The “World Court”, war and the “crime of all crimes”

In international law, war and genocide are considered “odious scourges for humanity”. The systematic acts of state violence during war can easily escalate to the commission of genocide. If violence is used by states in self-defense, then war can bring an alibi and conceal the commission of genocide. At the same time, genocide during war can be easily confused with a simple war casualty and/or less severe war crimes. Consequently, the determination of states´ international responsibility for genocide is more difficult in times of armed conflicts, either international or non-international, than it is in times of peace. The invocation of the responsibility of Russia, Ukraine, and Israel for the commission of the “crime of all crimes” during the War in Ukraine and the War in Gaza illustrates these difficulties and reveals the limited impact of the decisions of the “World Court” in preventing both war and genocide.