The London Agreement & Charter
The London Agreement and Charter not only shaped the prosecution of Nazi leaders after World War II but also marked a revolutionary moment in the development of international criminal law, setting precedent for holding individuals, not just states, accountable for war crimes.
《伦敦协定和宪章》不仅塑造了二战后对纳粹领导人的起诉，而且标志着国际刑法发展的革命性时刻，为追究个人（而不仅仅是国家）战争罪责任奠定了先例。
Top Photo: Robert H.
顶级照片：Robert H.
Jackson acting as Chief United States prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials.
杰克逊在纽伦堡审判中担任美国首席检察官。
November 20, 1945.
1945 年 11 月 20 日。
The London Agreement and Charter marked a turning point in international criminal law by establishing for the first time that individuals could be held accountable for war crimes.
《伦敦协定和宪章》首次规定个人可以对战争罪承担责任，标志着国际刑法的转折点。
This principle of individual responsibility broke from previous international criminal precedence, which shielded state actors from prosecution for actions carried out in an official capacity.
这一个人责任原则打破了以前的国际刑事先例，该先例使国家行为者免于因以官方身份实施的行为而受到起诉。
These two documents established the legal framework for the International Military Tribunal (IMT), also known as the Nuremberg Trials .
这两份文件确立了国际军事法庭（IMT）（也称为纽伦堡审判）的法律框架。
The United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union signed the Agreement in London on August 8, 1945, making “to prepare, incite, or wage a war of aggression, or to conspire with others to do so…a crime against international society” and “to persecute, oppress, or do violence to individuals or minorities on political, racial, or religious grounds in connection with such a war” 1 an international crime for the first time in history.
美国、英国、法国和苏联于 1945 年 8 月 8 日在伦敦签署了该协议，将“准备、煽动或发动侵略战争，或与他人合谋这样做……构成危害国际社会的罪行”，并且“因与此类战争有关的政治、种族或宗教原因而对个人或少数群体进行迫害、压迫或实施暴力”1 历史上首次被定为国际罪行。
Robert H.
罗伯特·H.
Jackson , US Chief of Counsel for the IMT, explained in his opening statement that the IMT marked “the first trial in history for crimes against the peace of the world,” 2 signaling that those responsible for such crimes would no longer enjoy impunity under international law.
美国国际军事法庭首席法律顾问杰克逊在开庭陈述中解释说，国际军事法庭标志着“历史上第一次对危害世界和平罪行的审判”2，这表明那些对此类罪行负有责任的人将不再享受国际法规定的有罪不罚的待遇。
In his final report to President Harry S.
在他向哈里·S·总统提交的最后报告中。
Truman on October 7, 1946, six days after the first of 13 total Nuremberg trials ended, Jackson quoted Justice Benjamin N.
1946 年 10 月 7 日，即纽伦堡 13 场审判中的第一场审判结束六天后，杰克逊引用了杜鲁门法官的话。
Cardozo: “The power of the precedent is the power of the beaten path.” 3 But before the Nuremberg Trials, there was no such beaten path.
卡多佐：“先例的力量就是老路的力量。” 3 但在纽伦堡审判之前，并没有这样的人迹罕至的道路。
That process began with the London Agreement and its accompanying Charter.
这一进程始于《伦敦协议》及其随附的《宪章》。
Prior to World War I, war criminals who were captured were tried under the military laws of their captors, but once the conflict was over, they could only be prosecuted under the laws of their own countries.
第一次世界大战之前，被俘的战犯会根据俘获者的军事法律受到审判，但冲突结束后，他们只能根据自己国家的法律受到起诉。
4 However, during World War II, Allied leaders realized that the Axis powers were committing war crimes on a previously unseen scale.
4 然而，在第二次世界大战期间，盟军领导人意识到轴心国正在以前所未有的规模犯下战争罪行。
Allied discussions about how to hold Nazi leaders accountable began as early as 1941 with the Declaration of St. James Palace .
