Academic Scientific JournalsThe Prohibition of Genocide as a Common Interest and its Protection before the International Court of Justice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26881/gsp.2025.1.09Keywords:
common interests, genocide, Genocide Convention, International Court of Justice, obligations erga omnesAbstract
In the Barcelona Traction case, the International Court of Justice made an “essential distinction” between the obligations of states towards “the international community as a whole”, or obligations erga omnes, and their other obligations. The Court then included the protection of persons from genocide among the former. Disputes currently pending before the Court under the 1948 Genocide Convention seem to confirm that preventing, suppressing, and punishing genocide is a real common interest of all states. Especially, cases brought by states not directly affected by an alleged violation of the prohibition of genocide, in particular, The Gambia versus Myanmar case, raise the question of the place and role of legal measures, including “public interest standing”, in the protection of common interests before the International Court of Justice. The paper addresses this question and comments on the Court’s decisions on genocide, especially in pending cases.
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