Prosecuting Conflict-Related Sexual Violence at the ICTY

Dr. Hilmi M. Zawati, Journal of International Criminal Justice Significant work and a unique record that provides a thorough elucidation of strategies executed by the OTP in investigating and prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence, committed during the 1990s Yugoslav civil war and which contributed to the development of the international criminal jurisprudence.

Hilmi M. Zawati, Journal of International Criminal Justice In sum, this is a significant work and a unique record that provides a thorough elucidation of strategies executed by the OTP in investigating and prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence, committed during the 199s Yugoslav civil war and which contributed to the development of the international criminal jurisprudence. Although this book is mainly directed to national and international criminal justice actors, primarily investigators and prosecutors of conflict-related sexual violence, it is also an indispensable source for lawyers, judges, human rights activists and academics researching these crimes.

Serge Brammertz has been Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia since January 2008. From 2006 until 2007 he served as Commissioner of the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In September 2003 he was elected by the Assembly of State Parties as the first Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. In that capacity, he was in charge of establishing the Investigations Division of the Office of the Prosecutor, and initiated the first ICC investigations in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur. Previously he has been the head of the Federal Prosecution of the Kingdom of Belgium and a national magistrate. He has also worked for the European Commission, the Council of Europe, and the International Organisation for Migration. Michelle Jarvis is an Australian lawyer with extensive international experience and a diverse career covering litigation, rule of law, women's access to justice and senior management roles. She has worked at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for the past fifteen years and is presently the Office of the Prosecutor's Principal Legal Counsel, where she oversees the Office of the Prosecutor's legacy project on prosecuting sexual violence crimes and she also served four years as the ICTY's Focal Point for Women. She is the Coordinator of the Prosecuting Sexual Violence Network of the International Association of Prosecutors, and a trainer for the Justice Rapid Response Sexual and Gender Based Violence Investigations certification course and served as an expert advisor for the UK Preventing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Initiative.

1. Overview ; 2. The emergence of international concern regarding conflict-related sexual violence in the lead-up to establishing the ICTY ; 3. Challenges to Successful outcomes in Sexual Violence Cases ; 4. Policies and Institutional Strategies for Successful Sexual Violence Prosecutions ; 5. Proving crimes of sexual violence ; 6. contextualising sexual violence and linking it to senior officials ; 7. Sentencing ; 8. The picture of sexual violence in the former Yugoslavia conflicts as reflected in ICTY cases ; 9. Using the OTP's Experience with Sexual Violence Prosecutions as a Springboard for Building National Capacity ; 10. Conclusion