ipl-logo

Arguments Against Just War Theory

1943 Words8 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The core idea of Just war theory

War crimes and crimes against humanity are among the most serious crimes in International Law. The definitions of a war crime comes under very specific definitions but are not always easily so defined, as war can be very hostile and unpredictable. War can appear as unjust and unwarranted, but in some circumstances, it is necessary. Just War theory is a concept that attempts to guide war into a more just path. The theory recognises that in times of war, traditional ethics are not applied but there should be ethical guidelines for war. Just War theory judges war twice, first for the reason that the states are fighting for and secondly, the practises in which they adopt in the actual fighting. Jus Ad Bellum or justice of war provides the guidelines …show more content…

The Treatment of Australian Prisoners of War in World War 2 from the Japanese is a heinous war crime under the Geneva Conventions of 1929. This essay serves to differentiate between what is classified as a war crime and what is considered not through looking at various cases studies of Australian involvement in certain wars as both the victim and alleged offender. The idea of Just War theory is not necessarily to condone war but to prevent war by showing that it is wrong and motivates states to find other ways of solving conflicts. Throughout war, we see many horrors committed against people particularly civilians and just war theory aims to alleviate the horror of war by providing a map to determine whether it is right to go to war initially and for nations to govern their actions throughout war. The concept of just war theory paved the way to establishing a way of prosecuting those who committed crimes during war. International Law, established by the United Nations defines the legal responsibilities of states in their conduct with each and the treatment of individuals. Under the International law is the International humanitarian law, which …show more content…

The Japanese Government signed the 1929 Geneva Convention; this meant that the Japanese had to treat the prisoners of war with minimum rights and humane treatment. However, the Japanese refused to consent to the conventions terms and when the war arrived the Japanese refused to observe its requirement. By the end of the war, 8,031 Prisoners of War died due to the constant battle with disease, starvation, exhaustion due to work and the brutality of the Japanese. The P.O.W.’s survivors remember the Japanese soldiers as being cruel and indifferent and the cruelty came in many forms from extreme violence and torture to minor acts of physical punishment, humiliation, and neglect. However, many prisoners narrate cases of compassion by the Japanese and even a sense of shared burdens. When World War 2 ended, many of the Japanese guards were prosecuted with war crimes committed against breaches of the Geneva conventions about prisoners and civilians. Australian Prisoners of War that survived wrote statements and testimonies about their treatments in the camps. There were three levels of trails conducted for the war crimes committed by the Japanese. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East prosecuted Twenty-eight high-ranking Japanese officials and

Show More
Related
991 Words | 4 Pages

Why did the Guards Treat the POWs so Badly? POW stands for Prisoner of War and to become a POW, like Louie, he was captured by the Japanese and taken to a POW camp. To be captured, Louie and his team crash landed in the ocean and they drifted to Japanese territory and they were imprisoned by them and taken to a POW camp and then they would torture all of the Prisoners there. “Beatings were almost constant. Men were beaten for virtually anything: folding arms, cleaning their teeth, talking in their sleep, and most often, for not understanding orders issued in Japanese” (149).

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

Japanese Brutality In World War II Japanese Prisoner of War (POW) camps are an example of how the majority of people are uneducated about some of the unspeakable horrors that have happened in the world. Many have heard of the notorious World War II (WWII) Holocaust and the terrors that happened in the concentration camps there. Japanese POW camps during WWII were not widely publicized to be barbarous, but former prisoners have said that the camps had a reputation for dehumanizing, brutalizing, and systematically eliminating their captives.

Read More
657 Words | 3 Pages

Japan never ratified the 1929 Geneva Convention and therefore used Allied prisoners as slaves. The work was so “dangerous and exhausting that thousands of POWs died on the job” (234). Many POW camps were disguises for slave camps where men were worked to the verge of death from arduous labor. This translated into a wide range of diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria, and dysentery. Neurological damage was almost ubiquitous, “more than 85 percent of former Pacific POWs…suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder” (346).

Read More
569 Words | 3 Pages

When learning about and analyzing acts of mass atrocity during World War II, hundreds if not thousands of questions can be asked trying to gain a deeper understanding for their actions. Probably one of the most intriguing thoughts to ponder is what leads individuals and societies as a whole to descend to such a level of cruelty. According to the author of Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand, one reason may be, “Few societies treasured dignity, and feared humiliation, as did the Japanese, for whom a loss of honor could merit suicide. This is likely one of the reasons why Japanese soldiers in World War II debased their prisoners with such zeal, seeking to take from them that which was most painful and destructive to lose” (189). To elaborate, the Japanese

Read More
312 Words | 2 Pages

Consistently, Japan tortured and beat American prisoners of war, and blatantly ignored the international laws of warfare. Not only were the bombs used to punish Japan, they were also used to save American lives. The bombs “shorten[ed] the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans” (Truman).

