Prosecuting Conflict-Related Sexual Violence at the ICTY

Although sexual violence directed at both females and males is a reality in many on-going conflicts throughout the world today, accountability for the perpetrators of such violence remains the exception rather than the rule. While awareness of the problem is growing, more effective approaches are urgently needed for the investigation and prosecution of conflict-related sexual violence crimes. Upon its establishment in 1993, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) began the challenging task of prosecuting the perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence crimes, alongside the many other atrocities committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

This book documents the experiences, achievements, challenges, and fundamental insights of the OTP in prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence crimes at the ICTY over the past two decades. It draws on an extensive dossier of OTP documentation, court filings, trial exhibits, testimony, ICTY judgements, and other materials, as well as interviews with current and former OTP staff members. The authors provide a unique analytical perspective on the obstacles faced in prioritizing, investigating, and prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence crimes. While ICTY has made great strides in developing international criminal law in this area, this volume exposes the pressing need for determined and increasingly sophisticated strategies in order to overcome the ongoing obstacles in prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence crimes. The book presents concrete recommendations to inform future work being done at the national and international levels, including that of the International Criminal Court, international investigation commissions, and countries developing transitional justice processes. It provides an essential resource for investigators and criminal lawyers, human rights fact-finders, policy makers, rule of law experts, and academics.

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.