Commission of Responsibilities

The Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of Penalties was a commission established at the Paris Peace Conference, in 1919. Its role was to examine the background of the war as well as investigate and recommend individuals for prosecution for committing war crimes during the First World War.

During the First World War, the Allied governments had decided to try defeated leaders whom they considered responsible for violations of international law and the laws of war. For that purpose, it was decided to establish an expert committee to make recommendations to that effect. Following the conclusion of the Armistice in November 1918, preparations began. The defeated German government officially concurred with the initiative on grounds that:

"A complete truthful account of the world conditions and of the negotiations among the powers in July 1914 and of the steps taken at that time by the several governments could and would go far toward demolishing the walls of hatred and misconstruction erected by the long war to separate the peoples":

In addition, the German government proposed the establishment of a neutral committee of experts to study the matter. The Allied governments refused, claiming that:

"they (the Allied governments) do not consider that the German proposal requires any reply as the responsibility of Germany for the war has been long ago incontestably proved".

The commission was established at the conference plenary session of January 25, 1919, and consisted of representatives of the five major Allied powers – the USA, the British Empire, France, Italy, and Japan – with the addition of Belgium, Greece, Poland, Romania and Serbia (later: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). Its members were as follows:

USA:

British Empire:

France:

Italy:

Japan:

Belgium:

Greece:

Poland:

Romania:

Serbia (later: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes):

The Commission was divided into three sub-commissions as follows:

The Commission submitted its report on 29 March 1919. It concluded that blame for the war lay in the first instance with the governments of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and secondly with those of Bulgaria and Turkey. It recommended the establishment of an additional commission for a more exhaustive study of the alleged crimes of the defeated powers. It further recommended the establishment of an international tribunal for the prosecution of suspected war criminals, with no immunity from prosecution even for defeated heads of state. It recommended that the tribunal should consist of 22 judges, three from each of the five major powers and an additional six from other countries.

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