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Prosecuting Conflict-Related Sexual Violence at the ICTY. Edited by Serge Brammertz and Michelle Jarvis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. 350 + xliii pages.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2017

SARA WHARTON*
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor
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Abstract

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Type
Book Reviews / Recensions de livres
Copyright
Copyright © The Canadian Yearbook of International Law/Annuaire canadien de droit international 2017 

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References

1 Serge Brammertz & Michelle Jarvis, eds, Prosecuting Conflict-Related Sexual Violence at the ICTY (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016) at ix.

2 Michelle Jarvis, “Overview: The Challenge of Accountability for Conflict-related Sexual Violence Crimes” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 2.

3 Ibid. See also Michelle Jarvis & Najwa Nabti, “Policies and Institutional Strategies for Successful Sexual Violence Prosecutions” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 78.

4 See Jarvis, supra note 2 at 1–18; Grace Harbour, “International Concern Regarding Conflict-related Sexual Violence in the Lead-up to the ICTY’s Establishment” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 19–32.

5 Michelle Jarvis & Kate Vigneswaran, “Challenges to Successful Outcomes in Sexual Violence Cases” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 33–72.

6 Ibid at 45–67.

7 Michelle Jarvis & Najwa Nabti, “Policies and Institutional Strategies for Successful Sexual Violence Prosecutions” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 73–110.

8 Priya Gopalan, Daniela Kravetz & Aditya Menon, “Proving Crimes of Sexual Violence” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 111–71.

9 Laurel Baig et al, “Contextualizing Sexual Violence: Selection of Crimes” in Brammertz and Jarvis, supra note 1 at 172–219; Barbara Goy, Michelle Jarvis & Giulia Pinzauti, “Contextualizing Sexual Violence and Linking It to Senior Officials: Modes of Liability” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 220–61.

10 Jarvis & Vigneswaran, supra note 5 at 18.

11 Laurel Baig, “Sentencing for Sexual Violence Crimes” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 262–98.

12 Eg, the tendency of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to issue a universal sentence reflecting the totality of the criminal conduct obscures the sentencing practice in relation to sexual violence crimes specifically. Additionally, when the tribunal moved to the practice of not having a separate sentencing phase for trials, it was more difficult for the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) to strategize appropriate sentencing submissions since convictions were not yet known and since word and time limits resulted in priority being placed on securing a conviction in the first place. See, eg, Baig, supra note 11 at 262–63.

13 Ibid at 268.

14 Saeeda Verrall, “The Picture of Sexual Violence in the Former Yugoslavia Conflicts as Reflected in ICTY Judgments” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 299–334.

15 Ibid at 303.

16 Ibid at 320–32.

17 Ibid at 328.

18 Serge Brammertz, Michelle Jarvis & Lada Šoljan, “Using the OTP’s Experience with Sexual Violence Prosecutions as a Springboard for Building National Capacity” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 335–78.

19 Serge Brammertz & Michelle Jarvis, “Conclusions: Situating the OTP’s Experience in a Broader Global Context” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 379–86.

20 Najwa Nabti & Saeeda Verrall, “Annex A: The Picture of Sexual Violence in the Former Yugoslavia Conflicts as Reflected in ICTY Cases” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 387–427.

21 Kate Vigneswaran, “Annex B: Charges and Outcomes in ICTY Cases Involving Sexual Violence” in Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at 429–81.

22 Brammertz & Jarvis, supra note 1 at x.

23 Jarvis & Nabti, supra note 7 at 75.

24 Harbour, supra note 4 at 45.

25 Jarvis & Nabti, supra note 7 at 79–81, 107–08.

26 Harbour, supra note 4 at 43–44; Jarvis & Vigneswaran, supra note 5 at 70.

27 Gopalan, Kravetz & Menon, supra note 8 at 145–48.

28 Ibid at 130–33.

29 Jarvis, supra note 2 at 5–8.

30 Jarvis & Vigneswaran, supra note 5 at 33.

31 Jarvis, supra note 2 at 14. The call for clear policies is reiterated in other areas throughout the book. Eg, in relation to the bargaining process involved in guilty pleas, the authors emphasize that “[t]he significant discretion involved in plea bargaining and the potential pressure to reduce or withdraw sexual violence charges underscores the need for proactive policies guiding prosecutorial discretion to navigate the potential pitfalls for sexual violence crimes” (at 64).

32 Jarvis & Vigneswaran, supra note 5 at 35.

33 Jarvis, supra note 2 at 5–8: Jarvis & Vigneswaran, supra note 5 at 34–42.

34 Jarvis & Vigneswaran, supra note 5 at 34–36, describe this misconception to be “[a]t the heart of the problem.” Further, as the authors identify, this misconception is actually incorporated into international law itself as can be seen in art 27 of Geneva Convention IV: “Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any other form of indecent assault.” Convention (IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 287.

35 Jarvis & Vigneswaran, supra note 5 at 36–37.

36 Ibid at 46.

37 Ibid at 37.

38 Ibid at 34; see also 37–39.

39 Ibid at 34, 40; see also Jarvis, supra note 2 at 6–7.

40 Jarvis & Vigneswaran, supra note 5 at 41–42.

41 Jarvis, supra note 2 at 13; Jarvis & Vigneswaran, supra note 5 at 42.

42 Jarvis, supra note 2 at 13.

43 Baig et al, supra note 9 at 173.

44 Ibid at 177, 182.

45 Ibid at 177.

46 Ibid at 176.

47 Goy, Jarvis & Pinzauti, supra note 9 at 38.

48 Baig, supra note 11 at 274, 282.

49 Jarvis & Vigneswaran, supra note 5 at 42–45.

50 Ibid at 42.

51 Gopalan, , Kravetz & Menon, supra note 8 at 125.

52 Ibid at 111.

53 Ibid at 125.

54 Ibid at 116, 159.

55 Ibid at 161.

56 Jarvis, supra note 2 at 9.

57 Jarvis & Nabti, supra note 7 at 97.