Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro)

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Citation. 2007 I.C.J. 191.

Brief Fact Summary. Bosnia and Herzegovina (P) brought suit against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) (D) in the International Court of Justice in 1993, on the grounds of violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Synopsis of Rule of Law. Under International law, the conduct of any state organ is to be considered an act of the state, therefore giving rise to the responsibility of the state if the conduct constitutes a breach of an international obligation of the state.

Facts. The republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina (P), Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia declared independence when the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia began to break up in the early 1990s. this led Serbia and Montenegro to declare themselves the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) (D). A massacre was perpetrated by Serbian forces on 8000 Bosnia Muslim men of fighting age in a small village called Srebrenica in July 1995 during armed conflicts that arose in 1992-1995 within Bosnia and Herzegovina (P). A suit was filed against the FRY (Serbia and Montenegro) (D) by Bosnia and Herzegovina (P) in 1993 in the International Court of Justice, claiming violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, on the theory that the FRY (D) was responsible for the actions of Serbian forces.

Issue. Under International law, is the conduct if any state organ considered an act of the state, which can give rise to the responsibility of the state if the conduct constitutes a breach of an international obligation of the state?