Affecting the Rules for the Prosecution of Rape and Other Gender-Based Violence Before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: A Feminist Proposal and Critique

This article is a proposal submitted to the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for the purpose of influencing the rules adopted by the Tribunal for the prosecution of rape and other sex crimes. The proposal advocates rules to enhance the chances that the first international prosecution of rape under the jurisdiction of the ICTY will be effective, tolerable, and just for survivors without sacrificing the legitimate rights of the accused. The proposal is prefaced by a brief history of the international efforts by women's groups and their supporters to ensure that the ICTY addresses crimes of gender, thus exemplifying ways in which women can affect and make international law. In order to assist the reader, the preface also sketches the ICTY's structure. An afterword notes how ICTY judges have incorporated concerns about sex crimes and victims and witnesses. Two appendices set forth the adopted rules relevant to the prosecution of sex crimes, and provide the text of earlier recommendations made during the creation of the ICTY. [Descriptors: Armed Conflict, International]