早在 1941 年，盟军就通过《圣詹姆斯宫宣言》开始讨论如何追究纳粹领导人的责任。
In 1943, US President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin signed the Moscow Declaration , stating that, at the time of an armistice, Nazis responsible for atrocities committed during the war would be sent back to the countries where they had committed the crime to be judged and punished according to those countries’ laws.
1943年，美国总统富兰克林·罗斯福、英国首相温斯顿·丘吉尔和苏联总理约瑟夫·斯大林签署《莫斯科宣言》，规定停战时，对战争期间犯下暴行负有责任的纳粹分子将被送回犯罪国，并根据这些国家的法律接受审判和惩罚。
Major war criminals, though, “would be punished by joint decision of the Allied governments.” 5 However, how the Allies would punish such criminals was not established in 1943.
不过，主要战犯“将根据盟军政府的共同决定受到惩罚”。 5 然而，盟军如何惩罚此类罪犯在 1943 年并未确定。
Churchill and Stalin, at times, favored simply executing them.
丘吉尔和斯大林有时倾向于直接处决他们。
Roosevelt did not.
罗斯福没有。
The question remained unresolved until the war’s end in Europe in 1945, when the United States proposed trying major war criminals before a special international court.
这个问题一直没有得到解决，直到 1945 年欧洲战争结束，当时美国提议在特别国际法庭上审判主要战犯。
During the summer of 1945, representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union, whom Jackson called “the four dominant powers of the earth,” 6 “attempted to reconcile their conflicting legal concepts and devise a workable procedure” for trying Nazi war criminals.
1945 年夏天，美国、英国、法国和苏联（被杰克逊称为“地球四大主导力量”）6 的代表“试图调和相互冲突的法律概念，并设计出一个可行的程序”来审判纳粹战犯。
7 For nearly two months, the Allies “conferred, drafted, debated and struggled to agree on a substantive plan to prosecute Nazi war criminals, but after weeks,” they remained far from an agreement.
7 在近两个月的时间里，盟军“商讨、起草、辩论并努力就起诉纳粹战犯的实质性计划达成一致，但几周后”，他们仍未达成协议。
8
8
Finally, on August 8, 1945, the four powers “reconciled the basic conflicts in Anglo-American, French, and Soviet procedures,” using a predominantly American model, by establishing “a few simple rules which assured all of the elements of fair and full hearing, including counsel for the defense.” 9 These rules became the London Agreement and Charter, which established the International Military Tribunal to prosecute Nazi leaders responsible for World War II and for their war crimes.
最终，1945 年 8 月 8 日，四个大国采用主要是美国的模式，“调和了英美、法国和苏联程序中的基本冲突”，制定了“一些简单的规则，确保公平和充分听证的所有要素，包括辩护律师”。 9 这些规则成为《伦敦协定和宪章》，建立了国际军事法庭来起诉应对第二次世界大战及其战争罪行负责的纳粹领导人。
Though the delegations were beset with “difference and vexation,” Jackson acknowledged, the shared determination to make the trial a success ultimately “overcame transient irritations” and proved that international legal collaboration was possible.
杰克逊承认，尽管各代表团面临着“分歧和烦恼”，但让审判取得成功的共同决心最终“克服了短暂的烦恼”，并证明国际法律合作是可能的。
10
10
The London Agreement, drawing on the Moscow Declaration of 1943, accomplished several things.
借鉴 1943 年莫斯科宣言的《伦敦协议》取得了多项成果。
First, it established the IMT “for the trial of war criminals whose offenses have no particular geographical location whether they be accused individually or in their capacity as members of the organizations or groups or in both capacities.” 11 Second, it placed the IMT in the American-occupied zone of Nuremberg, Germany, because Nuremberg was an important site of Nazi rallies before the war.
首先，它建立了国际军事法庭，“用于审判战犯，这些战犯的罪行没有特定的地理位置，无论他们是单独受到指控，还是以组织或团体成员的身份受到指控，或者以两种身份受到指控”。 11 其次，它将 IMT 置于美国占领区德国纽伦堡，因为纽伦堡是战前纳粹集会的重要地点。
12 Third, Jackson insisted that “German aggression,” later renamed “crimes against peace,” be dealt with in the same way as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
12 第三，杰克逊坚持认为“德国侵略”（后来更名为“危害和平罪”）应与战争罪和反人类罪一样处理。
Fourth, it adopted the charge of conspiracy to commit the crimes set forth in the Charter, which was theretofore unfamiliar in international criminal law.
