National, ethnic, racial, and religious groups protected against genocide in the jurisprudence of the adhoc international criminal tribunals

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the jurisprudence of the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals with regard to the understanding of the notion of the groups protected against genocide. According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, only national, ethnic, racial, and religious groups are protected. Among the conclusions is the one according to which the Tribunals developed this notion in a creative way and contributed to its dynamic application, especially by way of introducing the concepts of stable and permanent groups being protected as well as the concepts of positive/negative and objective/subjective notions of the targeted group. © EJIL 2012.