In 2036 the New United Nations declared that no Earth citizen could be made to answer for the crimes of their race or forefathers.
The ruling was a landmark of Earth's recovery in the twenty-first century, setting out a principle of individual rather than collective guilt. Picard cited it in 2364 when Q put humanity on trial for its past savagery, arguing that the crew of the Enterprise-D should be judged by their own actions.
Q dismissed the precedent and ran his court as it might have been held during the post-atomic horror. Picard nevertheless persuaded him to let humanity be tested by its conduct at Farpoint Station.