第四，它通过了共谋实施《宪章》所规定的罪行的指控，这在国际刑法中是陌生的。
Finally, Jackson insisted that groups and organizations also be tried, as part of the broader de-Nazification of Germany.
最后，杰克逊坚持认为团体和组织也应受到审判，作为德国更广泛的去纳粹化的一部分。
13
13
View of the defendants in the dock at the International Military Tribunal trial of war criminals at Nuremberg.
纽伦堡国际军事法庭审判战犯时被告席上的景象。
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park
美国大屠杀纪念博物馆，由大学公园市国家档案和记录管理局提供
Annexed to the Agreement was the Charter, which established the framework for the IMT: “For the just and prompt trial and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis.” 14 The Charter set the IMT’s jurisdiction and defined three new international crimes that held individuals, rather than states, responsible, thereby changing the landscape of international criminal law.
该协议的附件是《宪章》，它确立了国际军事法庭的框架：“公正、迅速地审判和惩罚欧洲轴心国的主要战犯。” 14 该宪章规定了国际刑事法院的管辖权，并定义了三种新的国际罪行，这些罪行由个人而不是国家承担责任，从而改变了国际刑法的格局。
The Charter gave the IMT “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”: 15
该宪章赋予国际军事法庭“审判和惩罚那些为欧洲轴心国利益行事的人，无论是作为个人还是作为组织成员，犯下任何以下罪行的权力”：15
The Charter also declared that “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.” 17 It established rules that assured a fair and full hearing, even including counsel, for the defendants.
该宪章还宣布，“参与制定或执行共同计划或共谋犯下任何上述罪行的领导人、组织者、教唆者和共犯，应对任何执行该计划的人所实施的所有行为负责。” 17 它制定了确保被告得到公平和充分听证的规则，甚至包括律师在内。
18 These documents introduced a formal, legal method for addressing Nazi wartime atrocities and helped define the principles of accountability, due process, and individual criminal responsibility during World War II.
18 这些文件引入了解决纳粹战时暴行的正式法律方法，并帮助定义了二战期间的问责、正当程序和个人刑事责任原则。
The London Agreement and Charter laid the essential groundwork for the prosecution of Nazi leaders and marked a decisive evolution in international criminal law.
《伦敦协定和宪章》为起诉纳粹领导人奠定了重要基础，标志着国际刑法的决定性演变。
By defining crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, and by holding individuals, rather than states, accountable, the Agreement and Charter transformed the Allied pursuit of justice into a structured, legal process rooted in fairness and procedure.
通过定义危害和平罪、战争罪和危害人类罪，并追究个人而非国家的责任，《协定》和《宪章》将盟军对正义的追求转变为植根于公平和程序的结构化法律程序。
Though born out of compromise among four divergent legal systems, the Charter established enduring international criminal law principles: individual responsibility, due process, and the idea that certain crimes are so grave they transcend national sovereignty.
虽然《宪章》是四个不同法律体系之间妥协的产物，但它确立了持久的国际刑法原则：个人责任、正当程序以及某些罪行严重到超越国家主权的理念。
The documents’ impact extended beyond the International Military Tribunal, becoming the model for the Tokyo War Crimes Trial.
这些文件的影响超出了国际军事法庭的范围，成为东京战争罪审判的典范。
The Charter not only shaped the outcomes at Nuremberg but also set a legal precedent that has guided international efforts to prosecute atrocity crimes ever since.
《宪章》不仅决定了纽伦堡会议的结果，而且还树立了一个法律先例，从此指导国际社会起诉暴行罪的努力。
As Robert Jackson wrote, the Agreement “represents the combined judgments of the overwhelming majority of civilized people” and serves as “a basic charter in the International Law of the future.” 19 In bridging the gap between law and morality, the London Charter signaled a postwar commitment to the rule of law, one that transformed the landscape of modern international criminal law.
