The Council of Europe appealed last Friday to its 21 member-states to ratify a convention which would permit the prosecution of war criminals without any time limit. The convention, if ratified, would do away with statutes of limitations for war crimes committed during World War II. The Council, which has an advisory role, also called on member countries to cooperate in prosecuting World War II war criminals.
The convention was passed five years ago by the Council but not a single country has ratified it as yet. Three parliamentarians, all from West Germany, abstained in Friday’s vote. Seven others, mainly from the Scandinavian countries, voted against the appeal saying it is in contradiction with their national legislation.
A Dutch member of the Council, Socialist Pieter Stoeffelen, said that 3000 to 4000 war criminals have escaped prosecution. Stoeffelen submitted a report on which the appeal Friday was based.
The country most concerned by the Council’s plea is West Germany where the Bundestag (Parliament) is due to debate in April an amendment to the statute of limitations law. The amendment would remove any time limits for the prosecution of Nazi crimes. Should it fail to pass, World War II crimes will no longer be prosecutable as of next Jan. I.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
