The London Agreement is a treaty, signed on August 8th, 1945 by the allied powers, France, Russia, Great Britain, and the USA, after the end of World War II, that defines the war crimes with which the captured members of the Nazi party were charged during the Nuremberg Trials. This treaty lead to the creation of The International Military Tribunal, the first court with the authority to indict war criminals.
The treaty defined war crimes in four ways:
1. Crimes against Peace there were two of these: namely, (a) planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements, or assurances, or (b) participation in a Common Plan or Conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing.
2. War Crimes: namely, violations of the laws and customs of war, including murder, ill-treatment of prisoners of war, or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder,. . . wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity.
3. Crimes Against Humanity: namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhuman acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds . . . in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the tribunal, whether or not in violation of domestic law of the country where perpetrated.