lawyer who came up with the definition of genocide

Who invented the term genocide?

The term itself was invented by a lawyer, Raphael Lemkin. He intended to fill a gap in international law, as it then stood in the final days of the Second World War. Over the years, the limited definition of genocide in the 1948 Genocide Convention has provoked much criticism and many proposals for reform.

Is genocide an offence against international law?

Lemkin's idea of genocide as an offence against international law was widely accepted by the international community and was one of the legal bases of the Nuremberg Trials. In 1945 to 1946, Lemkin became an advisor to Supreme Court of the United States Justice and Nuremberg Trial chief counsel Robert H. Jackson.

How did Lemkin define genocide?

In 1944, Lemkin made up a new word to describe these crimes: genocide. Lemkin defined genocide as “the destruction of a nation or an ethnic group.”

What is the Genocide Convention and why was it created?

On December 9, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, often called the Genocide Convention, which classified genocide as a crime under international law and incorporated many, though not all, of Lemkin’s ideas.

What is the legal definition of genocide?

Genocide is defined in Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or ...

Why was Raphael Lemkin important?

Raphael Lemkin (Polish: Rafał Lemkin; 24 June 1900 – 28 August 1959) was a Polish lawyer who is best known for coining the term "genocide" and for initiating the Genocide Convention, an interest spurred on after learning about the Armenian genocide and finding out that no international laws existed to prosecute the ...

Why was the Genocide Convention created?

The drafting of the Genocide Convention represented the international community's pledge to work together to prevent and punish the crime of genocide.

What qualifies as genocide according to the International Criminal Court?

First, the crime of genocide is characterised by the specific intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members or by other means: causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to ...

Who coined the phrase crimes against humanity?

Robert JacksonIn addition to war crimes, the draft treaty on which they worked included a category with as yet no generic name, which was labeled "atrocities, persecutions, and deportations on political, racial or religious grounds." As the Conference concluded, the U.S. delegate, Robert Jackson, suggested the category be given the ...

Which of the following best defines genocide?

genocide, the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race.

Which article of Genocide Convention defines the crime of genocide?

Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.

What are 3 major points of the Genocide Convention?

Identify Three Major Points of the Genocide Convention. Suppress, prevent, and punish genocide. Genocide convention weakened state sovereignty.

What are the five acts of genocide?

These five acts were: killing members of the group, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, imposing living conditions intended to destroy the group, preventing births, and forcibly transferring children out of the group. Victims are targeted because of their real or perceived membership of a group, not randomly.

When was the word genocide invented?

1944Origin of the Term Genocide The word “genocide” did not exist prior to 1944. It is a very specific term coined by a Polish-Jewish lawyer named Raphael Lemkin (1900–1959) who sought to describe Nazi policies of systematic murder during the Holocaust, including the destruction of European Jews.

When did the US ratify the Genocide Convention?

November 5, 1988November 5, 1988 US President Ronald Reagan signs the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.

What are the 11 war crimes?

Crimes against humanitymurder.extermination.enslavement.deportation.mass systematic rape and sexual enslavement in a time of war.other inhumane acts.More items...

Who coined the term "genocide"?

The word “genocide” was first coined by Polish lawyer Raphäel Lemkin in 1944 in his book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. It consists of the Greek prefix genos, meaning race or tribe, and the Latin suffix cide, meaning killing. Lemkin developed the term partly in response to the Nazi policies of systematic murder of Jewish people during the Holocaust, ...

Who led the campaign to have genocide recognised and codified as an international crime?

Later on, Raphäel Lemkin led the campaign to have genocide recognised and codified as an international crime. Genocide was first recognised as a crime under international law in 1946 by the United Nations General Assembly ( A/RES/96-I ). It was codified as an independent crime in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime ...

What makes genocide so unique?

It is this special intent, or dolus specialis, that makes the crime of genocide so unique. In addition, case law has associated intent with the existence of a State or organizational plan or policy, even if the definition of genocide in international law does not include that element.

What is the meaning of "killing" in a group?

Killing members of the group; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

How many states have ratified the Genocide Convention?

The Convention has been ratified by 149 States (as of January 2018). The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has repeatedly stated that the Convention embodies principles that are part ...