Symposium : Genocide, Human Rights and the ICJ

• Kreß, Claus

Abstract

This article seeks to identify the contribution made by the International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court) to the international criminal law on genocide in its judgment of 26 February 2007 on the Case concerning the Application of the Convention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro).<cross-ref type="fn" refid="fn1">1</cross-ref> The overall assessment is as follows: while the judgment contains welcome clarification and consolidation of the international criminal law on genocide in several respects, the Court did not fully apprehend the complex structure of the crime. Most importantly, the Court did not provide a coherent explanation for its characterization of the atrocities committed in Srebrenica as genocide. This note will not deal in any detail with the concept of a state act of genocide constituting an internationally wrongful act, the ICJ's factual findings, or its approach to admitting and weighing evidence.