Genocide Determination Bill [HL]: HL Bill 13 of 2026–27
The bill would enable the High Court in England and Wales, the Court of Session in Scotland and the High Court in Northern Ireland, to make preliminary determinations on whether a genocide is occurring overseas, or if there is deemed to be a serious risk of one occurring. The bill would require the government to refer the preliminary determination to international bodies such as the International Court of Justice.
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The Genocide Determination Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill sponsored by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench). The bill’s second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled to take place on 17 July 2026.
The bill would enable the High Court in England and Wales, the Court of Session in Scotland and the High Court in Northern Ireland, to make preliminary determinations on whether a genocide is occurring overseas, or if there is deemed to be a serious risk of one occurring. This would follow an application to the court from an affected individual, group or representative organisation. If the court made a preliminary determination, the government would be obliged to refer the case to appropriate international bodies such as the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court or the UN Security Council.
The UK government’s long-standing policy is that determinations of genocide should be made by competent courts, rather than by governments or non-judicial bodies. Some parliamentarians have questioned this policy, including members of the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) who have raised concerns that domestic legislation limits UK jurisdiction to prosecute certain international crimes like genocide.
Since the adoption of the genocide convention in 1948, the UK has formally recognised five events as constituting genocide. Lord Alton, who chairs the JCHR, has asserted that incidents are “rarely” formally determined as genocide, despite various atrocity crimes having the potential to meet the legal definition of genocide. He has argued countries, including the UK, often lack a clear process for making such determinations. To address this, Lord Alton has said the overarching objective of his bill is to “ensure that the UK government acts quickly on its existing obligations under the genocide convention, which legally binds signatories to prevent mass atrocities the moment a serious risk is recognised”.
During a June 2026 House of Lords debate sponsored by Lord Alton on combating atrocity crimes, the government said it would not support the measures proposed in his bill but agreed with its underlying objective of preventing genocide.
Cover image by photoangel on Freepik.