Bangladesh, Feb. 4 -- The latest hearings in the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) did not unfold as many observers of international justice might have expected. There were no dramatic confrontations over disputed facts, no sustained legal battle over whether mass atrocities occurred, and no serious attempt to rebut the overwhelming evidence compiled by United Nations bodies. Instead, what emerged was something far more troubling: a calculated effort by Myanmars military junta to neutralize genocide accountability not by denying the crime, but by ensuring it is never substantively judged.

This shift marks a dangerous evolution in how alleged perpetrators of mass atrocities engage with international law. M...