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FIRST
DAY
Tuesday,
20 November 1945
THE
PRESIDENT: Before the defendants in this case are called upon to make
their pleas to the Indictment which has been lodged against them, and in
which they are charged with Crimes against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes
against Humanity, and with a Common Plan or Conspiracy to commit those
crimes, it is the wish of the Tribunal that I should make a very brief
statement on behalf of the Tribunal.
This
International Military Tribunal has been established pursuant to the
Agreement of London, dated the 8th of August 1945, and the Charter of
the Tribunal as annexed thereto, and the purpose for which the Tribunal
has been established is stated in Article 1 of the Charter to be the
just and prompt trial and punishment of the major war criminals of the
European Axis.
The Signatories to the
Agreement and Charter are the Government of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government of the United States of
America, the Provisional Government of the French Republic, and the
Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The
Committee of the Chief Prosecutors, appointed by the four Signatories,
have settled the final designation of the war criminals to be tried by
the Tribunal and have approved the Indictment on which the present
defendants stand charged here today.
On
Thursday, the 18th of October 1945, in Berlin, the Indictment was lodged
with the Tribunal and a copy of that Indictment in the German language
has been furnished to each defendant, and has been in his possession for
more than 30 days.
All the defendants
are represented by counsel. In almost all cases the counsel appearing
for the defendants have been chosen by the defendants themselves, but in
cases where counsel could not be obtained the Tribunal has itself
selected suitable counsel agreeable to the defendant.
The
Tribunal has heard with great satisfaction of the steps which have been
taken by the Chief Prosecutors to make available to defending counsel
the numerous documents upon which the Prosecution rely, with the aim of
giving to the defendants every possibility for a just defense.
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