Abstract
The theory of superior order as a defence to an international crime has been a subject of wide academic debates which often produced diametrically opposite conclusions. This essay examines different approaches towards this controversial defence since the beginning of the 20th century, and also takes into consideration difficult moral and legal questions arising in connection with the topic.
The aim of this paper is also a search for an answer to a question, whether there may be identified an international custom governing treatment of the plea of superior order.