The definition and prosecution of sexual offences under the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court.

Abstract

This thesis deals with one of the salient features of the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, namely, the first ever recognition of a wide range of acts of sexual and gender violence as amongst the most serious crimes under international law. Indeed, it is an undisputed fact that the criminalisation of violent sexual and gender-directed acts in the Statute as crimes against humanity and as war crimes, while not without precedent, This thesis deals with one of the salient features of the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, namely, the first ever recognition of a wide range of acts of sexual and gender violence as amongst the most serious crimes under international law. Indeed, it is an undisputed fact that the criminalisation of violent sexual and gender-directed acts in the Statute as crimes against humanity and as war crimes, while not without precedent, represents a long-awaited significant step forward in the whole process of treatment of these crimes by the international community. The first two chapters feature the negotiations and the evolution of gender crimes and the history of the proposed International Criminal Court as well as the Rome Statute. They contain a review of the international criminal law development of the process of criminalisation of violent sexual and gender-directed acts as crimes against humanity and as war crimes, with particular reference to the Second World War experience, the workings of the International Law Commission and the intervention of the United Nations, in particular in the context of the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and their respective statutes. The tortuous road to Rome is described in detail together with the original proposals, the issues involved, the negotiations, and the final agreement leading to the criminalisation of these crimes. Chapters 3 and 4 constitute the core of this thesis. Featuring in them are all the crimes of sexual and gender violence established under the Rome Statute. The Report of the Preparatory Commission containing the list of elements of the various crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court is dealt with m detail too. Chapter 5 focuses on the case-law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in matters of sexual crimes as crimes against humanity and/or war crimes. The last chapter, then, considers the special rules of procedure and evidence presented by the Preparatory Commission for cases of crimes of sexual and gender violence. The entire proceedings are examined, from the Pre-Trial Stage to the Trial itself. The protection of victims and witnesses is herein covered too. This thesis finally draws a conclusion on whether the Rome Statute is adequate or whether there are any shortcomings in dealing with this obnoxious category of crimes.