Freie Universitaet Berlin: Historical and Geographical Contexts in Military Justice

An international conference to be held July 28 to July 30 at Freie Universität Berlin will address historical and geographical contexts in military justice, violence, and war crimes. It will focus on various countries and their conflicts in the period from 1850 to 1945, for example, World War II and its impact on the East Asian and South East Asian region as well as the civil wars in the United States and the Philippines. The researchers aim to discuss conceptual, legal, institutional, and practical aspects related to the exercise of legal and judicial powers by armed forces. Japanese studies scholar Prof. Urs Matthias Zachmann from Freie Universität Berlin notes, “A historical study of the principles, structure, and application of military justice can provide important insights into war crimes and atrocities.” The conference will take place as a hybrid event. Registration is required to participate both on site and online. This conference is hosted by the Institute of Japanese Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, as part of the project “Law without Mercy: Japanese Courts-Martial and Military Courts During the Asia-Pacific War, 1937–1945,” which has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

The aim of the ERC-funded project led by Prof. Dr. Urs Matthias Zachmann is to examine the causal connection between law and violence in the Asian part of World War II, in which Japan waged war against China, the United States, and its allies. The researchers plan to gain new insights into the causes and context of the escalating violence on the battlefields and in the occupied territories of East and Southeast Asia by examining the through the complex of Japanese military jurisdiction, which has received little attention so far.