'Where is my mind?' Locating the genocidal intent of a state

According to the ICJ in Bosnia v Serbia and Croatia v Serbia, the specific intent on the part of a State required for that State’s responsibility for breach of its obligation not to commit genocide is furnished by the specific intent of any person individually responsible for the crime of genocide whose conduct is attributable to the State in that instance. This approach reflects an application of the customary international rules on attribution of conduct not only to the person’s bare act but also to the mental state with which it is committed. But while certainly one way of looking at it, the Court’s reasoning does not reflect what is arguably the intuition that the intent of a State as a juridical person corresponds to the intent of the competent, central decision-making organ or organs of that State. This article reflects on the ICJ’s approach and considers an alternative whereby a State’s genocidal intent would be sought instead solely on the part of the competent, central decision-making organ or organs of that State.