Book Review: Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes. By William A. Schabas. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2025. xvi, 879 p. Includes abbreviation list, bibliographic references, and index. ISBN 9781009460811 (hardcover) $273.39; ISBN 9781009460781 (softcover) $120.95; 9781009460828 (eBook) $105.00.

Reviewed by Emily Landriault
Research Librarian (Law)
Brian Dickson Law Library, University of Ottawa

When I mentioned that I was going to read a book called Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes, most people reacted with a mild amount of horror. Won’t it be upsetting to read? Won’t it be disturbing? The problem here, of course, is that people only heard the first word of the title when it’s the second part that should be noted when discussing this book: in International Law. Although it does reference specific genocidal events, this book is not gratuitous. In the preface, author William A. Schabas lays out what experience qualifies him to speak on this topic: professionally, he participated in a fact-finding mission in Rwanda for the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development; personally, he is a descendant of Holocaust survivors, although he does not dwell on his or his family’s experience. This book primarily covers the history of the concept of genocide and the development of related international law norms. Extensive footnotes, as well as a bibliography and index, help the reader further explore the sources mentioned.

To a non-jurist, the extensive sections about the drafting process of the Genocide Convention and its related instruments might be difficult to digest; yet it is invaluable to understanding the expansion of this area of international law and in offering insight into its future development. Taking readers back to the early 1940s, when the term “genocide” was first coined, Schabas illustrates how the Convention was drafted against the backdrop of pertinent historical events.

Early chapters provide an excellent introduction to the evolution of the term “genocide” in the wake of the Nuremberg Trials. These chapters also differentiate the concept of genocide from that of “war crimes,” as genocide can and has taken place during peacetime. A great deal of discussion is also devoted to how narrow the Convention’s current definition of genocide is, in terms of the groups covered (e.g., national, ethnic, racial, or religious) and which acts are considered acts of genocide. Chapter 4 in particular interrogates each group specified in the Convention, taking time to look at the nuances of who is and isn’t included in these groups, with both historic and recent examples. For instance, the Canadian government’s historic treatment of Indigenous Peoples is brought up as an example of ethnic cleansing, something that would not be covered by the Convention (although it is covered by other international laws). A later chapter further explores “other groups,” a term included in a UN General Assembly Resolution on Genocide, but not in the Genocide Convention itself. Chapter 5 enters into a sort of statutory interpretation exercise of the acts of genocide outlined in the Convention. For each act, the author provides lengthy historical descriptions of the debates involved and the positions of different nations in drafting the Convention to help explain the drafters’ deliberate word choices. Later chapters examine genocide through different parts of the legal process, such as defences and prosecutions of genocide.

Schabas’s concluding remarks are hopeful, though tinged with disappointment and some words of caution. He acknowledges that there has been a great deal of progress in international criminal law but posits that much of that energy has been focused on war crimes and crimes against humanity, rather than the expansion of the definition of genocide. He does, however, point out that the term is readily thrown around in today’s society in a way that diminishes its gravity. He warns that some of the interventions being suggested in current conflicts entertain the idea of prevention through force rather than using other, less violent methods.

This is the third edition of Genocide in International Law, with the first published over 25 years ago. The current edition has been updated to include very recent events in the Middle East and Europe. Several chapters have been reworked or added since the second edition, including one devoted to prosecutions at the International Criminal Court, which had not been established when the first edition was published. It is interesting to note that earlier editions contained extensive citations from the travaux préparatoires (meeting minutes, transcripts, reports, etc.) of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, at a time when these materials were not widely or easily accessible. This current edition has trimmed down or completely removed many of these citations, since much of that material is now available online.

As genocide is such an important part of international criminal law, Schabas’s book continues to be relevant. This edition’s inclusion of more recent events and developments in legal institutions only helps to strengthen this title’s relevance. Genocide in International Law is an excellent source for lawyers, legal academics, historians, and those with a knowledge of or interest in international law, and it would be a welcome addition to academic or legal library collections.