acthub — UK legislation, beautifully read

A bill to Provide for the High Court in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Court of Session in Scotland to make preliminary determinations of genocide or the serious risk of genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; for the referral of such determinations to relevant international courts or organisations; for response to reports on genocide; and for connected purposes.

Be it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Preliminary determination of cases of genocide or serious risk of genocide¶

(1) A person or group of persons belonging to a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, or an organisation representing such a person or group, may make an application to the Court for a preliminary determination, subject to subsection (2), that evidence presented to the Court is sufficient to find that there is a serious risk of genocide or that genocide is being, or has been, committed against that national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

(2) The Court, considering an application under the procedure in subsection (1), will have regard to international jurisprudence about the standard of proof required for the duties to prevent and to punish respectively under the Genocide Convention.

2 Operational provisions¶

(1) A Minister of the Crown must, by regulations made by statutory instrument, make provision for or in connection with an application and preliminary determination made pursuant to section 1.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) above may, in particular—

(a) specify the form, content, and criteria for admissibility of applications;

(b) make provision about the procedure to be followed in relation to applications;

(c) make provision about the procedure and rules of evidence necessary for the consideration of an application by the Court, allowing for contradictory representations to be made.

(3) In making such regulations, the Minister of the Crown must have regard to—

(a) the experience gained in the operation of this Act;

(b) the object and intended purpose behind the operation of this Act, including—

(i) all undertakings in, and international obligations arising from, the Genocide Convention;

(ii) meaningful access to the Court by persons making applications specified in section 1 without hindrance from unreasonable provision made pursuant to subsection (2).

(4) Regulations under subsection (1) may contain supplemental, incidental, consequential and transitional provisions.

(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (1) is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

3 Referrals to the International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court or other international organisations¶

(1) Where the Court has made a preliminary determination, as provided for in section 1, the Secretary of State must refer, in an appropriate form and subject to jurisdictional requirements, the determination as a finding of a United Kingdom judicial body to—

(a) the International Court of Justice in accordance with Article 9 of the Genocide Convention;

(b) the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, pursuant to Article 14 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

(i) tabling a resolution for the Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court pursuant to Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

(ii) tabling a resolution establishing relevant mechanisms to enforce the obligations for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article 3 of the Genocide Convention, pursuant to Chapter 5, Article 29 of the United Nations Charter;

(d) any other competent organ of the United Nations to take such action under the Charter of the United Nations as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article 3 of the Genocide Convention.

(2) The Secretary of State must make whichever of the referrals in subsection (1) is available as soon as is practicable and no later than 30 days from the date of a preliminary determination, as provided for in section 1.

(3) If there is a failure to make a referral after the preliminary determination as required by subsection (2) the Secretary of State must make a statement within no later than five sitting days after the deadline in subsection (2) has elapsed in either House of Parliament as to why no such referral has been made including whether and how the United Kingdom’s obligations to prevent or punish genocide, or both, are being adequately fulfilled.

(4) Following the procedure in subsections (2) and (3), and in any event, two months from the date of a preliminary determination as provided for in section 1, the Secretary of State may be compelled to make whichever of the referrals in subsection (1) as are applicable, and without delay, by resolution of either House of Parliament.

4 Interpretation¶

In this Act—

the Court means—

(a) the High Court, in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, or

(b) the Court of Session, in Scotland;

genocide has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;

serious risk of genocide is to be interpreted with regard to international jurisprudence and the duty to prevent as arising from Article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

5 Extent, commencement and short title¶

(1) This Act extends to England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.

(2) Sections 1 to 4 come into force at the end of the period of six months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed.

(3) This section comes into force on the day on which this Act is passed.

(4) This Act may be cited as the Genocide Determination Act 2026.