scholarly journals Prosecuting Gendered Violence in International Law: The Paradox of Wartime Violence

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tariq Khan
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Gendered Violence ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Individual Memory ◽  
Victims Of Violence ◽  
The Individual

By an examination of the judgments of the International Criminal Tribunals, this essay reflects upon the feminist discourse of rape as an instrument of genocide, which has been invoked to call for invervention in conflict zones. I argue that the construction in International law of sexual violence as a 'weapon' that'one side' picks up to harm the other, paradoxically makes the victims of violence largley invisible. This process of invisibility occursin international law when victims of wartime sexual violence, in order to have their experiences represented and recognized at trial, are expected to speak of the violence in a way that weaves fact into a community’s identity. International Criminal Tribunals offer a uniform narrative with distinct language, by which witnesses are permitted to testify to, their stories of violence. Consequently a victim’s individual memory is rendered invisible and transformed in international law as collective memory. This uniform narrative of rape fits well into the memory of collective suffering of a group, however it prevents nuanced understandings of wartime violence, found in the individual memory of victims, from being comprehended.

Sexual Violence against Men and International Law – Criminalising the Unmentionable

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 665-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solange Mouthaan
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Community ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
The World ◽  
Gender Based

This article will discuss the manner in which international law deals with crimes of sexual violence committed against men during armed conflict. To date sexual violence against men has received little attention from the international community; instead its focus is almost exclusively on women, yet in armed conflicts across the world, sexual violence is also perpetrated against men. The example of torture demonstrates the current weaknesses in the relevant provisions for acts of sexual violence generally, and acts of sexual violence committed against men specifically. I argue that international criminal tribunals should address sexual violence more broadly, including against men. However, rather than to adopt a piecemeal approach differentiating between acts of sexual violence suffered by men and women, the experiences of men of sexual violence in armed conflict should be used to contribute to understanding the broader issue of gender-based crimes, of which sexual violence forms part.

Contemporary International Tribunals

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antônio Augusto ◽  
Cançado Trindade
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
International Human ◽  
International Tribunals ◽  
Cross Fertilization

More recently, jurisprudential cross-fertilization has kept on being pursued in particular by international human rights tribunals and international criminal tribunals. This is reassuring, as, despite their distinct jurisdictions, their work is complementary, in their common mission of imparting justice, in distinct domains of international law. Jurisprudential cross-fertilization fosters cohesion and the unity of law. Particularly attention is currently devoted to the preservation of the legacy of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals.

The Law of International Criminal Procedure and Domestic War Crimes Trials

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 605-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran Sluiter
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
National Courts ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
War Crimes Trials ◽  
The Law ◽  
Do So

AbstractThis article deals with the question of possible effect of the law of international criminal procedure for domestic war crimes trials. With the increasing number of national prosecutions for war crimes this question will gain in relevance.The article starts with an exploration of the origin and development of the law of international criminal procedure, to reach the conclusion that because of the lack of a strong foundation it is difficult to discern firmly established rules in this field. Next, two areas are examined where the law of international criminal procedure is capable of producing effect for national trials: human rights and rules that have developed in the specific context of war crimes prosecutions.Whether rules of international criminal procedure are formally effective in the domestic legal order remains to be seen. There is no clear obligation under international law to do so. Furthermore, the law of international criminal procedure may be difficult to harmonise with domestic inquisitorial systems.In spite of these difficulties, the article concludes that national courts will increasingly face similar procedural problems in complex war crimes trials as international criminal tribunals and will be happy to learn from their experiences.

scholarly journals Nazi Crimes in Poland. A Never-Ending Search for Justice

2019 ◽  
pp. 142-160
Author(s):  
Hanna Kuczyńska
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
National Courts ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Efficient Machine

This article deals with the model for prosecuting Nazi crimes committed in Poland in the light of the model presently used in international criminal law. It tries to answer the question: should the investigation of crimes of international law be handed over to transnational tribunals? Should they be hybrid tribunals involving a national factor, or completely supra-national tribunals like the International Criminal Court? Is it legitimate to transfer jurisdiction over these matters to national courts? The case of unpunished Nazi crimes in Poland may give a partial answer to this question. Certainly, various attempts made after World War II, including procedures brought before Polish courts, have contributed to understanding the function of international criminal law, and finding the answer to the question of the best model for prosecuting crimes of international law. At present, we also have the experience of international criminal tribunals, in particular the ICC, which is an efficient machine for prosecuting crimes of international law. Interesting conclusions can be drawn from its functioning that could improve the work of Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) prosecutors, and shed new light on the considerations regarding the prosecution of Nazi crimes in Poland after World War II.

s.I Actors, Ch.3 Neither Here nor There: The Position of the Defence in International Criminal Tribunals

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacobs Dov
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Structural Position ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Trial Process ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Different Types ◽  
International Tribunals

This chapter argues that international tribunals minimize the need to accurately determine the defendant’s guilt by routinely ‘balancing away’ defence rights vis-à-vis other values that are deemed more important, such as ‘combating impunity’ or acknowledging the suffering of the victims. It identifies four different types of such balancing: foundational, procedural, institutional, and systemic. Foundational balancing concerns the (mis)use of the sources of international law. Procedural balancing primarily involves de-emphasizing the importance of defence rights by elevating the (assumed) rights of other actors in the system. Institutional balancing relates to the structural position of the defence at international tribunals. And systemic balancing focuses on how the collective nature of international crimes requires international tribunals to rely on substantive doctrines that make it more difficult to accurately assess the criminal responsibility of individual defendants. Those four types of balancing, this chapter suggests, relegate defendants to the margins of the trial process, significantly increasing the likelihood of unjust verdicts.

Part I Prologue, 1 General Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kittichaisaree Kriangsak
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
General Introduction ◽  
Legal Concept ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
The Third ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

This chapter introduces the legal concept of the international legal obligation to extradite or prosecute perpetrators of the most serious crimes of international concern, tracing its historical foundation, explaining the codification and progressive development work of the UN International Law Commission on the 1996 Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind that has bearings on the concept, and identifying the gap in the existing treaty regime on this obligation. It succinctly analyses the three intertwined alternatives of extradition, prosecution, both by domestic criminal tribunals, and the third alternative of surrendering the perpetrators of such crimes to international criminal tribunals for the purpose of their prosecution.

scholarly journals State Practice as Element of Customary International Law: A White Knight in International Criminal Law?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 784-804
Author(s):  
Harmen van der Wilt
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Case Law ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
State Practice

Inter-state practice is relatively scarce in the area of human rights and international criminal law. This article ventures to inquire how this has affected the process of identification of customary international law by international criminal tribunals and courts. The main conclusion is that the two components of customary international law – opinio juris and state practice – have become blurred. In search of customary international law, international tribunals have resorted to national legislation and case law of domestic courts. These legal artefacts can be qualified as both evidence of state practice and opinio juris. The author attempts to explain the reasons for this development and holds that, if properly applied, the methodology, while seemingly messy, comports with the nature of international criminal law.

scholarly journals Gender Justice Beyond the Tribunals: From Criminal Accountability to Transformative Justice

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 227-233
Author(s):  
Kirsten Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Gender Justice ◽  
International Criminal Justice ◽  
Transformative Justice ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Gender Based

What are the legacies for gender justice of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)? Darryl Robinson and Gillian MacNeil in this symposium describe the modernization of the law on sexual violence as a key legacy of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals. However, this characterization does not capture the wider challenges that gender based crimes have raised for the Tribunals, including other legacies of gendered hierarchiesand inequalities.How, then, is it possible to move past these issues to build international criminal justice so that it transforms, rather than reproduces, gendered injustices?

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