United States v. Josef Altstoetter

International Military Tribunal

Control Council Law No. 10, at 954 (1948)

Relevant factsFree

After World War II, the Allies created the International Military Tribunal to prosecute Nazi war criminals for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. In one U.S. occupation-zone trial, fourteen individuals — including a member of the German high command, execution-squad leaders, doctors who ran medical experiments, and Nazi judges and prosecutors — were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. The defendants argued the charges violated ex post facto principles (nullum crimen sine lege), asserting these offenses weren't recognized international crimes under the IMT Charter when committed.

IssueFree

Whether the ex post facto rule applies to international law crimes in the same way it applies to domestic crimes.

Holding & reasoning

The court resolved the question by applying the controlling rule to the facts and explaining precisely why the outcome followed. Its reasoning ties the doctrine to the record so you can reproduce the analysis on an exam.

Procedural history, concurrence & dissent

This section traces the case from the trial court through appeal and lays out how each opinion lands. Separate writings sharpen the majority's limits and flag the arguments most likely to resurface in class.

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