Journal Citation:
10 TULSA JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW (2002) 1269-1311.
This article addresses the judicial response to the gang-rape and sexual enslavement of Bosnian-Muslim women by Bosnian-Serb solidiers during the Yugoslav conflict. These crimes are identified by the author as being epitomized by the atrocities committed in the small Bosnia-Herzegovinan town of Foca. The article commences with a discussion of the development of international law regarding crimes against humanity (Part I) before turning to the 2001 decision of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) "Prosecutor v. Kunarac" (Parts II-V). The author identifies the important precedent this decision established for gender-based crimes. However, he also identifies and discusses the controversy this decision raised. In response, the author offers reasons to support the expansion of the definition of crimes against humanity to include sexual slavery and rape, concluding that the impact of Kunarac promises to be historic from a legal, moral and humane perspective.