The legal basis for criminalizing cloning experiments on Algerian women during the colonial period: The forgotten crime

Abstract

The crimes committed during armed conflicts, including those committed by the French colonizer against Algerians, are divided into two types; One of them constitutes crimes limited in time. The cloning experiments carried out by the French colonizer on Algerian women fall into the category of crimes, it is a crime that is absent from memory, so the extent of its legality has not been examined. Therefore, our intention through this research paper is to conduct a forward-looking study, in search of the bases for criminalizing these acts in the event that they are proven in the future. In that, we adopted the analytical and descriptive approach to clarify the legal basis for its criminalization, through three axes, which included determining the location of medical experiments on humans and the extent of their legality within the French legislation during the colonial period, as well as the international legal basis according the international humanitarian law, In addition to the legal basis for criminalizing such experiments according customary international rules. Finally, we conclude that the main problem does lie in the proving this type of crime. Keywords: Medical experiments, scientific experiments, cloning, Nuremberg law, armed conflicts.