Abstract

This article examines the temporal scope of application of the Genocide Convention, with particular regard to the compromissory clause provided for in art. IX, as it has been interpreted and applied by the ICJ in the last twenty years. Special attention is devoted to the relationship between the ambiguous legal status of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia vis-à-vis the United Nations during the period 1992-2000, the problem of state succession on treaties and to international responsibility and the jurisdiction "ratione temporis" of the International Court of Justice. The author emphasizes how and to what extent negative effects on the justiciability of human rights under the Genocide Convention may result from political decisions adopted by the United Nations whenever they involve extinction rather than continuity of international personality of the member States.