The Laconia Order and the Nuremberg submarine case

What effect did the Laconia Order have during World War II and on the postwar war-crimes trials?

It restricted U-boat rescue efforts. Comparable American practice is cited as a complication in the postwar case against German submarine commanders.

The Laconia Order directed U-boat commanders not to rescue survivors, putting responsibility for that decision at a higher level of command. The comparison with Admiral Parker's signal to Nelson at Copenhagen concerns a superior giving a subordinate an explicit option, although the circumstances were very different. The panel treats the refusal to rescue as an unpleasant consequence of unrestricted submarine warfare. Nimitz's account of comparable American practice in the Pacific is then cited as a difficulty for prosecuting German commanders for conduct the Allies also employed.