united-states germany military laws-of-war
Does John Demjanjuk ruling theoretically jeopardize members of the US armed forces residing on German soil as parts of a &quot;mass murder machine&quot;?
<p>Does this decision/ruling mean that an American soldier can not safely cross German soil due to universal jurisdiction? Practically speaking given the international political dynamics I don't suppose they will realistically ever be so prosecuted or otherwise made so unwelcome but is there anything legally preventing it from happening?</p>
<p>How unfathomable would it be for a radical/renegade anti imperialist law student to rise through the ranks of the German prosecutorial or judiciary services and make a big wave by prosecuting American troops for their army's criminal adventures around the world along the lines of Baltasar Garzon in Spain?</p>
<p>Reference: <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1386260/John-Demjanjuk-convicted-Nazi-death-camp-crimes.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1386260/John-Demjanjuk-convicted-Nazi-death-camp-crimes.html</a></p>
<p>Update - This was the answer by user PMF that inspired my question:</p>
<p>&quot;The court however ruled that being part of a &quot;mass murder machine&quot; is enough to be held responsible.&quot;</p>
<p><a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/a/82676/32669">https://law.stackexchange.com/a/82676/32669</a></p>

<p>US troops deployed to Germany would be covered by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_of_forces_agreement" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Status of Forces Agreement</a>, which governs jurisdiction.</p>
<p>Your question also ignores the nature of the prosecution services in Germany, which do not allow a rogue junior official to file charges at a whim. You would have to assume that at least a state government, if not the federal government, actively pushes the case. (And the federal government could probably take the case away from any state which had such ideas.)</p>
<p>If you look for precedents of legal jeopardy, look at the case of <a href="https://www.ecchr.eu/en/press-release/syria-verdict-anwar-r/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Anwar Raslan</a>, a Syrian official convicted of torture in Germany. It is also a closer parallel to the Pinochet case.</p>
<p>Finally, the principles underlying such prosecutions were established <strong>in</strong> Germany but not <strong>by</strong> Germany. I'm talking of the Nuremberg trials. If German courts were to find the US Army to be a criminal organization, then individual members would be at risk. But as a political scenario, that is absurd.</p>
