Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

In the last century, few, if any, criminal concepts have evolved as significantly as the crime of genocide. At the beginning of the 20th century, genocide was arguably an authorized manner in which to bring about state policy, both internally and externally. It had a long history of at least tacit acceptance. Going back to 146 B.C.E., Rome's complete and utter destruction of Carthage following the Third Punic War was sometimes viewed as effective and necessary vice a horrendous crime of immense proportions. Further, much of the success of Pax Romana has been attributed to genocidal responses by the Roman legions to affronts to Rome and Romans. More recently, the nineteenth century systemic elimination of the religious death cult known as the Thugee by the British Empire in India, though arguably justified, was completed in a manner that would never pass current legal muster. Now, in less than a century, genocide has mutated from acceptable State practice to the most notorious and serious crime in the modern vernacular. Though necessary, this mutation has been rocky and not without legal shortfalls. Today we are left with a crime that many allege, but few can functionally define and prosecute.

Using the current positive international law on genocide contained within the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Prosecution of Genocide and the Rome Statute as well as the sparse but probative case law from Nuremburg, ICTY, ICTR and the ECHR we will analyze, from a criminal justice perspective, the strengths and weaknesses of the international crime of genocide. From the case for universal jurisdiction or capital punishment, to the debate on joint criminal enterprise vs. conspiracy, we will do a comparative analysis of prosecutorial approaches to genocidal acts. Finally we will explore State vs. individual responsibility and culpability for failing to prevent/prosecute genocidal acts.

Evaluation in this course will consist of a mid-term research paper and a comprehensive take home final exam. The mid-term research paper will be longer than this class has had historically. This is due to the fact that the course will only meet for 2 hours each week; the third credit of the course will be linked to the writing pro