Chapter

The crime of rape in military and civilian jurisdictions

Lois Moore and Christine Chinkin

The grey zone : civilian protection between human rights and the laws of war

Oxford [etc.] : Hart, 2018

p. 179-204

English

This chapter considers the implementation of international humanitarian law and international criminal law in national military and civilian criminal jurisdictions and addresses the question of how sexual violence should be prosecuted at the national level. It argues that national military justice systems are, generally speaking, inappropriate for prosecuting sexual violence in conflict and that primary responsibility should rest with national civilian criminal authorities. Looking at the complex network of legal regulations on the issue, the authors note that it only accords limited protection against conflict-related sexual violence ; legislative, social and practical obstacles, together with lack of political will, combine to deny adequate protection against those offenses.

• Full text (restricted access : ICRC)

• The grey zone : civilian protection between human rights and the laws of war / ed. by Mark Lattimer and Philippe Sands