The Declaration of St James’s Palace on Punishment for War Crimes
(January 13, 1942)
The Declaration of St James’s Palace was the first joint statement of goals and principles by the Allies of World War II. The declaration was issued after the first Inter-Allied Meeting at St James’s Palace in London on June 12, 1941. Representatives of the United Kingdom, the four co-belligerent British Dominions, the Free French, and eight governments in exile of countries under Axis occupation were parties to the declaration.
The Declaration made three resolutions. In the first, the parties affirmed their alliance, pledging to assist one another in the war against Germany and Italy. The second pledged that the Allies would enter no separate peace, stating that there could be no peace until the threat of Axis domination was past. The third resolution committed the Allies to the principle of a peace based on the “willing cooperation of free peoples” in which “all may enjoy economic and social security.”
In August of 1941, Britain and the United States laid out their vision for a postwar world order in greater detail in the Atlantic Charter. In September, a second Inter-Allied meeting, which now included Soviet ambassador Ivan Maisky, issued a resolution endorsing the Charter. In January 1942, a still larger group of nations issued the Declaration by United Nations, endorsing the same principles initially put forward at St James’s and pledging to jointly resist the Axis.
In July 1942, the British government published a report, “Punishment for War Crimes” with the declaration and relevant documents. The report said:
The Declaration
The undersigned representing the Government of Belgium, the Government of Czechoslovakia, the Free French National Committee, the Government of Greece, the Government of Luxembourg, the Government of the Netherlands, the Government of Norway, the Government of Poland and the Government of Yugoslavia:
“Whereas Germany, since the beginning of the present conflict which arose out of her policy of aggression, has instituted in the Occupied countries a regime of terror characterized amongst other things by imprisonments, mass expulsions, the execution of hostages and massacres,
And whereas these acts of violence are being similarly committed by the Allies and Associates of the Reich and, in certain countries, by the accomplices of the occupying Power,
And whereas international solidarity is necessary in order to avoid the repression of these acts of violence simply by acts of vengeance on the part of the general public, and in order to satisfy the sense of justice of the civilized world,
Recalling that international law, and in particular the Convention signed at The Hague in 1907 regarding the laws and customs of land warfare, do not permit belligerents in Occupied countries to commit acts of violence against •civilians, to disregard the laws in force, or to overthrow national institutions,
In faith whereof the undersigned duly authorized to this effect have signed the present Declaration.”
Done in London, in nine copies, January 13, 1942.
The Signatories To The Declaration
The Inter-Allied Conference met on January 13th, 1942, at St. James’s Palace, which had been placed at its disposal for that purpose by the British Government. The following representatives of the Allied Governments took part in the Conference:
BELGIUM – M. Hubert Pierlot, Prime Minister and Minister of Education
M. Paul Henri Spaak, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister of Labour and Social Welfare
CZECHOSLOVAKIA – Mgr. Jan Sramek, Prime Minister
M. Hubert Ripka, Minister of State
FREE FRANCE – General Charles de Gaulle, President of the Free* French Committee
M. Maurice Dejean, National Commissioner for Foreign Affairs
GREECE – M. Emmanuel Tsouderos, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs
M. S. Dimitrakakis, Minister of Justice
LUXEMBOURG – M. Joseph Bech, Minister of State and Minister for Foreign Affairs
M. Victor Bodson, Minister of Justice
THE NETHERLANDS – Prof. P. S. Gerbrandy, Prime Minister
Jhr. E. F. M. J. Michiels van Verduynen, Minister without Portfolio and Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs
NORWAY – M. Trygve Lie, Minister for Foreign Affairs
M. Terje Wold, Minister of Justice
POLAND – General Wladyslaw Sikorski, Prime Minister
Count Edward Raczynski, Minister for Foreign Affairs {Acting)
YUGOSLAVIA – M. Slobodan Yovanovitch, Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior and Deputy Minister of the Army, Navy and Air Force
M. Momtchilo Nintchitch, Minister for Foreign Affairs
*On July 14th, the day of celebration of the fall of the Bastille, the title “The Free French” was officially changed to that of “The Fighting French.”
Sources: “Declaration of St James’s Palace,” Wikipedia;
“Punishment for War Crimes,” Inter-Allied Information Committee, (July 1942).