[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1348 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 1348


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 29, 1997

  Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
     To amend title 18, United States Code, relating to war crimes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Expanded War Crimes Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF WAR CRIMES.

    Section 2441 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``grave breach of the 
        Geneva Conventions'' and inserting ``war crime'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``breach'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``war crime''; and
            (3) so that subsection (c) reads as follows:
    ``(c) Definition.--As used in this section the term `war crime' 
means any conduct--
            ``(1) defined as a grave breach in any of the international 
        conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to 
        such convention to which the United States is a party;
            ``(2) prohibited by Articles 23, 25, 27, or 28 of the Annex 
        to the Hague Convention IV, Respecting the Laws and Customs of 
        War on Land, signed 18 October 1907;
            ``(3) which constitutes a violation of common Article 3 of 
        the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, 
        or any protocol to such convention to which the United States 
        is a party and which deals with non-international armed 
        conflict; or
            ``(4) of a person who, in relation to an armed conflict and 
        contrary to the provisions of the Protocol on Prohibitions or 
        Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices 
        as amended at Geneva on 3 May 1996 (Protocol II as amended on 3 
        May 1996), when the United States is a party to such Protocol, 
        willfully kills or causes serious injury to civilians.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 29, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.