Forms of the complicity in genocide in the practice of ad hoc tribunals

Abstract

Genocide, according to its nature, requires a firm organization and collaboration on several levels. It includes, by rule, a large number of people, who, in various ways and degrees of their personal involvement, contribute to the overall execution of crime. Therefore, the issue of criminal liability for the crime of genocide from the Convention for prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide from 1948 (further referred to as Convention) could not be restricted to the committed acts listed in Article II of the Convention and the liability of the actual executor, but also involves the acts related to the preparation of the crime of genocide and the liability of the collaborators, as well. Thus, the Convention has adopted the generally accepted principle of modern criminal law that in case of serious criminal offences, the court punishes not only the execution of crime, but also the attempt, complicity, incitement and conspiracy to commit crime. In this paper the author elaborates the issue of the complicity in the crime of genocide in light of jurisprudence of the ad hoc criminal tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.