_Article 6._ The Tribunal established by the Agreement referred to in
Article 1 hereof for the trial and punishment of the major war criminals
of the European Axis countries shall have the power to try and punish
persons who, acting in the interests of the European Axis countries,
whether as individuals or as members of organizations, committed any of
the following crimes.
The following acts, or any of them, are crimes coming within the
jurisdiction of the Tribunal for which there shall be individual
responsibility:
(a) _CRIMES AGAINST PEACE_: namely, planning, preparation, initiation or
waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international
treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a Common Plan
or Conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing;
(b) _WAR CRIMES_: namely, violations of the laws or customs of war. Such
violations shall include, but not be limited to, murder, ill-treatment
or deportation to slave labor or for any other purpose of civilian
population of or in occupied territory, murder or ill-treatment of
prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder
of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or
villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity;
(c) _CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY_: namely, murder, extermination, enslavement,
deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian
population, before or during the war,[11] or persecutions on
political, racial, or religious grounds in execution of or in
connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal,
whether or not in violation of domestic law of the country where
perpetrated.
Leaders, organizers, instigators, and accomplices participating in the
formulation or execution of a Common Plan or Conspiracy to commit any of
the foregoing crimes are responsible for all acts performed by any
persons in execution of such plan.
_Article 7._ The official position of defendants, whether as Heads of
State or responsible officials in Government departments, shall not be
considered as freeing them from responsibility or mitigating punishment.
_Article 8._ The fact that the defendant acted pursuant to order of his
Government or of a superior shall not free him from responsibility, but
may be considered in mitigation of punishment if the Tribunal determine
that justice so requires.
_Article 9._ At the trial of any individual member of any group or
organization the Tribunal may declare (in connection with any act of
which the individual may be convicted) that the group or organization of
which the individual was a member was a criminal organization.
After receipt of the Indictment the Tribunal shall give such notice as
it thinks fit that the Prosecution intends to ask the Tribunal to make
such declaration and any member of the organization will be entitled to
apply to the Tribunal for leave to be heard by the Tribunal upon the
question of the criminal character of the organization. The Tribunal
shall have power to allow or reject the application. If the application
is allowed, the Tribunal may direct in what manner the applicants shall
be represented and heard.
_Article 10._ In cases where a group or organization is declared
criminal by the Tribunal, the competent national authority of any
Signatory shall have the right to bring individuals to trial for
membership therein before national, military, or occupation courts. In
any such case the criminal nature of the group or organization is
considered proved and shall not be questioned.
_Article 11._ Any person convicted by the Tribunal may be charged before
a national, military, or occupation court, referred to in Article 10 of
this Charter, with a crime other than of membership in a criminal group
or organization and such court may, after convicting him, impose upon
him punishment independent of and additional to the punishment imposed
by the Tribunal for participation in the criminal activities of such
group or organization.
_Article 12._ The Tribunal shall have the right to take proceedings
against a person charged with crimes set out in Article 6 of this
Charter in his absence, if he has not been found or if the Tribunal, for
any reason, finds it necessary, in the interests of justice, to conduct
the hearing in his absence.
_Article 13._ The Tribunal shall draw up rules for its procedure. These
rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter.
III. COMMITTEE FOR THE INVESTIGATION
AND PROSECUTION OF MAJOR WAR CRIMINALS
_Article 14._ Each Signatory shall appoint a Chief Prosecutor for the
investigation of the charges against and the prosecution of major war
criminals.
The Chief Prosecutors shall act as a committee for the following
purposes:
(a) to agree upon a plan of the individual work of each of the Chief
Prosecutors and his staff,
(b) to settle the final designation of major war criminals to be tried by
the Tribunal,
(c) to approve the Indictment and the documents to be submitted therewith,
(d) to lodge the Indictment and the accompanying documents with the
Tribunal,
(e) to draw up and recommend to the Tribunal for its approval draft rules
of procedure, contemplated by Article 13 of this Charter. The Tribunal
shall have power to accept, with or without amendments, or to reject,
the rules so recommended.
The Committee shall act in all the above matters by a majority vote and
shall appoint a Chairman as may be convenient and in accordance with the
principle of rotation: provided that if there is an equal division of
vote concerning the designation of a defendant to be tried by the
Tribunal, or the crimes with which he shall be charged, that proposal
will be adopted which was made by the party which proposed that the
particular defendant be tried, or the particular charges be preferred
against him.
_Article 15._ The Chief Prosecutors shall individually, and acting in
collaboration with one another, also undertake the following duties:
(a) investigation, collection, and production before or at the Trial of
all necessary evidence,
(b) the preparation of the Indictment for approval by the Committee in
accordance with paragraph (c) of Article 14 hereof,
(c) the preliminary examination of all necessary witnesses and of the
defendants,
(d) to act as prosecutor at the Trial,
(e) to appoint representatives to carry out such duties as may be assigned
to them,
(f) to undertake such other matters as may appear necessary to them for
the purposes of the preparation for and conduct of the Trial.
It is understood that no witness or defendant detained by any Signatory
shall be taken out of the possession of that Signatory without its
assent.