The concept of war crimes is a recent one. Before World War II, it was generally accepted that the horrors of war were part of the nature of war, and recorded examples of war crimes go back to Greek and Roman times.

<p>War crimes and crimes against humanity are among the gravest crimes in international law.</p>
<p>They are considered so serious that there is no period of limitation for such crimes - which means that those who commit them can be prosecuted and punished no matter how much time has elapsed since the crimes were committed.</p>

War crimes and crimes against humanity are among the gravest crimes in international law.
They are considered so serious that there is no period of limitation for such crimes - which means that those who commit them can be prosecuted and punished no matter how much time has elapsed since the crimes were committed.