U.S.C. TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 118 > § 2441
(a) Offense.
— Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits
a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection
(b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any
term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall
also be subject to the penalty of death.
(b) Circumstances.
— The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the
person committing such war crime or the victim of such war crime is
a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a national of
the United States (as defined in section 101 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act).
(c) Definition.
— As used in this section the term “war crime” means any
conduct—
(1) defined as a grave breach in any of the international
conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such
convention to which the United States is a party;
(2) prohibited by Article 23, 25, 27, or 28 of the Annex to the
Hague Convention IV, Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land,
signed 18 October 1907;
(3) which constitutes a violation of common Article 3 of the
international conventions signed at Geneva, 12 August 1949, or any
protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party
and which deals with non-international armed conflict; or
(4) of a person who, in relation to an armed conflict and contrary
to the provisions of the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on
the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as amended at Geneva
on 3 May 1996 (Protocol II as amended on 3 May 1996), when the
United States is a party to such Protocol, willfully kills or causes
serious injury to civilians.
