War Crimes Act 1945

A serious crime is a war crime if it was committed:

in the course of hostilities in a war;

in the course of an occupation;

in pursuing a policy associated with the conduct of a war or with an occupation; or

on behalf of, or in the interests of, a power conducting a war or engaged in an occupation.

For the purposes of subsection (1), a serious crime was not committed:

in the course of hostilities in a war; or

in the course of an occupation;

A serious crime is a war crime if it was:

committed:

in the course of political, racial or religious persecution; or

with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such; and

committed in the territory of a country when the country was involved in a war or when territory of the country was subject to an occupation.

Two or more serious crimes together constitute a war crime if:

they are of the same or a similar character;

they form, or are part of, a single transaction or event; and

each of them is also a war crime by virtue of either or both of subsections (1) and (3).