The Nuremberg Precedent and Conscientious Objection

Extract

Accounts of litigations and debates over conscientious objection frequently mentioned the precedent of the Nuremberg and other war crimes trials. It is argued that if men may be tried and executed for participation in aggressive wars and illegal wartime acts there must be a moral right and duty to refuse such participation. Indeed, there should be a right to avoid possible trial as a war criminal, I will attempt to assess the validity of this argument generally and its relevance to the Freedom House characterization as a “fantasy” of individual interpretation of the prerogative of conscientious objection.