How much of a war criminal will Bond be?
Questions will only resovle after the official movie is out (no resolutions based off the trailers). I will try to see the movie within the first 1-2 days it is released to resolve quickly.
"James Bond" means the protagonist of the film. If we get a new bond/007 agent who goes by another name, we will use them for the sake of this market.
Refers to the next official Bond movie after No Time to Die (2021), I'll change the title once we know what it is.
I'm not a legal expert on war crimes, I'm just a ordinary guy who's going to try his best. I hope that most of these will be quite clear about whether they resolve. ๐ค
List from here: https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/war-crimes.shtml
I didn't want to clutter @HenriThunberg 's much nicer /HenriThunberg/what-will-be-the-true-of-the-next-j
@Strigoides Ok that is a fun idea. I was even tempted to say yes before I remembered everyone here has bet on the outcomes and thus I don't think it would be very fair :P
Maybe I could find a model UN club to decide for us, but that is a little "out of scope" ๐
So I think you'll have to make due with my decision. I at least will not be betting in these markets and thus will be perfectly impartial ๐ผ
Many of these, like this one, are prefaced by this text or similar:
any of the following acts against persons or property protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention:
How is "protected under..." being interpreted here? Would "Bond shoots and kills someone who shot at him first" count for this?
@EvanDaniel Thanks for bringing this up! I'm not an expert in area so I'm going to and do my best here, but if you think I have a wrong interpretation please let me know!
My understanding of what constitutes as being "protected under the provisions of the relevant Geneva Convention" are:
Protected Persons:
Prisoners of War (POW): Members of armed forces who have fallen into the hands of the enemy, as well as militia and volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements.
Wounded and Sick Soldiers: Those who are part of armed forces, including militias and volunteer corps, who are wounded, sick, or shipwrecked, making them unable to partake in combat.
Civilians: Individuals who are not members of the armed forces or combatants, especially in occupied territories. This includes medical and religious personnel.
Shipwrecked Sailors and Airmen: Similar to wounded and sick soldiers, these are individuals who are part of armed forces but are rendered out of combat due to being shipwrecked.
Protected Property:
Medical Units and Establishments: This includes hospitals, medical centers, and other facilities dedicated to the treatment and care of the wounded and sick, as well as the transport of these individuals.
Religious Buildings and Cultural Property: Structures dedicated to religion, charity, education, arts, and sciences, as well as historic monuments, are protected from any form of deliberate attack or vandalism.
Objects Indispensable to the Survival of the Civilian Population: This includes foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of food, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies, and irrigation works.
Humanitarian Relief: Property used for the conveyance and distribution of humanitarian relief, such as food and medical supplies.
So my understanding of the distinction for "wilful killing" as a war crime hinges on whether the target is actively participating in hostilities and poses a legitimate threat at the time of the action, versus being a non-combatant, out of combat, or having surrendered. Some examples:
Actions That Are Considered Wilful Killing:Killing Surrendering Enemies: If Bond were to kill an enemy combatant who has clearly surrendered or is otherwise out of combat (unarmed, wounded, or not posing a threat), this would be considered wilful killing.
Executing a Captured Agent: Bond taking the life of a captured enemy agent or spy, regardless of their past actions, instead of detaining them, would be a war crime.
Targeting Non-Combatant Personnel: Bond deliberately killing civilians, medical staff, journalists, or other individuals who are clearly non-combatants and not engaged in hostilities.
Attacking a Medical Facility: If Bond were to attack and kill personnel in a medical facility that is treating both sides in a conflict, including enemy soldiers, provided the facility is not being used for military purposes.
Actions That Are Not Considered Wilful Killing:
Combat with Armed Enemy Agents: Bond engaging in a gunfight or combat with enemy agents who are actively participating in hostilities and pose an immediate lethal threat.
Self-Defense in Life-Threatening Situations: Bond killing an enemy in a situation where his life or the lives of others are in imminent danger, and lethal force is the only option.
Neutralizing an Immediate Threat: Bond using lethal force against an enemy agent in the act of committing a violent act, such as triggering a bomb or launching an attack, where failure to act would result in imminent loss of life.
Having just watched Casino Royal, I would resolve it YES for that film. He killed a wounded, unarmed opponent that he easily could have captured.
@Nikos I'd just love a "Geneva convention filter" for everything! All the star trek series. All lists of heroes. Which of them are actually war criminals? It feels like the rate has been going up
@EvanDaniel Mean Girls is an adaptation of the musical, we pretty much already know what will happen
Amazing market
Imagine posting this to the James Bond reddit or the high school model UN
It needs a more specific tag like "evaluating movies adherence to the Geneva conventions"
Full text:
> Subjecting persons who are in the power of an adverse party to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are neither justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the person concerned nor carried out in his or her interest, and which cause death to or seriously endanger the health of such person or persons;
Full text:
> Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated;
Full text:
> Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict;