Benjamin Ferencz: A Life Devoted to the Rule of Law and a More Peaceful World

Recently the world lost a treasured war veteran, Benjamin Ferencz. Benjamin Ferencz was the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials in Germany,  and brought Nazi war criminals to justice after World War II. as well as a longtime supporter of international criminal law.

Benjamin Ferenzwas a man who dedicated his life to the rule of law, working towards a more peaceful, humane, and secure world. Ferencz had a unique perspective on international criminal law, having been the Chief Prosecutor in the Nuremberg Trials, and he believed that there was still much work to be done in this field. In this article, we will explore some of the subtopics related to Benjamin Ferencz’s remarkable career and the significance of his work.

Motivation Behind Ferencz’s Work

When Benjamin B. Ferencz was ten months old, his parents immigrated from Transylvania and came to the United States. They lived in poverty, but eventually Ferencz won a scholarship at Harvard Law School forstudies in criminal law. He decided even before the war to devote himself to preventing crimes. He witnessed the horrors of war firsthand, having been a combat soldier who entered the war shortly after World War 2  began. His assignment was to go into the concentration camps as they were liberated and collect evidence of the atrocities, which could be used in the trial against the perpetrators.

At the Nuremberg Trials in 1946, the waging of aggressive war was branded as “the supreme international crime.” Ferencz wanted to understand how educated people could lead and commit such horrible crimes. Ferencz was appointed as the Prosecutor of the most significant trial at the age of 27, where he gained insight into the mentality of mass murderers. He participated in the convictions of one of the biggest Holocaust trials in history, where 22 defendants were charged for murdering over one million people.

The Growth of International Criminal Law

During his professional life, Ferencz advocated for the creation and spread of international criminal law. The UN General Assembly affirmed the Nuremberg Trials’ tenets and declared them to be authoritative rules of international law which was later adopted by 120 countries. Everyone must be treated equally under the law, including heads of state, and crimes that offend humanity’s conscience should be viewed as crimes against humanity. Ferencz hoped that the growth of International criminal law would protect everyone’s basic human rights.

Importance of the Rule of Law

The rule of law is essential because it helps protect the basic human rights of people everywhere. Ferencz believed that aggression should be punished as a supreme international crime, and war should be punishable universally as a crime against humanity. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, when he became President of the United States, declared, “The world can no longer rely on force. It must rely on the rule of law, if civilization is to survive.”

New Laws and Mechanisms to Curb International Crimes

Ferencz believed that there was still much work to be done in international criminal law. The crime of aggression is one such area where progress is needed. He pointed out that there is a dangerous gap in the law when it comes to the crime of aggression. If no court is competent to try aggressors, then the crime is more likely to be encouraged than deterred. An international criminal court for the environment could hold individuals and corporations accountable for such crimes and serve as a deterrent for future offenses. Ferencz proposed that war should be punishable universally as a crime against humanity, as genocide is condemned.

Ferencz also suggested suing individuals in a civil court to hold them personally accountable for their crimes. He emphasized the need to modify laws to adapt to the changing nature of warfare, particularly in the age of cyberspace. Ferencz established the Ben Ferencz International Justice Initiative to promote justice and accountability for mass atrocity crimes.

He believed that the most significant challenge facing the rule of law today is the feeling that nothing needs to be done since wars cannot be entirely prevented. Ferencz also encouraged educating and advising people to recognize war as a supreme international crime and create competent international courts to enforce judgments against those who defy necessary laws for peace and security.

Ferencz was hopeful about the future of international law and encouraged the use of resources to create a more humane and peaceful world.

Sources:

Interview—Benjamin Berell Ferencz, U.S. Chief Prosecutor at Nuremberg Trials (American Bar Association, June 2018)

Ben Ferencz: last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor dies aged 103 ( The Guardian, April 2023)

Header image – Benjamin Ferencz (Source: benferencz.org)