正如罗伯特·杰克逊所写，该协议“代表了绝大多数文明人民的综合判断”，并成为“未来国际法的基本宪章”。 19 为了弥合法律与道德之间的差距，《伦敦宪章》标志着战后对法治的承诺，这一承诺改变了现代国际刑法的面貌。
Robert H.
罗伯特·H.
Jackson, “Opening Statement at the International Military Tribunal (21 November 1945),” Voices of Democracy, The U.S. Oratory Project, University of Maryland .
杰克逊，“国际军事法庭的开庭陈述（1945 年 11 月 21 日）”，民主之声，美国演讲项目，马里兰大学。
Accessed August 1, 2025.
访问日期：2025 年 8 月 1 日。
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Robert H.
罗伯特·H.
Jackson, “Justice Jackson’s Final Report to the President Concerning the Nurnberg War Crimes Trial.” Robert H Jackson Center, October 7, 1946, 342.
杰克逊，“杰克逊法官向总统提交的关于纽伦堡战争罪审判的最终报告。”罗伯特·H·杰克逊中心，1946 年 10 月 7 日，342。
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https://www.roberthjackson.org/speech-and-writing/justice-jacksons-final-report/。
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Johannes Fuchs、Flavia Lattanzi，“国际军事法庭”，牛津国际公法（2011 年）。
Accessed July 31, 2025.
访问日期：2025 年 7 月 31 日。
https://opil.ouplaw.com/display/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e312# .
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“How were the crimes defined?” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. Accessed July 30, 2025.
“这些罪行是如何定义的？”美国大屠杀纪念馆，华盛顿特区，访问日期：2025 年 7 月 30 日。
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/how-were-the-crimes-defined .
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“伦敦会议，1945 年 6 月 26 日至 8 月 2 日，”Robert H.
Jackson Center.
杰克逊中心。
Accessed July 25, 2025.
访问日期：2025 年 7 月 25 日。
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https://www.roberthjackson.org/nuremberg-event/the-london-conference-june-26-august-2-1945//
John Q.
约翰·Q.
Barrett, “The Nuremberg Roles of Justice Robert H.
巴雷特，《纽伦堡法官罗伯特·H·巴雷特的角色》
Jackson,” Washington University Global Studies Law Review , Vol. 6, Issue 3 (2007), 519.
杰克逊，”华盛顿大学全球研究法律评论，卷。 6，第3期（2007），519。
Tessa McKeown, “The Nuremberg Trial: Procedural Due Process at the International Military Tribunal,” Victoria University of Wellington Law Review (June 2014), 112.
Tessa McKeown，“纽伦堡审判：国际军事法庭的程序正当程序”，惠灵顿维多利亚大学法律评论（2014 年 6 月），112。
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“纽伦堡审判程序第一卷，1945 年 8 月 8 日伦敦协议”，阿瓦隆项目 - 法律、历史和外交文献。
Accessed July 30, 2025.
访问日期：2025 年 7 月 30 日。
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/imt/imtchart.asp .
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/imt/imtchart.asp 。
“The Nuremberg Trials,” The National WWII Museum .
“纽伦堡审判”，国家二战博物馆。
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“Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. I, Charter of the International Military Tribunal, Article 6.”
“纽伦堡审判程序第一卷，国际军事法庭宪章，第 6 条。”
“Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. I, Charter of the International Military Tribunal, Article 6(b).”
“纽伦堡审判程序第一卷，国际军事法庭宪章，第 6(b) 条。”
“Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. I, Charter of the International Military Tribunal, Article 6.”
“纽伦堡审判程序第一卷，国际军事法庭宪章，第 6 条。”
Haley Guepet, PhD, is the Research Historian at The National WWII Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.
Haley Guepet 博士是国家二战博物馆珍妮·克雷格战争与民主研究所的研究历史学家。
The first international war crimes tribunal in history revealed the true extent of German atrocities and held some of the most prominent Nazis accountable for their crimes.
