Abstract

The paper deals with the relationship between State responsibility for acts of genocide and the Armenian events of 1915. The author explores the question of the temporal applicability of the Genocide Convention of 1948, specifically concerning the issue of State responsibility for the commission of acts of genocide. As “Metz Yeghern” happened long time before the entry into force of the Genocide Convention, these treaty provisions could be applied only if they were found to be retroactive. Through an analysis of the text of the Convention, its preparatory works and the case law of the International Court of Justice, the author demonstrates that no exceptions can be established for the general rule of non-retroactivity of conventional rules; therefore, it is not possible to hold Turkey responsible for those events under the Genocide Convention.