Case Concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

With its judgment in Case Concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia-Herzegovina v. Yugoslavia) the ICJ made a valuable contribution to the theory on genocide and the interpretation of the Genocide Convention. According to the ICJ, Art. I of the Convention includes a specific duty for member states not to commit genocide. However, even though the Srebrenica massacre of July 1995 did fall within the definition of genocide, cf. Art. II, the ICJ did not find Serbia guilty of any of the crimes listed in Art. III. Serbia was merely found to have violated the obligation to prevent and punish genocide under Art. i and Art. VI. The ICJ's application of the Genocide Convention is far from uncontroversial and the judgment has consequently been substantially criticized.The article gives a thorough account for the reasoning of the ICJ and points out some of the problems that the judgment entails.