<P> After World War II, a series of trials were held to hold members of the Nazi party responsible for a multitude of war crimes . The trials were approved by President Harry Truman in January 1946 and were led exclusively by the United States . They began on December 9, 1946 in Nuremberg, Germany, in what became known as the Nuremberg trials . In one of the trials, which became known as the "Doctors' Trial," German physicians responsible for conducting unethical medical procedures on humans during the war were tried . They focused on physicians that conducted inhumane and unethical human experiments in concentration camps, in addition to those who were involved in over 3,500,000 sterilizations of German citizens . Several of the accused argued that their experiments differed little from those used before the war, and that there was no law that differentiated between legal and illegal experiments . On August 20, 1947, the judges delivered their verdict against Karl Brandt and 22 others . </P> <P> In May 1947, while the trials were being held, six points defining legitimate medical research were submitted to the Counsel for War Crimes . Three judges, in response to expert medical advisers for the prosecution, adopted these points and added four additional points . The 10 points constituted the "Nuremberg Code," which includes such principles as informed consent and absence of coercion; properly formulated scientific experimentation; and beneficence towards experiment participants . It is thought to have been mainly based on the Hippocratic Oath, which was interpreted as endorsing the experimental approach to medicine while protecting the patient . </P> <Ol> <Li> Required is the voluntary, well - informed, understanding consent of the human subject in a full legal capacity . </Li> <Li> The experiment should aim at positive results for society that cannot be procured in some other way . </Li> <Li> It should be based on previous knowledge (e.g., an expectation derived from animal experiments) that justifies the experiment . </Li> <Li> The experiment should be set up in a way that avoids unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injuries . </Li> <Li> It should not be conducted when there is any reason to believe that it implies a risk of death or disabling injury . </Li> <Li> The risks of the experiment should be in proportion to (that is, not exceed) the expected humanitarian benefits . </Li> <Li> Preparations and facilities must be provided that adequately protect the subjects against the experiment's risks . </Li> <Li> The staff who conduct or take part in the experiment must be fully trained and scientifically qualified . </Li> <Li> The human subjects must be free to immediately quit the experiment at any point when they feel physically or mentally unable to go on . </Li> <Li> Likewise, the medical staff must stop the experiment at any point when they observe that continuation would be dangerous . </Li> </Ol> <Li> Required is the voluntary, well - informed, understanding consent of the human subject in a full legal capacity . </Li>

The nuremberg trials are considered an important development in the rule of law because