The crime of genocide in theory and practice of criminal law of Republic of Serbia

Abstract

International criminal law, as a system of legal regulations found in acts of the international community and criminal legislation of individual states, establishes criminal liability and punishments for crimes against international law. These acts represent a breach of the laws and customs of war (international humanitarian law) that violate or threaten peace among nations and the security of mankind. Penalties prescribed for these criminal offences stand for the most severe penalties in contemporary criminal legislation. In some cases, international judiciary (supranational) institutions such as the Nurnberg and the Tokyo Tribunal, the Hague Tribunal, the Rome Court, etc. have primary jurisdiction over perpetrators of these criminal offences. This criminal offence means the killing of a nation or a tribe. Genocide was proclaimed as 'a crime under international law, which is in contradiction to the spirit and the aims of the OUN and condemned by the entire civilized world' by UN General Assembly Resolution 96/I from 11th December 1946. Although it emerged as a 'subspecies of crime against humanity', genocide rapidly obtained an autonomous status and contents as one of the most serious crimes today. As a crime against international law, genocide is determined by three elements: a) the objective component - actus reaus b) the subjective component - mens rea c) the subject of the act-the group-the victim. The source of this incrimination is found in Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide from 1948, which, in Paragraph 2, defines the term and the elements of this crime against international law. In legislation, theory and practice, this term can be interpreted in the broader sense, as well. In this paper the author has analyzed theoretical and practical aspects of genocide in international criminal law and criminal law of the Republic of Serbia (former FR Yugoslavia).