War Crimes Act 1991

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The War Crimes Act is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in 1991. It confers jurisdiction on courts in the United Kingdom to try people for war crimes committed in Nazi Germany or German-occupied territory during the Second World War by people who were not British citizens at the time, but have since become British citizens or residents.

The act was rejected by the House of Lords, and so it was passed with the authority of only the House of Commons, under the provisions of the Parliament Acts.

To date only one person, Anthony Sawoniuk, has been convicted under the Act. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and died in jail in 2005. This was the first time that the Parliament Acts were invoked by a Conservative government.