Genocide?

Today is a big day, provided that you are interested in International (Humanitarian) Law. Today is the day the International Court of Justice in The Hague will render its judgment in the case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, or to say in layman's words: whether Serbia Montenegro committed genocide in BiH. Although this is not a criminal case, and therefore the threshold for proving whether genocide was committed is lower than in a criminal case, the outcome is still important for the crimes currently tried here before the court of BiH and before the ICTY, for obvious reasons. But it might have grave political consequences too, no matter what the verdict might be (it is now 09.00 am, and the verdict will be rendered at 10.00). If BiH will be proven right, which is the impression you will get walking around here (ok, not very surprisingly), this will put a strain on their relationship with Belgrade, because they will ask for billions of Dollars/ Euros in compensation, but it will also divide the Bosnian serbs and the Bosniaks again. For obvious reasons the Bosnian Serbs, who are about half of the Bosnian population, did not agree with their national government to go forward with this case.

I do not argue with the fact that the case was brought before the ICJ. As a jurist it makes sense. however, thinking ou of the legal box, all I see is a loose-loose situation on a political level today at 10.00 o'clock. No matter what the verdict may be.