|
| Volume |
XVIII |
| Subdivision |
Subdivision 54 / Prosecution Staff Meetings and Organization |
| Part |
Not applicable |
| Section |
54.02 (Donovan letter and memo to Jackson) |
| Title |
"My dear Bob"; "Memorandum to Mr. Justice Jackson" |
| Pages |
3 |
| Pages Supplemental |
|
| Date |
23 October 1945 |
| Language |
English |
| Author |
William J. Donovan |
| Witness |
Not applicable |
| Other Names |
General Betts |
| Other Dates |
None |
| Abstract |
This letter and attached memo primarily illustrate Donovan's judgment of the legality of establishing additional tribunals (referred to as chambers or divisions) in order to hold additional war crimes trials. Justice Jackson has evidently sought Donovan's advice on this matter, having perceived a need to expand the prosecutorial capacity of his office (presumably in response to directive JCS 1023/10, a subject of much concern in contemporaneous documents included in this section). Donovan emphasizes the necessity of an amendment to Article 5 of the Constitution of the IMT as the only way of providing a legal basis for additional chambers or divisions, and suggests specific language for drafting such an amendment. In the letter, Donovan evinces his interest in "having Germans testify on the affirmative side of the principal case" and in establishing "as quickly as possible … German courts to try their own war criminals." This document is a typewritten carbon copy of fair to adequate quality on thin, stable paper. |
| Keywords |
Chief of Counsel; Military commissions; Chambers or divisions; Testimony of Germans; Prosecution strategy; Trial preparation; German courts; Special Projects; War criminals; Constitution of the International Military Tribunal, Article 5; Amendment to Article 5 |