The evolution of the definition of rape in the jurisprudence of the ad hoc international criminal tribunal

Abstract

The aim of the Article is to present the evolution of the definition of rape in the judgments of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The author points to the mutual interaction between the judgments of both Tribunals and to them using each others output. Before those Tribunals were convened and started to function, there were almost no precedents with regard to rape. In the judgments of ICTY and ICTR it has been confirmed that the crime of rape may be a war crime, a crime against humanity or genocide when certain conditions are met. The hypothesis of this Article is that the title Tribunals – as a result of their legal interpretation – adopted a definition of rape that better protects the victims. The formal-legal research method is used focusing mainly on the analysis of legal documents and judgments.