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Att förbättra eller förinta? - En granskning av folkmordsbegreppet ur ett rättsutvecklingsperspektiv

Sjöbeck, Ella LU (2018) LAGF03 20182
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Den här uppsatsen syftar till att ur ett rättsutvecklingsperspektiv redogöra för och diskutera framväxten av det internationella brottet folkmord (genocide). Raphael Lemkin myntade 1944 begreppet genocide. Han hade då också en genomtänkt definition av vad begreppet behövde innebära för att omfatta de illdåd som utförs i världen. Bakgrunden till hans engagemang grundade sig i det turkiskottomanska rikets grymheter mot det armeniska folket under tidigt 1900-tal. Strax efter andra världskriget uppmärksammade även det internationella samfundet behovet av att kriminalisera omfattande illdåd i den internationella rätten och påbörjade arbetet med att kodifiera folkmordsbrottet. Kodifieringen slutfördes 1948 genom antagandet av konventionen om... (More)
Den här uppsatsen syftar till att ur ett rättsutvecklingsperspektiv redogöra för och diskutera framväxten av det internationella brottet folkmord (genocide). Raphael Lemkin myntade 1944 begreppet genocide. Han hade då också en genomtänkt definition av vad begreppet behövde innebära för att omfatta de illdåd som utförs i världen. Bakgrunden till hans engagemang grundade sig i det turkiskottomanska rikets grymheter mot det armeniska folket under tidigt 1900-tal. Strax efter andra världskriget uppmärksammade även det internationella samfundet behovet av att kriminalisera omfattande illdåd i den internationella rätten och påbörjade arbetet med att kodifiera folkmordsbrottet. Kodifieringen slutfördes 1948 genom antagandet av konventionen om förebyggande och bestraffning av brottet folkmord (folkmordskonventionen), som dock kritiserats på flera punkter för dess otydlighet.

Den internationella straffrätten är uppbyggd på avtal mellan stater och staternas samtycke är en förutsättning för bundenhet. Utvecklingen av den internationella straffrätten är nära sammanlänkad med politik och diplomati. Med anledning av detta förändrades Lemkins grundtanke med definitionen av begreppet folkmord, genom de politiska hänsyn som blev nödvändiga för det internationella samarbetet vid framtagandet av folkmordskonventionen. Den slutliga definitionen i folkmordskonventionen är komplex och innehåller brister, men även Lemkins ursprungliga definition har nackdelar. Genom ett rättsutvecklingsperspektiv belyser uppsatsen svårigheten med att kodifiera Lemkins grundidé samt de steg som togs i processen mot en slutlig folkmordskonvention. Skillnaderna mellan Lemkins folkmordsbegrepp och folkmordsbegreppet i folkmordkonventionens art. 2 analyseras kritiskt utifrån frågor om rättssäkerhet och rättstillämpning. Utifrån granskningen konstateras att Lemkins breda folkmordsdefinition riskerar att resultera i att begreppet urvattnas, medan folkmordskonventionens istället är så snäv att konventionen riskerar förlora sin praktiska tillämpning. (Less)
Abstract
The purpose of this essay is to describe and discuss, from a perspective of legislative development, the making of the international crime genocide. The term genocide was coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944. By then he had his own definition of what the concept would have to express to include the atrocities happening in the world. The background for his engagement was the cruelties carried out in the Turkish Ottoman Empire towards the Armenians in the early 2000th century. Shortly after the WWII the need of a criminalization of such atrocities was noticed by the International Community, and the work with a codification started. This codification was completed in 1948 by the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the... (More)
The purpose of this essay is to describe and discuss, from a perspective of legislative development, the making of the international crime genocide. The term genocide was coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944. By then he had his own definition of what the concept would have to express to include the atrocities happening in the world. The background for his engagement was the cruelties carried out in the Turkish Ottoman Empire towards the Armenians in the early 2000th century. Shortly after the WWII the need of a criminalization of such atrocities was noticed by the International Community, and the work with a codification started. This codification was completed in 1948 by the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention), which later on has been criticised for its ambiguity.

The international criminal law is founded on treaties between states and the consent of the states is a precondition for legal obligations. The development of the international criminal law is closely tied to politics and diplomacy. Due to this the fundamentals of Lemkin’s definition of the concept genocide was changed by the political considerations that were necessary to the international cooperation in the making of the Genocide Convention. The final version of the definition in the Genocide Convention is complex and has flaws, but that applies to Lemkin’s definition as well. From a perspective of legislative development, the essay enlightens the difficulties in codifying Lemkin’s original idea of genocide and the steps taken to complete the Genocide Convention. The differences between Lemkin’s concept of genocide and the concept in the Genocide Convention is critically analysed in the essay, referring to legal certainty and application of rules. The review leads to a conclusion that Lemkin’s broader version of a definition might result in a dilution of the concept, while the narrower version of the Genocide Convention’s definition on the other hand might endanger the practical applicability of the article. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Sjöbeck, Ella LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20182
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
folkrätt, folkmord, genocide
language
Swedish
id
8965790
date added to LUP
2019-03-10 13:47:00
date last changed
2019-03-10 13:47:00
@misc{8965790,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this essay is to describe and discuss, from a perspective of legislative development, the making of the international crime genocide. The term genocide was coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944. By then he had his own definition of what the concept would have to express to include the atrocities happening in the world. The background for his engagement was the cruelties carried out in the Turkish Ottoman Empire towards the Armenians in the early 2000th century. Shortly after the WWII the need of a criminalization of such atrocities was noticed by the International Community, and the work with a codification started. This codification was completed in 1948 by the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention), which later on has been criticised for its ambiguity. 

The international criminal law is founded on treaties between states and the consent of the states is a precondition for legal obligations. The development of the international criminal law is closely tied to politics and diplomacy. Due to this the fundamentals of Lemkin’s definition of the concept genocide was changed by the political considerations that were necessary to the international cooperation in the making of the Genocide Convention. The final version of the definition in the Genocide Convention is complex and has flaws, but that applies to Lemkin’s definition as well. From a perspective of legislative development, the essay enlightens the difficulties in codifying Lemkin’s original idea of genocide and the steps taken to complete the Genocide Convention. The differences between Lemkin’s concept of genocide and the concept in the Genocide Convention is critically analysed in the essay, referring to legal certainty and application of rules. The review leads to a conclusion that Lemkin’s broader version of a definition might result in a dilution of the concept, while the narrower version of the Genocide Convention’s definition on the other hand might endanger the practical applicability of the article.}},
  author       = {{Sjöbeck, Ella}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Att förbättra eller förinta? - En granskning av folkmordsbegreppet ur ett rättsutvecklingsperspektiv}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}