A Critical Alliance: the UN Charter and the Nuremberg Principles
Peace and Security in a Fragmented World
Eight decades after the establishment of the United Nations (UN), the spirit and letter of its foundational Charter is under grave threat. This reality is particularly amplified by repeated violations of the Charter´s prohibitions on the use of force as witnessed in various regions of the world. The gradual erosion of these fundamental norms has led to the significant proliferation of international crimes and the highest number of conflicts recorded since the UN´s foundation. Apart from exacerbating the failure of the preventive function envisaged in the Charter, these harrowing circumstances have called into question the effectiveness and the sustainability of the entire international legal order.
The Nuremberg Forum 2026 will focus on the UN Charter and its interaction with international criminal law. In relation to the Charter´s stated objective of saving “succeeding generations from the scourge of war,“ the Forum will assess the best approaches to strengthen institutional and normative frameworks designed to prevent the unlawful use or threat of force. It will further analyse how the international criminal justice system can adapt in order to uphold these norms in an era defined by fragmentation, multipolarity, democratic backsliding and hybrid warfare.
The Nuremberg Forum 2026 will be composed of the following components:
- Opening Discussion: The UN Charter and the Nuremberg Principles: A Shared Heritage
- Survivor Voices: A Conversation with Strength
- Keynote Address(es)
- Panel 1: The UN Charter and the Use of Force
- Panel 2: The Crime of Aggression: Origins and Development
- Panel 3: The Crime of Aggression and the International Criminal Court
- Dialogue: The IMT Judgement and the Nuremberg Principles Today
- Panel 4: Prevention, Reparations and Legitimacy
- Closing Dialogue: International Criminal Justice and Universality
The Nuremberg Forum 2026 will be held in English and can be attended free of charge. Registration for the Forum will be opened later this year and all attendees, whether attending in person or online, will be required to register. The event will be recorded and made available on the Nuremberg Academy's YouTube channel. Please find more information on the Nuremberg Forum, the Nuremberg Academy´s flagship annual conference here.
For more information, please contact Kiran Mohandas Menon, Senior Officer, at Kiran.Menon@~@nurembergacademy.org