Conference co-organized by Prof. Samantha Besson, International Law of Institutions Chair, and Prof. Henry Laurens, Contemporary History of the Arab World Chair.
Symposium
Guaranteed for the first time in international law in 1948 (Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,December9 1948), the prohibition of genocide is often referred to as the " crime of crimes ". Unlike other crimes that have since been codified in the statutes of international criminal tribunals (including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) ofJuly 17 1998), the crime of genocide has never varied in its formulation . Bycomparison, it has also been little invoked and, consequently, little interpreted in case law, whether by national criminal courts or ad hoc or permanentinternational criminal tribunals such as the ICC. Some have deduced that it has some of the highest normative force in international law, a value in terms of historical recognition of the crimes committed and, related to this, a primarily preventive role. Over the last fifteen years or so, however, there has been a noticeable change. Violations of the obligation of States to prevent genocide are being invoked more and more frequently in practice. In 2007, the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was expanded to include the obligation to prevent genocide. At present, the jurisdiction clause in art. IX of the 1948 Convention is the basis for no fewer than four contentious proceedings against States before the ICJ.
In view of this rapid evolution in international practice, a legal assessment is in order. Given the central place given to history in legal reasoning on the subject of genocide, it is worthwhile undertaking this review in dialogue with historians. Indeed, the 1948 Convention invites jurists to do so, recognizing in its preamble " that genocide has inflicted great losses on mankind at every period of history ". The value of such an assessment also applies to history. The question arises of how to apply the (legal) concept of genocide to the shifting realities of history, particularly at a time when large swathes of the past are experienced as still belonging to our present. The aim is not to deny the existence of mass exterminations, but to determine whether the concept of genocide brings an additional element of understanding to the processes under study.
During this one-day meeting, jurists and historians specializing in genocide will engage in what we hope will be a fruitful dialogue. Their discussions will be structured around four questions : 1) Prohibition of genocide : from violence and " black legends " to the customary law crime ; 2) Perpetrators of genocide : individual, collective and/or institutional ; 3) Conditions of genocide : genocidal intentions and/or processes ; and 4) Justice and truth of genocide :" past that does not pass " and " murderers of memory ". The treatment of these questions will of course provide an opportunity to look back at various cases of genocide in history, including in the history of international law.
Speakers :Monique Chemillier-Gendreau (Université Paris Cité) ; Christian Ingrao (CESPRA, École des hautes études en sciences sociales/CNRS) ; Mark Levene (University of Southampton) ; Rafaëlle Maison (IEDP, Université Paris-Saclay) ; Jean-Clément Martin (IHMC, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) ; Guénaël Mettraux (Specialized Chambers for Kosovo, The Hague & Dickinson Law School, Pennsylvania State University) ; Henry Rousso (IHTP, CNRS) ; William Schabas (Middlesex University, London).