The events of the Second World War

The events of the in September 1945 made General Tomoyuki Yamashita control a significant fraction of Japanese army that combated the Philippines, who resided within the . The subordinates of Yamashita tormented, raped, abducted and murdered thousands of Filipino citizens. Prior to the end of the war, the United States implicated Yamashita for his involvement in the atrocities and sued him under the military commission. The military commission was a novice to evidentiary and routines necessary for .

The Supreme Court of the that the military commission had powers to prosecute Yamashita for gross misconduct against the laws of war that condemned hostilities. Although the case seemed insignificant as a referral case in court proceedings after the end of the Second World War, it gained significance in 1990s. Yamashita became the first ever army commander to be held accountable for the atrocities that his subordinates committed under the stipulations of the laws of wars. The case prompted the development of command responsibility in the army.

Procedural History

The United States sued Yamashita for disregarding summons to discharge his commandeer duty and control the operations of his army subordinates, who committed unlawful atrocities against the Filipino people. Banking on the argument that the United States had prosecuted him through a legally unstable military commission that lacked court procedural knowledge, Yamashita sneeringly filed a petition underhabeas corpusand prohibition norms. Yamashita claimed that the military commission lacked lawful authority to prosecute him. In a split decision among the jury, the Commonwealth Supreme Court of Philippine refuted the petition.

Yamashita was still unsatisfied with the judgment of the Supreme Court of Philippine and sought a different approach. Subsequently, Yamashita sought a different review against the denied petition in the Supreme Court of the United States that was responsible for a final verdict. In February of 1946, the United States Supreme Court denied the petition and upheld the earlier decision of the military commission to prosecute and sentence Yamashita to death. The in direct execution of the Commander, Yamashita.

Case Facts

During the Second World War period, army commanders and army generals had extreme sovereignty and commanding power over subordinate soldiers working under a military program. All army commanders under the laws of war were answerable to the military commission that oversaw the commanding behaviors of army commanders. Prior to the end of the Second World War, the conditions to end the war required commanders to secede from any form of hostilities and command soldiers in accordance with the laws of war.

Erroneously, Yamashita commanded his army personnel to conduct illegal atrocities such as murder, rape, and torture of the Filipino civilians contrary to the laws of war. The deliberate plans against laws were to massacre and eliminate the Filipinos dwelling around Batangas province, devastate people, and destroy religious, private, and public assets. Evidence revealed that serious atrocities occurred during the postwar era when the armies had agreed to secede from hostilities. There was enough testimony from over 286 witnesses, who