amended in April 2003 to state that mandatory investigation could begin
only if the complaint had a direct link to Belgium. The statute was further
revised effective August 1, 2003 when the previous statute was repealed
and pending complaints nullified. (repeal and nullification upheld by the
Belgian Supreme Court in September 2003).C. Domestic Jurisdictional Bases. Each nation provides its own jurisdiction. The
following is the current U.S. structure.
- General Courts-Martial.
a. In addition to the jurisdiction to try U.S. service members, the military
may try by general court-martial anyone subject to tial for violations of
the law of war. UCMJ, art. 18.b. If there is a declared war, then civilians accompanying U.S. forces may be
prosecuted in the same forum as U.S. soldiers. See UCMJ, art. 2(a)(10).
UCMJ jurisdiction, both personal and substantive, over civilians
accompanying the force exists only during "time of war." This time of
war qualifier has been interpreted to require an actual declaration of war.
USv. Averette, 19 U.S.C.M.A. 363,41 C.M.R. 363 (1970).- The War Crimes Act of 1996 (18 U.S.C. 5 2441) (amended in 1997).
Authorizes the prosecution of individuals in federal court if the victim or the
perpetrator is a US national (as defined in the Immigration and Nationality
Act) or member of the armed forces of the US, whether inside or outside the
US. Jurisdiction attaches if the accused commits:
a. A Grave Breach of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.b. Violations of certain listed articles of the Hague Conventions.c. Violations of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, and of
Protocol I or Protocol I1 of the Geneva Conventions when and if the US
becomes parties to either of the Protocols.d. Violations of Protocol I1 to the Amended Conventional Weapons Treaty.- The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 may also serve as a
basis for prosecution for war crimes. DoD is currently working on
implementing instructions (issued for comment in the Federal Register on
February 2,2004.