii. One of the purposes of international law is to regulate justice if theintegrity of basic human rights has been violated.iii. Judges and lawyers have a responsibility in monitoring the inhumanenature of laws, and their possible consequences.VI. Conclusiona. Notes and Analysisi. This case proved that the violation of the three major crimes ininternational law supercedes any claim, defense, or reference to thedomestic policies of a country.ii. Without this principle, new regimes could take control of a state,reorganize its laws, and then proceed to execute them ‘legally’ andwithout consequence, despite the context or inhumane nature of thoselaws.b. Historical Significancei. Brought a new found sense of responsibility for judges to ensure that thelaws of their state do not constitute any violation of international law,especially concerning war crimes, genocide, and/or crimes againsthumanity.ii. The case decision set the standard for the “big three crimes,” andindirect involvement despite domestic laws.iii. Resulted in the prosecution of such criminals as Adolf Eichmann,Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein, etc.iv. The most fundamental purpose of international law was challenged inthe case, and prevailed in the decision that some actions, despite their‘domestic acceptance,’ constitute an act against all mankind.

4VII. BibliographySlomanson, William R., Fundamental Perspectives on International Law, 5th ed.,California, Thomson-Wadsworth Pub., 2007.United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Subsequent Nuremberg Proceedings Case#3, The Justice Case,” Holocaust Encyclopedia.http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007073United States of America v. Alstoetter et al. (1947), “The Nuremberg Trials: The JusticeTrial,” U.S. Military Courts at the Nuremberg Trials.http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/Alstoetter.htm#U.S.A.%20v.%20ALSTOETTER%20ET%20AL%20(The%20Justice%20Cases)