understood to mean a form of perpetration of certain international crimes. According to the Charter8 of the international military tribunals, participation in a common plan or in a conspiracy aimed at the preparation, initiation of waging of a war of aggression was a punishable offence. Similarly, conspiracy to commit genocide was punishable under article III (b) of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Those members did not enclorse the solution adopted by the Niirnbsrg Tribunal, which limited the notion of conspiracy to crimes against peace, whereas the - 24 -Commieeion, in its 1954 draft Code, had extended its application to all arimee against the peace and eeaurity of mankind. Qonocide andm, which ware directed not against a State, but against ethnic, religious, racial, tribal or aultural sroup6, were preoisely tho type of crimes that aoultl not be perpetrated by isolated individuals, but only by aonatituted groups, generally with the participation of a State, ao-operating within the framework of a aonapiracy having a common arlminal objoative. It was also pointed out that the notion of conepiracy, aa applied to crimes such as aggreseion, referred to aats that were normally preparatory. Some national lawa had chosen to make aonspiracy a separate punishable offence. For example, in certain countries, the mere poeeession of plates intended for printing false banknotes aonetituted a arime in itself even if those plates had not been used in any way. Similarly, in certain countries, the mere possession of firearms was an offence. Moreover, many national laws punished as a separate crime the mere fact of participating in a common plan to perpetrate a crime, even if no crime had been corrunitted. One member suggested that the creation or institution of the crime of conspiracy in national penal systema seemed to have evolved aa a
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the concept of conspiracy in the context of international law and its application to various crimes, including war of aggression, genocide, and crimes against peace. It mentions the Charter of the international military tribunals, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and national laws that punish conspiracy as a separate crime. This suggests that the text is focused on legal and political issues rather than economic or scientific topics.

**Category**
International trade, Humanitarian aid and relief