The French National Assembly approved today by unanimous vote of practically its entire membership a law holding that war crimes and crimes against humanity are not subject to any time limit for prosecution in France.
The law, which was presented as a private members bill but had government support declared that "crimes against humanity, as they are defined by the United Nations resolution of February 13, 1946, and by the charter of the International Tribunal, are not subject to a statute of limitation by their very nature."
The measure now will be sent to the Upper House where it is assured of passage. It will become law probably early next year. The new law will enable the French Government to arrest, detain and try former war criminals entering French territory; The report of the Assembly’s legal committee was presented by Deputy Alfred Coste, a former French prosecutor at the Allied War Crimes Trials at Nuremberg.
"It is inconceivable that as of next May, some of the worst Nazi war criminals will enjoy freedom from prosecution," M. Coste told the 117 members of the Assembly. "Let us suppose for an instant that Hitler himself is still alive and hiding somewhere; Should he turn up after next May 8, he could invoke the statute of limitations of West Germany and retire like the former Kaiser did in a foreign country. This is in admissible."
He was applauded by all deputies when he said that "by adopting the law which we propose, the French Parliament will honor its pledges and will remain true to the memory of the resistance fighters and deportees killed during the war. By a unanimous vote, the Assembly will clearly show that time cannot erase the horror of these crimes."
Raymond Schmittlein, Assembly vice-president, who submitted the bill with M. Coste, said: "What better memorial to the victims and martyrs of the war could we erect than a law declaring that the crimes committed against them and against humanity are not covered by time prescriptions and limitations. Our vote will also serve as a warning to the tens of thousands of war criminals who are still in hiding and only await the fateful day of May 6, 1965, to come out in the open."
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