MAHG5058

MAHG

5058

GENOCIDE, INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNALS AND COURTS

This course focuses on the crime of genocide and the role and response of law, in particular international law. Beginning with early examples of genocide, prior to the coining of the term and prior to the adoption of the Genocide Convention, this course will first trace back the existing law in the first part of the 20th century dealing with the treatment of populations during armed conflicts. This course will delve into the genocide of the Herero, the Armenians, the Holodomor in Ukraine and the Holocaust, as prime examples of genocide before adoption of the convention. It will then look at the development of the concept and adoption of the convention, as well as trials before national jurisdictions after the Second World War. Then we will focus our attention on the jurisprudence of the ICTY and the ICTR, as the first international tribunals dealing with the crime of genocide. We will look at the essential elements developed by these courts in order to prove the crime if genocide. The course will also look at how regional courts, such as the European court of human rights, have dealt with genocide. The course will analyze laws criminalizing the denial of genocides, and the debate surrounding their adoption. It will also briefly touch upon the work of the International Criminal Court and the genocide cases brought before the International Court of Justice. Modern-day cases before national courts will also be reviewed.