Zoids: Chaotic Age Zero

International Law

Introduction: As a general rule, where you have more than one nation -- or in the case of Zi, faction, you will often have war. War is an incredibly brutal affair, and huge amount of the text and information in the factions pages deals with war or the history of warfare in the modern factions of Zi. However, in the somewhat likely event that soldiers of the respective nations will stop killing each other long enough for something called "peace" to break out you have treaties, agreements, armistices, and accords, binding and not binding to let the nations know where they stand with one another. Sometimes, the international community is sufficiently well-developed and peace lasts long enough for universally accepted or almost universally accepted rules and statues to take effect all around the planet, so that all people, regardless of nationality are entitled to certain rights and held to account for certain crimes. This article summarizes these International Laws as they exist on Zi, particularly noting the ones that affect CAZ gameplay.

Coalition Victories: Most of the international laws of Zi are negotiated and passed as resolutions of the Zi International Coalition, a minor faction that also serves as the hub for international diplomacy. The ZIC, as it is abbreviated, technically predates the Zoid Battle Commission, as the ZIC was established by joint action of the old Helic Republic and Guylos Empire several centuries ago following signing of the Great Armistice. While modeled after the old terran United Nations and not a nation itself (which preserves the ZBC's claim that the Commission is the oldest nation on Zi), the Coalition exercises soveriegn jurisdiction over the Unity Islands in the southern Guylic and Zenebic Oceans, and maintains a standing coalition force. It is charged with enforcing most international laws via the Coalition Military, the Zi International Criminal Court (ZICC), and the Coalition Court of Justice (CCJ). The Zi International Coalition works closely with humanitarian and aid groups and sponsors many of them, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which was also created after the terran tradition. Violations of some international laws are so serious that they may precipitate intervention by Coalition Forces without or with only brief consulation of the Coalition General Assembly.

War Crimes: Even prior to the signing of the Great Armistice or the formation of the ZIC, the old Republic and Empire agreed that there were a number of crimes so egregious and inexcusable that they must not be committed ever, even during time of war. Over time, this list has been amended and expanded, and its enforcement falls to the ZIC -- which is considered to have universal authority in hunting down war criminals. Any nation which officially sanctions war crimes or knowingly allows them to continue within its borders may be charged with war crimes under the concept of command responsibility. War criminals are prosecuted in the Zi International Criminal Court, and most war crimes carry the punishment of life imprisonment (capital punishment is usually not used by the Coalition). [Note that war crimes need not occur in time of war but most often do.]

War crimes defined by the Coalition are as follows:
1) Murder, torture, enslavement, deportation, or other cruel, inhumane, degrading, or unconscionable treatment of POWs or civilians.
2) Taking hostages or refusing to allow civilians to freedom of travel (specifically preventing civilians from exiting a combat zone).
3) Attacking civilians, POWS, international peacekeepers, observers, neutrals, or aid workers.
4) Killing a surrendered or captured combatant or attempting to waive the rights of a person or combatant by refusing to classify him or her as either a civilian or a soldier/POW.
5) Using civilians as shields.
6) Misusing a flag of truce or signal to parley.
7) Using weapons of mass destruction (see below).
8) Crimes against humanity in time of war (see below).

Crimes Against Humanity: Hand in hand with war crimes are crimes against humanity -- a series of offenses so unthinkable that the original treaties establishing their existence and predated the Chaotic Century. The list of crimes against humanity has been reviewed many times over the course of centuries but has been little revised or amended from the original list made so many centuries ago. Similar to war crimes, any nation which officially sanctions crimes against humanity or knowingly allows them to continue within its borders may be charged with crimes against humanity under the concept of command responsibility. Criminals against humanity are prosecuted in the Zi International Criminal Court, and most crimes against humanity carry the punishment of life imprisonment or death. (Capital punishment is only sanctioned by the ZIC in cases of crimes against humanity.) While crimes against humanity often occur in time of war, they may occur at any time, and war crimes and crimes against humanity are distinct.

Crimes against humanity defined by the Coalition are as follows:
1) Deliberate or widespread murder, imprisonment, extermination, torture, deportation, enslavement, or cruel, inhumane, degrading, or unconscionable treatment of a given civilian population or demographic.
2) Persecution of an identifiable group of peoples
3) Genocide
4) Usage of weapons of mass destruction against civilians (see below)
5) Other acts of a similar character meant to cause widespread harm to any civilian group

Weapons of Mass Destruction: While the original two types of unthinkable crimes were added to the realm of international law before the creation of the Zi International Coalition, ZIC statues and international treaties regarding weapons of mass destruction were more recently formed (though they are still centuries old). Usage of weapons of mass destruction is considered an extremely serious war crime. Use of weapons of mass destruction against civilians is considered a crime against humanity, whereas use of WMDs in a military context is considered a war crime. Depending on the situation, the punishment for the crime may be either life imprisonment or death, and the principle of command responsibility is again employed to determine the accused. The Zi International Criminal Court hears all cases of usage of WMDs.

Weapons of mass destruction defined by the Coalition are as follows:
1) Nuclear/Radiological Weapons or Agents
2) Chemical Weapons or Agents
3) Biological Weapons or Agents
4) Charged Particle Weapons

Historically, the first three types of weapons are considered the "classical" weapons of mass destruction: nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Zi has insufficient radioactive reserves and scientific knowledge to produce even one nuclear weapon. The lack of essentially any radioactives also rules out the possibility of a simpler radiological weapon ever being produced by any power of Zi. Biological weapons are unheard of on Zi, and the reasonably small pool of diseases (few of them actually lethal and essentially none of them uncured) makes the idea of self-propagating biological weaponry implausible. These two types of weapons were included in the ban on WMDs nonetheless, acknowledging that they might one day exist. However, Zi has never produced any weapon that would fall into either category.

Prior to the ZBC, the Empire and the Republic both stockpiled certain chemical weapons, which were the major concern regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. Following the Great Armistice, both nations agreed to outlaw the weapons which had mercifully almost never been used, and began to destroy their reserves of them. Chemical weaponry still exists on Zi, and the Zoid Battle Commission is known to have stockpiles of chemical weaponry but has never used it. (International law only forbids usage, not stockpiling, of chemical weapons.) ZBC documents released to the public prior to the current war on Zi make it known that the Commission possesses numerous chemical weapons including cyanide blood agents, mustard gas and other blister agents, and VX and other nerve agents. The Commission had originally intended to stockpile these in case of a widespread militant uprising -- but when push came to shove and it actually happened, Commissioner Coulston refused to allow use of these weapons. So far, anyway. All three major factions clearly have the ability to produce chemical weapons of essentially any type, but the ZBC is the only faction that currently has chemical warfare capabilities.

The final weapon of mass destruction, the Charged Particle Gun, was not part of the original conventions regarding WMDs and is probably the least destructive weapon type on the list (ironically). While the Helic Republic pushed for many years to have CPGs and other charged particle weapons added to the WMD list, the Empire was unwilling to give up its primary military advantage. Finally, under the Neo Zenebas Dynasty, the Empire signed the treaty... albeit at the barrel of a gun, as the Helic army, backed by Mad Thunders, had just marched into Guygalos. Since then, the Charged Particle Gun has been a WMD and illegal under international law. The Empire destroyed all of their hard-earned CPG technology in the wake of their defeat, and CPGs were put to rest, never to be seen again on Zi...

...You didn't actually believe that, did you? When the Backdraft Group came along, trying to reform or overthrow the ZBC, they managed to resurrect charged particle technology and launch a surprise attack against the Commission using these capabilities. CPGs destroyed the Commission satellite network, and it seemed the eve of the Backdraft victory was close at hand. However, the Commission quickly figured out what was going on. Bit Cloud defeated Vega Obscura, and the Commission crushed the Backdraft rebellion like a bug beneath Coulston's heel. The Neo Backdraft Group rose from the ashes of East Vedere, still possessing charged particle technology, and continued the fight. Using the remains of defeated Backdraft Zoids, the Commission managed to reverse-engineer this technology and deploy its own Geno Saurers in the field. The New Helic Republic quietly obtained this technology as well and did what the old Republic never could -- build CPGs. The Blackdust Mercenary Group, solitary in its frozen fortress, also placed some clandestine calls and got its hands on a few Geno Saurers as well. The only two factions which don't have CPG technology are the ZIC (which knows how to build them and is perfectly capable of doing so, but is forbidden by its own charter from possessing WMDs) and the Eastern Continental Alliance, which lacks the technology to manufacture charged particle weaponry.

Briefly, the Zi International Criminal Court was considering issuing a warrant for the arrest of Vega Obscura for war crimes (use of weapons of mass destruction in the military capacity), but the ZBC produced their own copies of the charged particle weaponry and started using them for their own purposes. The ZICC, realizing that it was ridiculous to try to arrest two warring national leaders, decided not to issue any warrants and has placed a kind of gag rule on cases and decisions involving charged particle weaponry, and has in so doing turned a blind eye to the use of CPGs.