Robert H. Jackson is pictured at the Nuremberg trials.

The Robert H. Jackson Center will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the signing of the London Agreement and Charter and the establishment of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg with a free global webinar on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 9 a.m.

“As Justice Jackson said in his opening statement at Nuremberg, the trial was ‘one of the most significant tributes that Power has ever paid to Reason,’ and the trials, the groundwork necessary to bring them to fruition, and the subsequent development of international law should be celebrated. We will commemorate these historic events and discuss how the legacy of Robert H. Jackson and the Nuremberg Trials live in the world today,” said Kristan McMahon, Jackson Center president. “We are excited to work with a number of international organizations and an excellent group of panelists for this discussion.”

The schedule includes a welcome by McMahon, greetings by Ben Ferencz, investigator of Nazi war crimes and the chief prosecutor for the United States Army at the Einsatzgruppen Trial; a historical overview by John Q. Barrett, St. John’s University law professor and Elizabeth S. Lenna Fellow and board member at the Robert H. Jackson Center and a panel discussion.

The panel members in attendence are from three countries. From the Jackson Center, members are David Crane, founding chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone; James Johnson, prosecutor, Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone and former Jackson Center president; and Leila Sadat, director, Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute and special adviser on Crimes Against Humanity to the ICC Prosecutor, James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law. Speaking from London are Andrew Cayley, director service prosecutions and chief military prosecutor British Armed Forces; Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association; and William A. Schabas, professor of international law, School of Law, Middlesex University, London, and professor of international criminal law and human rights at Leiden University. From Nuremberg are Henrike Claussen, director of the Memorium Nuremberg Trials; Navi Pillay, president of the advisory council of International Nuremberg Principles Academy; and Klaus Rackwitz, director of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy.

On August 8, 1945, the United States, England, France and the Soviet Union signed the London Agreement. The London Agreement and Charter established the structure, jurisdiction and crimes for the Nuremberg Trials. For two months during the summer of 1945, Robert H. Jackson and his team, which included his son William E. Jackson, worked to achieve a consensus among the Allies, find a location for the trials, preserve evidence, and begin developing the trial strategy. Jackson’s energy, intelligence, and leadership directed the London Conference. The charter defined the crimes the defendants could be charged with: crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, which became the basis for modern international humanitarian law and the International Criminal Court.

Prer-egistration for the free webinar is required. Registrants will receive a Zoom link via email to the webinar once they have registered. The webinar will be offered in English only and will be recorded. Register online at www.roberthjackson.org/event/the-age-of-robert-h-jackson-london-nuremberg-today or by calling 483-6646.

The program is made possible through donors to the Robert H. Jackson Center and the Whitney R. Harris Lectureship Fund and program partners Case Western Reserve University School of Law, International Nuremberg Principles Academy, the International Bar Association and the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute.