International law; Natural law; War (International law)
VIII. and IX. The obligation to repair the losses suffered by
negligence may be considered in a two-fold light. Firstly, when any
person, whose peculiar office it is, neglects either to forbid the
commission of an injury, or to assist the injured party. And secondly,
when the person, who ought to do it, either does not dissuade from the
commission of an offence, or passes over in silence, what he is bound
to make known. In these cases, when it is said that a person OUGHT to
do, or to forbear doing certain actions, it is meant that he is bound
by that right, which strict justice requires, whether that duty arises
from law, or from the capacity, which the person bears. For though it
may be wrong to omit any duty enjoined by the law of charity, there
can be no redress for such omission, but every LEGAL REMEDY must be
founded on some PECULIAR RIGHT.
X. It is to be observed also that all the parties above-mentioned, if
they have been the real occasion of loss to any one, or have abetted
the person doing him the injury, are so far implicated in the guilt,
as to be liable to full damages, or, at least, proportionably to the
part they have taken. For it may and often does happen that a crime
would have been committed by an offender, even without the aid of
other principals or accessories. In which case he alone is answerable.
Yet neither principals nor accessories will be allowed to plead as an
excuse, that if they had not aided or abetted, others would have been
found to assist and encourage the perpetrator in the commission of the
act. Especially, if it appears that without such assistance from them
the crime would never have been committed. For those other imaginary
abettors would themselves have been answerable, if they had given their
advice or aid.
XI. In the scale of implication the first degree applies to those, who
by their authority, or other means have compelled or urged any one
to the commission of an offence. On failure of these the perpetrator
himself has the greatest share of guilt, and next to him, others who
have been concerned. In short, all individuals, whose hands have been
engaged in the perpetration, are guilty, though they have not been the
sole authors of the act.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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