Legal Definitions - biological experiments

Biological experiments, in a legal context, refer to scientific tests, procedures, or research performed on individuals without their free, informed, and explicit consent. These experiments often involve substances, treatments, or conditions that can significantly impact a person's physical or mental well-being.

When such experiments are carried out during an international armed conflict, they are considered a grave violation of international humanitarian law, specifically a war crime, punishable by international tribunals like the International Criminal Court. To establish that a biological experiment constitutes a war crime, several key elements must typically be proven:

• One or more individuals were subjected to a specific biological test or procedure.
• This experiment posed a serious threat to the victims' physical or mental health, or their bodily integrity.
• The experiment was not genuinely intended for the victim's medical benefit or justified by their medical needs.
• The victims were protected persons under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 (e.g., civilians, prisoners of war, wounded soldiers).
• The conduct occurred in connection with an international armed conflict.

Here are some examples illustrating what constitutes a biological experiment as a war crime:

• Example 1: Unconsented Drug Trials on Occupied Civilians
  During an international armed conflict, an occupying military force establishes a research facility in a captured city. Scientists working with this force begin secretly administering an untested drug to a group of detained civilians, falsely claiming it is a new vaccine. The drug causes severe organ damage and long-term neurological problems in many recipients, who were never informed about the true nature of the substance or asked for their consent.

  Explanation: This scenario constitutes a biological experiment because civilians (protected persons) were subjected to an untested drug (a biological procedure) without their consent. The experiment seriously endangered their physical health, and its intent was not for their medical benefit, all occurring within the context of an international armed conflict.

• Example 2: Exposure to Extreme Conditions for Military Research on Prisoners of War
  In an international armed conflict, a military unit captures enemy soldiers, who are then classified as Prisoners of War (POWs). A medical research team from the capturing army decides to expose these POWs to extreme environmental conditions, such as prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures or high-altitude simulation chambers, to study human endurance and develop new survival gear. The POWs are not informed of the true purpose of these exposures and are not asked for their consent. Many suffer from severe frostbite, hypothermia, and permanent physical disabilities.

  Explanation: Here, Prisoners of War (protected persons) were subjected to an experiment (exposure to extreme conditions for military research) without consent. This seriously endangered their physical health and integrity, and the intent was not for their medical benefit, all occurring during an international armed conflict.

• Example 3: Experimental Surgery on Wounded Enemy Combatants
  During an international armed conflict, a field hospital belonging to one belligerent captures several severely wounded soldiers from the opposing side. Instead of providing standard, medically justified treatment, the hospital's lead surgeon, without the soldiers' consent, performs experimental surgical procedures to test novel techniques for limb reattachment, even when conventional, proven methods were available and safer. Several soldiers suffer permanent disability or loss of limbs due to the experimental nature of the surgeries, which were performed for research purposes rather than the best interest of the patients.

  Explanation: This example illustrates a biological experiment because wounded soldiers (protected persons) were subjected to experimental surgical procedures without their consent. These procedures seriously endangered their health and bodily integrity, with the intent being research rather than their best medical interest, all within an international armed conflict.