Journal Citation:
11 INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW REVIEW, 529-541 (2011)
This article focuses on the implications
of the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber
of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
to decline to confirm cumulative charges
for sexual and gender-based violence in
Prosecutor v Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. The
author argues that the decision is
discriminatory in its failure to recognize
the full spectrum of criminal culpability
for sexual and gender-based crimes. It
does so by erroneously denying cumulative
charges and conflating the crimes of rape,
torture, and outrages upon personal
dignity contrary to the Rome Statute.
These results weaken the expressive power
of the ICC by giving the appearance of
selective justice, which in turn
undermines the legitimacy of the ICC and
its ability to eradicate sexual and
gender-based violence.