Read More
138 Words | 1 Pages

In the Pacific Theatre of World War II, Prisoner-of-war camps were a common occurrence. Japan and the United States had POW camps, but the most infamous were those of the Japanese. Japanese POW camps were governed by the country’s military officials, with no international laws being applied to the system. Prisoner-of-war camps were meant to be a place for enemy soldiers to be abstained from the war efforts on either side. However, POW camps in Japan were geared toward the expansion of the Japanese war effort.

Read More
734 Words | 3 Pages

Unbroken, a novel written by Laura Hillenbrand, outlines the horrors of being captured by Japanese troops during the Second World War. Because of the ethics that the Japanese people had, the Geneva Convention was hardly ever followed, and the captives were rarely ever treated well. The Red Cross was blatantly lied to, meaning that to the outside world, the Japanese Prison Camps were treating their husbands and sons well. On the interior, however, it was apparent that the prisoners had to do whatever it would take to survive. Men stole goods, communicated in many ways, and even had ploys to either kill camp officials, or to even run away.

Read More
1410 Words | 6 Pages

War is something that, at this point in history, can be arguably deemed as part of the human condition. For whatever reason, it appears that humans are destined not to get along and that violent conflict is the preferred method of solving issues that arise. Whether it be fighting for the love of Helen of Troy or espousing the likes of God and Allah as a justification, war is one thing that time has yet to see the end of. That being said, it comes as no surprise that academics, scientists, and philosophers alike have taken to attempting to understand why wars happen. A controversial and somewhat debated topic is the concept of the Just War Principles.

Read More
814 Words | 4 Pages

In addition to the cultural tradition of Bushido, the Japanese’s harsh treatment of prisoners of war during World War II can also be attributed to the military doctrines and structures that were prevalent in Japan at the

Read More
1742 Words | 7 Pages

Rules: With regard to international armed conflicts, the four Geneva Conventions (GC I to IV) and Additional Protocol I and II contain various provisions specifically dealing with both of Prisoners of War, Civilians protection to prevent any kind of violations that may happen toward them. The Forth Geneva convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War has set rules governing the issue of civilians who found themselves under enemy’s possession. Article 5 of the 4th GC has identified who are protected persons with putting conditions to be considered as protected with the privileges of having the statue of protected persons at article 27 of the same convention. Third Geneva Convention in particular has recognized group of rights with regarded to POWs such as the right to be humanely treated at article 13, correspondence at article 71, the right to gain a sufficient food in quantity and quality at article 26 and the right to not be subjected to torture and question at article 17 where every prisoner of war “when questioned on the subject, is bound to give only his surname, first names and rank, date of birth, and army, regimental, personal or serial number, or failing this, equivalent information” Moreover, the use of weapons and means that have indiscriminate effects such as poisonous gas and bombs which also would aggravate the suffering recognized as prohibited to use due to the amount of damage it causes upon civilians as well as the environment

Read More
924 Words | 4 Pages

In the year of 1988, Congress sought forgiveness from the people of Japanese descent and offered $20,000 to each surviving member of the camps for the “ violation of their liberties” (“Japanese-American

Read More
967 Words | 4 Pages

International humanitarian law outlines acceptable methods of warfare, which are defined and constrained in the Geneva and Hague conventions. This contains provisions for the protection of combatants, non-combatants, civilians, prisoners of war and medical personnel in the battle

Read More
1178 Words | 5 Pages

On the other hand, Shaw argues that warfare is degenerate in nature. Therefore one can argue that propaganda and the demonization of entire nations during war matched with indiscriminate violence makes acts of war ultimately acts of genocide. This argument is particularly compelling when corresponded with the casualty rates of modern

Read More
882 Words | 4 Pages

On the legal grounds, the act of humanitarian intervention is still debatable, On the one hand, there was a responsibility to limit the use of force to self-defense according to the UN Charter. On the other hand, there was strong international pressure to abide by commitments to human rights and the right to life. This has constitute tensions in an international law system, Humanitarian intervention as the justifiable act to intervene while it is contrary to the principle of sovereignty and nonintervention in the UN system and international law. An evolving international norms related to human rights and the use of force.

Read More
915 Words | 4 Pages

Some other possible sources of enriching the understanding of the ‘comfort women’ case are the transcripts of the trial for both sides in order to not only understand the legal issues involved and the structure embedded in these trials (i.e. the international legal system and the Japanese system of law), and the preserved photos taken of other ‘comfort women’ for further interpretation of the treatments of some other Japanese soldiers towards these

Read More

More about Arguments Against Just War Theory

Open Document