Nuremberg defense
Following orders excuse
The Nuremberg defense is the claim that one bears no guilt for illegal or immoral acts because one was following orders from a superior.
Named for the war crimes trials after World War II, where Nazi defendants argued they were merely obeying commands.
The defense was rejected at Nuremberg and remains legally and morally discredited: He tried the Nuremberg defense, but the jury wasn't buying it.
Sometimes called "superior orders" or "just following orders."
Capacity for right and wrong
- individual conscienceOne's private moral judgment
- personal responsibilityDuty to own consequences
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
complicity · autonomy · ethics · moral choice · human rights · crimes against humanity · genocide · atrocity
Court for battlefield violations
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- precedentPrior authoritative example
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
- international lawRules governing relations between countries
judgment · conviction · defendant · war criminal · indictment · testimony · verdict · Hague
Defense citing commanded obedience
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- chain of commandFormal authority hierarchy
- submissionYielding to another's will
- acquiescenceUnresisting acceptance
deference · subordination · duty · obligation · military hierarchy · command structure · blind obedience · authoritarian
Reason proving rightness
- rationalizationInventing acceptable motives afterward
- alibiDefense of location
- pretextFabricated motive concealing truth
- deflectionChange in trajectory
blame-shifting · evasion · mitigation · exculpation · vindication · apology · plea · scapegoating
moral agency
Capacity for right and wrong
- individual conscienceOne's private moral judgment
- personal responsibilityDuty to own consequences
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
culpability · complicity · autonomy · ethics · moral choice · human rights · crimes against humanity · genocide · atrocity · wrongdoing
war crimes tribunal
Court for battlefield violations
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- precedentPrior authoritative example
- jurisprudencePhilosophy governing legal systems
international law · judgment · conviction · defendant · war criminal · indictment · testimony · verdict · Hague · Geneva Conventions
superior orders
Defense citing commanded obedience
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- chain of commandFormal authority hierarchy
- submissionYielding to another's will
acquiescence · deference · subordination · duty · obligation · military hierarchy · command structure · blind obedience · authoritarian
justification
Reason proving rightness
- rationalizationInventing acceptable motives afterward
- alibiDefense of location
- pretextFabricated motive concealing truth
deflection · blame-shifting · evasion · mitigation · exculpation · vindication · apology · plea · scapegoating · denial
Nuremberg defensetaking responsibility
moral agency · mea culpa · individual responsibility · moral responsibility · moral courage
Nuremberg defenseconscientious objection
Moral refusal to fight
civil disobedience · whistleblowing · moral resistance · defiance · insubordination
defense, defender, defended, defending, defensive, defenseless, defenders, defenses, undefended