The International Court of Justice as a Forum for Genocide Cases

20 Pages Posted: 28 Sep 2007

See all articles by John Bernard Quigley

John Bernard Quigley

Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law

Date Written: September 2007

Abstract

In light of the 2007 decision by the International Court of Justice in Bosnia's ethnic cleansing suit against Yugoslavia, the question is raised at a symposium being held September 28 at Case Western Reserve School of Law as to whether the Genocide Convention constitutes a viable legal tool to stop atrocities perpetrated by a state. This article assesses the possibilities for using the Genocide Convention to this end. While a state may, as the ICJ decided in the 2007 case, sue another state for genocide, the utility of the Genocide Convention is limited by the court's restrictive view of what constitutes genocide in the ethnic cleansing situation, and by the fact that many states are not subject to the court's jurisdiction if they commit genocide.

Keywords: UN, United Nations

JEL Classification: K33, K40, K42, K49

Suggested Citation

Quigley, John Bernard, The International Court of Justice as a Forum for Genocide Cases (September 2007). Ohio State Public Law Working Paper No. 102, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1017825 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1017825

John Bernard Quigley (Contact Author)

Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law ( email )

55 West 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

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