1. U.S. Dep’t of Army,Field Manual FM 27–10, The Law of Land Warfare 178, ¶ 499 (1956);
2. Jordan J. Paust et al.,International Criminal Law 24, 84–86, 744, 761, 967, 984–94 (1996); 3Commentary, Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War 421 (Jean Pictet ed., 1960) ("The International Law Commission has defined war crimes as: ‘Acts in violation of the laws or customs of war.’"); 4Commentary, Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War 583 (Jean Pictet ed., 1958).
3. Report of the Working Group on the Definition of Crimes, U.N. Doc. A/AC.249/1997/L.5 (Mar. 12, 1997), Annex I, at 3 (introductory paragraph on war crimes) [hereinafterMarch Report].
4. Report of the Working Group on the Definition of Crimes, U.N. Doc. A/AC.249/1997/WG.1/CRP.9 (Dec. 12, 1997), at 11 (options I, II) [hereinafterDecember Report]. But see id. at 11 (option III—"No provision on threshold."). I prefer that there be no such limiting "threshold," but discretion in the prosecutor. It is also worth emphasizing that such limiting phrases are not appropriate definitional elements with respect to "grave breaches" of Geneva law, genocide, or crimes against humanity. Paust et al.,supra note 1, at 19, 1030–31, 1035, 1037–38, 1054–63, 1075–82, 1109–11.
5. Cf. December Report, supra note 3, at 1, art. Y ("Without prejudice to the application of the provisions of this Statute, nothing in this Part of the Statute shall be interpreted as limiting or prejudicing in any way existing or developing rules of international law."). This savings clause is highly preferable.