Nuremberg Charter

The Nuremberg Charter, formally the Charter of the International Military Tribunal, is the founding instrument of the tribunal that tried the major war criminals of the European Axis after the Second World War. It was issued in pursuance of an agreement signed on 8 August 1945 by the governments of the United States, the Provisional Government of the French Republic, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. The Charter is arranged in seven parts. The first fixes the constitution of the Tribunal: four members, each with an alternate, one member and one alternate appointed by each signatory, a quorum of all four, decisions by majority vote, and convictions and sentences only by at least three votes. The second sets jurisdiction and general principles, and in Article 6 names three categories of crime for which individuals bear responsibility: crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Later parts deal with the powers of the Tribunal and the course of the trial, with official proceedings in English, French, Russian and the language of the defendant, with judgment and sentence, which the Charter makes final and not subject to review, and with expenses. Article 22 places the permanent seat of the Tribunal in Berlin and holds the first trial at Nuremberg.