Contribution of the International Criminal Court to the
Prosecution of Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes: between Promise
and Practice

C 2019

Contribution of the International Criminal Court to the Prosecution of Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes: between Promise and Practice

UHLÍŘOVÁ, Kateřina

Basic information

Original name

Contribution of the International Criminal Court to the Prosecution of Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes: between Promise and Practice

Authors

UHLÍŘOVÁ, Kateřina (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Nizozemsko, The Rome Statute of the ICC at Its Twentieth Anniversary: Achievements and Perspectives (Queen Mary Studies in International Law, Vol. 33), p. 83-105, 23 pp. Queen Mary Studies in International Law, Volume: 33, 2019

Publisher

Brill Nijhoff

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Kapitola resp. kapitoly v odborné knize

Field of Study

50501 Law

Country of publisher

Netherlands

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Publication form

printed version "print"

References:

Web nakladatele

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14220/19:00109213

Organization unit

Faculty of Law

ISBN

978-90-04-38755-3

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004387553_007

Keywords in English

International Criminal Court; Rome Statute; Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes

Abstract

V originále

Sexual and gender-based violence has been used as a tool of armed conflict for thousands of years as a way to ‘shame, terrorise, and humiliate the enemy.’ However, it was not until the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in the 1990s that sexual and gender-based crimes (SGBC) were prosecuted in the international arena. The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) also contributed its piece. This paper will focus on the developments in investigating and prosecuting SGBC at the International Criminal Court (ICC), in conjunction with assessing the normative and substantive impact of the previous international tribunals on the ICC. First, a brief discussion will be had on the expansion of SGBC from the previous tribunals to the Rome Statute. Second, based on an examination of the ICC’s efforts to prosecute SGBC, the paper will argue that the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC under its first Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, proved to be deeply inconsistent and failed to prosecute certain individuals for their commission of extensive SGBC. As a result, the ICC has so far produced a rather poor record in terms of SGBC prosecution. Yet, the paper will show that more recently, there have also been some positive developments and attempts to tackle the complexities of SGBC, starting with the Policy Paper on Sexual and Gender Based Crimes (Policy Paper) released in 2014 by the OTP under the Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda; followed by the condemnation of SGBC in the Bemba case in 2016 or the confirmation of SGBC charges, namely war crimes of rape and sexual slavery of child soldiers, in the Ntaganda case in 2017. The valuable lessons, which can be drawn from the examination of the ICC’s record in relation to SGBC, are equally applicable to the investigation and prosecution of other crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction.

Links

EF16_019/0000822, research and development project

Name: Centrum excelence pro kyberkriminalitu, kyberbezpečnost a ochranu kritických informačních infrastruktur

Citovat

UHLÍŘOVÁ, Kateřina. Contribution of the International Criminal Court to the Prosecution of Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes: between Promise and Practice. In Pavel Šturma. The Rome Statute of the ICC at Its Twentieth Anniversary: Achievements and Perspectives (Queen Mary Studies in International Law, Vol. 33). Nizozemsko: Brill Nijhoff, 2019, p. 83-105. Queen Mary Studies in International Law, Volume: 33. ISBN 978-90-04-38755-3. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004387553_007.

@inbook{1501918,
   author = {Uhlířová, Kateřina},
   address = {Nizozemsko},
   booktitle = {The Rome Statute of the ICC at Its Twentieth Anniversary: Achievements and Perspectives (Queen Mary Studies in International Law, Vol. 33)},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004387553_007},
   editor = {Pavel Šturma},
   keywords = {International Criminal Court; Rome Statute; Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes},
   howpublished = {tištěná verze "print"},
   language = {eng},
   location = {Nizozemsko},
   isbn = {978-90-04-38755-3},
   pages = {83-105},
   publisher = {Brill Nijhoff},
   title = {Contribution of the International Criminal Court to the Prosecution of Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes: between Promise and Practice},
   url = {https://brill.com/view/title/38988},
   year = {2019}
}

TY  - CHAP
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AU  - Uhlířová, Kateřina
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VL  - Queen Mary Studies in International Law, Volume: 33
PB  - Brill Nijhoff
CY  - Nizozemsko
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KW  - International Criminal Court
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KW  - Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes
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N2  - Sexual and gender-based violence has been used as a tool of armed conflict for thousands of years as a way to ‘shame, terrorise, and humiliate the enemy.’ However, it was not until the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in the 1990s that sexual and gender-based crimes (SGBC) were prosecuted in the international arena. The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) also contributed its piece. This paper will focus on the developments in investigating and prosecuting SGBC at the International Criminal Court (ICC), in conjunction with assessing the normative and substantive impact of the previous international tribunals on the ICC. First, a brief discussion will be had on the expansion of SGBC from the previous tribunals to the Rome Statute. Second, based on an examination of the ICC’s efforts to prosecute SGBC, the paper will argue that the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC under its first Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, proved to be deeply inconsistent and failed to prosecute certain individuals for their commission of extensive SGBC. As a result, the ICC has so far produced a rather poor record in terms of SGBC prosecution. Yet, the paper will show that more recently, there have also been some positive developments and attempts to tackle the complexities of SGBC, starting with the Policy Paper on Sexual and Gender Based Crimes (Policy Paper) released in 2014 by the OTP under the Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda; followed by the condemnation of SGBC in the Bemba case in 2016 or the confirmation of SGBC charges, namely war crimes of rape and sexual slavery of child soldiers, in the Ntaganda case in 2017. The valuable lessons, which can be drawn from the examination of the ICC’s record in relation to SGBC, are equally applicable to the investigation and prosecution of other crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction.
ER  -

UHLÍŘOVÁ, Kateřina. Contribution of the International Criminal Court to the Prosecution of Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes: between Promise and Practice. In Pavel Šturma. \textit{The Rome Statute of the ICC at Its Twentieth Anniversary: Achievements and Perspectives (Queen Mary Studies in International Law, Vol. 33)}. Nizozemsko: Brill Nijhoff, 2019, p.~83-105. Queen Mary Studies in International Law, Volume: 33. ISBN~978-90-04-38755-3. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004387553\_{}007.

Detailed Information on Publication Record