 |
“Before you proceed with the other witness, Doctor, we desire to
dispose of a motion that has been made. On 12 March last, the defendants filed
a joint motion for an acquittal on the charges of crimes against the peace. We
construe this to be a motion for a judgment of not guilty on counts one and
four of the indictment on the ground that the evidence is insufficient as a
matter of law to warrant a judgment against them on those counts.
“After a careful consideration of this motion, the prosecution's
reply thereto, and the briefs and the evidence, we have come to the conclusion
that the competent and relevant evidence in the case fails to show beyond a
reasonable doubt that any of the defendants is guilty of the offenses charged
in counts one and four. The motion accordingly is granted and for the reasons
stated the defendants are acquitted and adjudged not guilty on counts one and
four of the indictment. An opinion, stating in more details the reasons of our
conclusion, will be filed at a later date.”
This opinion has been
prepared and is filed accordingly.
In count one of the indictment, all
of the defendants are charged with crimes against peace. This count is
frequently referred to as the “aggressive war count.” In the fourth
count, all of the defendants are charged with having participated in the
formulation of, and execution of, a common plan and conspiracy to commit, and
which is alleged to have involved the commission of crimes against peace. This
latter count is often referred to as the “conspiracy count.”
As stated in the judgment of the International Military Tribunal, the
charge in the indictment “that the defendants planned and waged aggressive
wars are charges of the utmost gravity. War is essentially an evil thing. Its
consequences are not confined to the belligerent states alone, but affect the
whole world.
“To
initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it
is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that
it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.” *
It
is difficult to think of more serious charges which might be made against any
individual than those contained in the two counts in question. Realizing this
and the attending responsibility upon us, we have carefully weighed the
evidence offered in view of what was said in the judgment of the International
Military Tribunal.
Article II of the Control Council Law No. 10
provides in part as follows: |
__________
* Trial of the Major War
Criminals. op. cit.. supra. vol. I. p. 186.
391 |
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