An Act to provide for the Trial and Punishment of War Criminals#

Part II—Interpretation

6 Serious crimes

(1) An act is a serious crime if it was done in a part of Australia and was, under the law then in force in that part, an offence, being:

An Act to provide for the Trial and Punishment of War Criminals#

Part II—Interpretation

6 Serious crimes

(2) In determining for the purposes of subsection (1) whether or not an act was, under the law in force at a particular time in a part of Australia, an offence of a particular kind, regard shall be had to any defence under that law that could have been established in a proceeding for the offence.

An Act to provide for the Trial and Punishment of War Criminals#

Part II—Interpretation

6 Serious crimes

(3) An act is a serious crime if:

(a) it was done at a particular time outside Australia; and

(b) the law in force at that time in some part of Australia was such that the act would, had it been done at that time in that part, be a serious crime by virtue of subsection (1).

An Act to provide for the Trial and Punishment of War Criminals#

Part III—War crimes

9 War crime to be indictable offence

(3) For the purposes of an offence against subsection (1), absolute liability applies to the following physical elements of circumstance of the offence:

(a) if subsection 6(1) applies—that the relevant act was, under the law in force at the relevant time in the relevant part of Australia, an offence mentioned in that subsection;

(b) if subsection 6(3) applies—that the law in force at the relevant time in some part of Australia was such that the relevant act would, had it been done at that time in that part, have been a serious crime under subsection 6(1).

Article 22
Nullum crimen sine lege
1. A person shall not be criminally responsible under this Statute unless the conduct in question constitutes, at the time it takes place, a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court.
2. The definition of a crime shall be strictly construed and shall not be extended by analogy. In case of ambiguity, the definition shall be interpreted in favour of the person being investigated, prosecuted or convicted.
3. This article shall not affect the characterization of any conduct as criminal under international law independently of this Statute.