A Normative and conceptual study of peace after the Second World War in light of the Nuremberg Tribunal and the United Nations

Abstract

The concept of peace is a source of much debate in the history of international law, and scholars have discussed it from different perspectives. State's consent formed the basis for the legal order prior to the Second World War. However, after the Second World War, peace requirements altered the order by imposing certain obligations upon States. These obligations are essential for universal peace, regardless of states' consent. Among these requirements, the salient sample is the prohibition of waging war, which was criminalized for the first time by the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals. As part of the process of pursuing lasting peace the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations is a hallmark. The Charter outlined a new vision of peace, coupled with retaining the classic definition of peace as the absence of war. There are two characteristics of the Charter's peace; it is manifested in a particular form with a definite connotation. In terms of the form, certain articles of the Charter suggest that the form is the relationship between the members of the United Nations and that the connotation is the implementation of human rights. Charter law pledges States, individually and collectively, to observe human rights both at the domestic and international levels, and this understanding of peace has affected the structure of international law.