历史上第一个国际战争罪法庭揭露了德国暴行的真实程度，并追究了一些最著名的纳粹分子对其罪行的责任。
Interpreters and translators were the unspoken heroes of the Nuremberg Trials.
口译员和笔译员是纽伦堡审判中无声的英雄。
Their work at Nuremberg was a groundbreaking development in simultaneous interpretation.
他们在纽伦堡的工作是同声传译领域的突破性发展。
Justice Robert H.
大法官罗伯特·H.
Jackson’s opening statement at the Nuremberg Trials remains one of the most famous and influential oratories in the canon of international law and criminal jurisprudence.
杰克逊在纽伦堡审判中的开庭陈述仍然是国际法和刑事法学经典中最著名和最有影响力的演讲之一。
Following victory, the Allies turned to the legal system to hold Axis leaders accountable.
胜利后，同盟国诉诸法律体系追究轴心国领导人的责任。
In an unprecedented series of trials, a new meaning of justice emerged in response to war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both the Germans and the Japanese throughout the war.
在前所未有的一系列审判中，针对德国人和日本人在战争期间犯下的战争罪和反人类罪，正义的新含义出现了。
The concept of genocide has fundamentally altered international law, history, and global geopolitics forever, transforming the way we understand mass violence in the modern world.
种族灭绝的概念从根本上永远改变了国际法、历史和全球地缘政治，改变了我们理解现代世界大规模暴力的方式。
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League served as inspiration for young women across the country and opened the door further for women’s professional sports.
全美女子职业棒球联盟为全国年轻女性提供了灵感，并进一步为女子职业运动打开了大门。
Joseph R.
约瑟夫·R。
Beyrle's experience captures the initiative demanded of airborne soldiers, the brutality endured by prisoners of war, and the unlikely battlefield cooperation between American and Soviet soldiers during the final months of the war.
拜尔的经历体现了空降兵所需要的主动性、战俘所遭受的残酷以及战争最后几个月美国和苏联士兵之间不太可能的战场合作。
In the letter, Major Richard “Dick” Winters responded to Stephen Ambrose's request for his thoughts on the strain of command, the problems he faced during the war, and the living conditions his soldiers endured.
在信中，理查德·“迪克”·温特斯少校回应了斯蒂芬·安布罗斯关于他对指挥压力、他在战争期间面临的问题以及他的士兵所忍受的生活条件的看法的请求。
What emerged was also a concise explanation of Winters’s leadership philosophy.
随之而来的是对温特斯领导哲学的简洁解释。
At The National WWII Museum, remembering the anniversary of September 11 means remembering all those who perished that day and recognizing the many different stories they carried with them.
在国家二战博物馆，纪念 9 月 11 日的周年纪念意味着纪念那天所有遇难的人，并认识到他们所承载的许多不同的故事。
During World War II, ship names often referenced earlier eras of American history.
第二次世界大战期间，舰艇名称经常引用美国历史的早期时期。
Today, the US Navy continues its efforts to memorialize the country’s origins by upholding naming traditions that hark back more than 160 years.
如今，美国海军继续努力维护 160 多年前的命名传统，以纪念国家的起源。
Initially, hell ships moved Allied POWs to areas where their labor was needed, such as the Japanese main islands and other recently conquered regions, but later, they also moved prisoners to prevent them from being liberated by advancing Allied forces.
最初，地狱船将盟军战俘转移到需要他们劳动力的地区，例如日本主岛和其他最近征服的地区，但后来，它们也转移囚犯，以防止他们被前进的盟军解放。
A product of post Great War naval treaties and launched amid rising global tensions, the USS New Orleans forged a bond with its namesake city in the years before World War II
新奥尔良号航空母舰是一战后海军条约的产物，在全球紧张局势不断升级的情况下下水，在第二次世界大战前的几年里与同名城市建立了联系
945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 info@nationalww2museum.org 504-528-1944
945 Magazine Street, 新奥尔良, LA 70130 info@nationalww2museum.org 504-528-1944