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The Lieber Code of April 24, 1863, also known as Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, General Order
General order

In militaries, a general order is a published directive, originated by a commander, and binding upon all personnel under his command, the purpose of which is to enforce a policy or procedure unique to his unit's situation which is not otherwise addressed in applicable service regulations, military law, or public law....
 ? 100, or Lieber Instructions, was an instruction signed by President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
 to the Union
Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the Federal government of the United States of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that formed the Confederate States of America....
 Forces of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 during the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
 that dictated how soldier
Soldier

A soldier is a general English term that refers to a land component of national armed forces.In most societies of the world, "soldier" is also a general term for any member of the land forces including Commissioned officer and non-commissioned officers....
s should conduct themselves in war time
Wartime

The term wartime could refer to:* War* Wartime , a science fiction film spin-off of the TV series Doctor Who.* Wartime, a 1990 side project between former Ween bassist Andrew Weiss and singer/spoken word artist Henry Rollins....
. It was named after the German-American jurist
Jurist

A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations countries it has only historical and specialist usage....
 and political philosopher Francis Lieber
Francis Lieber

Dr. 'Francis Lieber' , originally known as 'Franz Lieber', was a German-American jurist and political philosopher. Aside from being the first American to take the title of political science, he is most widely known as the author of the Lieber Code during the American Civil War, also known as Code for the Government of Armies in the Fi...
.

The main sections were concerned with martial law
Martial law

Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect when the military takes control of the normal administration of justice.Martial law is sometimes imposed during wars or occupied territory in the absence of any other civil government....
, military jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
, treatment of spies
SPY

SPY may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* Spy , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San P?dro, C?te d'Ivoire...
 and deserters, and how prisoners of war should be treated.

document insisted upon the humane, ethical treatment of populations in occupied areas.






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The Lieber Code of April 24, 1863, also known as Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, General Order
General order

In militaries, a general order is a published directive, originated by a commander, and binding upon all personnel under his command, the purpose of which is to enforce a policy or procedure unique to his unit's situation which is not otherwise addressed in applicable service regulations, military law, or public law....
 ? 100, or Lieber Instructions, was an instruction signed by President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
 to the Union
Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the Federal government of the United States of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that formed the Confederate States of America....
 Forces of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 during the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
 that dictated how soldier
Soldier

A soldier is a general English term that refers to a land component of national armed forces.In most societies of the world, "soldier" is also a general term for any member of the land forces including Commissioned officer and non-commissioned officers....
s should conduct themselves in war time
Wartime

The term wartime could refer to:* War* Wartime , a science fiction film spin-off of the TV series Doctor Who.* Wartime, a 1990 side project between former Ween bassist Andrew Weiss and singer/spoken word artist Henry Rollins....
. It was named after the German-American jurist
Jurist

A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations countries it has only historical and specialist usage....
 and political philosopher Francis Lieber
Francis Lieber

Dr. 'Francis Lieber' , originally known as 'Franz Lieber', was a German-American jurist and political philosopher. Aside from being the first American to take the title of political science, he is most widely known as the author of the Lieber Code during the American Civil War, also known as Code for the Government of Armies in the Fi...
.

The main sections were concerned with martial law
Martial law

Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect when the military takes control of the normal administration of justice.Martial law is sometimes imposed during wars or occupied territory in the absence of any other civil government....
, military jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
, treatment of spies
SPY

SPY may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* Spy , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San P?dro, C?te d'Ivoire...
 and deserters, and how prisoners of war should be treated.

Ethical treatment

The document insisted upon the humane, ethical treatment of populations in occupied areas. It was the first expressly codified law that expressly forbade giving "no quarter
No Quarter

No quarter is when a victor shows no clemency or mercy and refuses to spare the life in return for the unconditional surrender of a vanquished opponent...
" to the enemy (killing prisoners of war), except in such cases when the survival of the unit that held these prisoners was threatened. As such, it is widely considered to be the precursor to the Geneva Convention.

Sterner measures

However, the code envisioned a reciprocal relationship between the population and the Army. As long as the population did not resist military authority, it was to be treated well. Should the inhabitants violate this compact by taking up arms and supporting guerilla movements, then they were open to sterner measures. Among these were the imposition of fines, the confiscation and/or destruction of property, the imprisonment and/or expulsion of civilians who aided guerrillas, the relocation of populations, the taking of hostages, and the possible execution of guerillas who failed to abide by the laws of war. It authorized the shooting on sight of all persons not in uniform acting as soldiers and those committing, or seeking to commit, sabotage.

Philippine-American War

The Lieber Code was used extensively during the Philippine-American War
Philippine-American War

The Philippine?American War was an armed military conflict between the United States and the Philippines, which arose from the First Philippine Republic struggle against U.S....
 as a justification and later a defense for war crimes against the native population (see J. Franklin Bell
J. Franklin Bell

James Franklin Bell was Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1906 to 1910.Bell was a major-general in the Regular United States Army, commanding the Department of the East, with headquarters at Governors Island, New York at the time of his death in 1919....
 and Littleton Waller
Littleton Waller

Littleton "Tony" Waller Tazewell Waller was a career officer in the United States Marine Corps, who served in the Spanish American War, the Caribbean and Asia....
).

See also

  • Command responsibility
    Command responsibility

    Command responsibility, sometimes referred to as the Yamashita standard or the Medina standard, is the doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of war crimes....
  • International criminal law
    International criminal law

    International criminal law is an autonomous branch of law which deals with international crimes and the courts and tribunals set up to adjudicate cases in which persons have incurred international criminal responsibility....
  • Laws of war
    Laws of war

    The law of war is law concerning acceptable practices relating to war. In cases other than civil wars, it is considered an aspect of public international law ....
  • War crime
    War crime

    War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war"; including but not limited to "murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoner of war", the killing of hostages, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devast...
    s


External links

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