S A T U R D A Y, J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 0 8 Blog Archive
Ruling
The Supreme Court ruled that Executive Order No. 68, creating the National
War Crimes Office and prescribing rules on the trial of accused war
criminals, is constitutional as it is aligned with Sec 3,Article 2 of the
Constitution which states that “The Philippines renounces war as an
instrument of national policy and adopts the generally accepted principles
of international law as part of the law of the nation.” The generally accepted
principles of international law includes those formed during the Hague
Convention, the Geneva Convention and other international jurisprudence
established by United Nations. These include the principle that all persons,
military or civilian, who have been guilty of planning, preparing or waging a
war of aggression and of the commission of crimes and offenses in violation
of laws and customs of war, are to be held accountable. In the doctrine of
incorporation, the Philippines abides by these principles and therefore has a
right to try persons that commit such crimes and most especially when it is
committed againsts its citizens. It abides with it even if it was not a
signatory to these conventions by the mere incorporation of such principles
in the constitution.
The United States is a party of interest because the country and its people
have been equally, if not more greatly, aggrieved by the crimes with which
the petitioner is charged for. By virtue of Executive Order No. 68, the Military
Commission is a special military tribunal and that the rules as to parties and
representation are not governed by the rules of court but by the very
provisions of this special law.
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