Punishing and Preventing War Crimes

Chapter 7 turns to the question of the punishment and prevention of war crimes. While the bases of legal liability for participation in war crimes are complex, our account of responsibility has important implications for a particularly controversial defense against a charge of war crimes: the superior orders defense. We consider a number of different arguments for the view that combatants who commit war crimes under orders are partially excused for their actions, and argue that the only defensible conception of the superior orders defense is one in which a combatant acting under orders can plead duress or coercion. The second part of Chapter 7 turns to the question of preventing war crimes. The account of war crimes that we develop in this book offers important insights into prevention strategies that, we hope, can provide the basis for further work on this important topic.