Prosecuting Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

by Brammertz, Serge; Jarvis, Michelle

• ISBN13: 9780191821929
• ISBN10: 0191821926
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2016-03-10
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Author Biography

Serge Brammertz, Prosecutor, UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia,Michelle Jarvis, Principal Legal Counsel (Deputy to the Prosecutor and Head of Appeals), UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

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.

Table of Contents

1. Overview: The Challenge of Accountability for Conflict- related Sexual Violence Crimes 1
Michelle Jarvis

2. International Concern Regarding Conflict- related Sexual Violence in the Lead- up to the ICTY's Establishment 19
Grace Harbour

3. Challenges to Successful Outcomes in Sexual Violence Cases 33
Michelle Jarvis and Kate Vigneswaran

4. Policies and Institutional Strategies for Successful Sexual Violence Prosecutions 73
Michelle Jarvis and Najwa Nabti

5. Proving Crimes of Sexual Violence 111
Priya Gopalan, Daniela Kravetz, and Aditya Menon

6. Contextualizing Sexual Violence: Selection of Crimes 172
Laurel Baig, Michelle Jarvis, Elena Martin Salgado, and Giulia Pinzauti

7. Contextualizing Sexual Violence and Linking it to Senior Officials: Modes of Liability 220
Barbara Goy, Michelle Jarvis, and Giulia Pinzauti

8. Sentencing for Sexual Violence Crimes 262
Laurel Baig

A. Overview
9. The Picture of Sexual Violence in the Former Yugoslavia Conflicts as Reflected in ICTY 299
Saeeda Verrall

10. Using the OTP's Experience with Sexual Violence Prosecutions as a Springboard for Building National Capacity 335
Serge Brammertz, Michelle Jarvis, and Lada Soljan

11. Conclusions: Situating the OTP's Experience in a Broader Global Context 379
Serge Brammertz and Michelle Jarvis
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