The United Nations Convention on Genocide and How It Can Be Implemented in Criminal Codes of State Parties

AbstractThe issue of developing effective mechanisms to prevent and punish the crime of genocide remains relevant in the modern world. Over the years, the UN has been trying to fulfil the mandate to ensure international security through the prevention of crimes against humanity. In this context, the study of the mechanisms of legal qualification and prosecution for these acts is of particular relevance. At present, the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide remains the main instrument regulating the responsibility for crimes that can be qualified as genocide. The purpose of this study is to analyze the practice of incorporating the provisions of the 1948 Genocide Convention and the problems of their criminal law regulation and modernization. The results are made up of interconnected target, procedural, and evaluation elements, which are based on the method of legal analysis of the legislative practice of countries with different approaches to the issue of genocide. All the examples given in the work show that the process of introducing effective mechanisms of prosecution for genocide by states, among which national courts can be named first, is ongoing, but it is happening very slowly.Keywords: Criminal codes and special laws of state partiesmeans of implementationexpansive interpretationprotected demographic groupsUN Genocide Convention Disclosure statementAuthors declare that they have no conflict of interests.Data availability statementData will be available on request.Notes1 Article 7 of the Criminal Law of the PRC stipulates: “This Law is applicable to the citizens of the People's Republic of China who commit crimes prescribed in this Law outside the territory of the People's Republic of China; however, they may not be investigated if for those crimes this Law prescribes a maximum punishment of fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years. This Law is applicable to state functionaries and servicemen of the People's Republic of China who commit crimes outside the territory of the People's Republic of China.” Article 9 of the Criminal Law of the PRC stipulates: “This Law is applicable to the crimes prescribed in the international treaties concluded or acceded to by the People's Republic of China and over which the People's Republic of China has criminal jurisdiction within its obligation in accordance with the treaties.” http://www.asianlii.org/cn/legis/cen/laws/clotproc361/#:∼:text=The%20tasks%20of%20the%20Criminal,the%20State%20and%20the%20propertyAdditional informationFundingThis research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.