War crimes and criminals

[Fusilier]

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

But when a soldier in the middle of a fire fight has to make a split-second decision to fire on a fleeting target, and discovers afterwards that he shot an unarmed civilian, does that make him a war criminal?

When the elected leader of a nation, based on the best information presented to him, faced with the possibility of hundreds of thousands of losses on both sides, makes the decision to use a new weapon, unknowing of the terrible after-effects of that weapon. Is he a war criminal?

I think mens rea needs to be considered. Mens rea is the term for criminal intent. So the soldier in your first example may not be considered a war criminal since it wasn't a deliberate attempt.