State Responsibility for Genocide: A Follow-Up

The article comments on the recent judgment of the International Court of Justice in the Genocide case, and discusses several issues which arise from it. It first briefly explains the several constraints under which the Court had to operate in deciding this case, most notably its limited jurisdiction, the legally very strict definition of genocide, and the litigation strategies of the two parties. The article then turns to examining two specific issues that the Court did not address in a fully satisfactory manner, namely the question of Serbia's responsibility for the acts of the Scorpions paramilitary group, as well as the Court's refusal to ask Serbia to produce certain confidential military documents. The Court's analysis of state responsibility for complicity in genocide and state responsibility for failing to prevent genocide is then addressed. The article finally criticizes the Court's reasoning when it comes to reparation and remedies.