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Prof. William Schabas

Mr. William A. Schabas
Professor of International Law
National University of Ireland
Director of the Irish Centre
for Human Rights

Biography Biography in PDF
Criminal Law and Procedure
International Crimes
Genocide and International Law
The recent decision of the International Court of Justice provides the most extensive and authoritative judicial ruling on important issues relating to the interpretation of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. It also does much to clarify the relationship between the International Court of Justice and international judicial bodies in the field of international criminal law. After lying virtually dormant for more than four decades, the definition of genocide and the other norms set out in the 1948 Convention have undergone, in recent years, a virtual explosion in terms of judicial development and analysis in the academic literature. The lecture will explore several of these important developments and assess prospects for future development of the concept of genocide in international law.

Video
(20/5/2008, 23 minutes)
Criminal Law and Procedure
International Crimes
Genocide and International Law
Outline of Lecture PDF document (160 KB)
A. Legal Instruments
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Paris, 9 December 1948, United Nations,  Treaty Series, vol. 78, p. 277.

Peace Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Rwanda and the Rwandese Patriotic Front, Arusha, 3 August 1993.

Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 2 of Security Council resolution 808 (1993) (S/25704), 3 May 1993.

Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Security Council resolution 955 (1994) of 8 November 1994.

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Rome, 17 July 1998, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2187, p. 3.
B. Jurisprudence
International

International Court of Justice, Reservations to the Convention on Genocide, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1951, p. 15.

International Tribunal for Rwanda, Prosecutor v. Akayesu, Judgment of 1 June 2001, Appeals Chamber, ICTR-96-4.

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Prosecutor v. Goran Jelisic, Judgment of 5 July 2001, Trial Chamber, IT-95-10-A.

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Prosecutor v. Radislav Krstić, Judgment of 19 April 2004, Trial Chamber,  IT-98-33-A.

International Court of Justice, Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2007, p. 43.

International Tribunal for Rwanda, Ferdinand Nahimana, Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, Hassan Ngeze v. The Prosecutor, Judgment of 18 November 2007, Appeals Chamber, ICTR-99-52-A.

National

District Court of Jerusalem, The State of Israel v. Adolf Eichmann, Case No. 40/61, 11 December 1961.

Supreme Court of Israel, Adolf Eichmann v. The Attorney General, Criminal Appeal 336/61, 29 May 1962.
C. Documents

General Assembly resolution 260 (III) of 9 December 1948 (Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide).

Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General, Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1564 of 18 September 2004, Geneva, 25 January 2005.

General Assembly resolution 60/1 of 16 September 2005 (2005 World Summit Outcome), in particular paragraphs 138-139 on the responsibility to protect.