Linking High-Level Accused to Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes in International Criminal Law

Linking High-level Accused to Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes in

International Criminal Law focuses on the theoretical and practical

perspectives taken by the ICTY, ICTR, and ICC. It seeks to answer the

question of how high-level officials can and should be investigated

and prosecuted for their role in the commission of sexual and

gender-based crimes.

The author examines the forms, types, and amount of evidence used to

prove the role of these high-level accused in the commission of crimes

by rank-and-file soldiers. As the accused are usually not present on

the crime scene, the international criminal courts and tribunals must

rely on individual criminal liability theories enshrined in Article 7 ICTY

Statute, Article 6 ICTR Statute, and Articles 25 & 28 Rome Statute to

connect them to the atrocities committed on the ground.

100 individual cases from the ICTY, ICTR, and ICC are examined and

reveal that in most cases there was sufficient evidence to prove that

sexual and gender-based crimes were committed. It was however much

more difficult for the prosecutor to prove the role and responsibility of

the high-ranked accused and the modes of liability charged.

The author gives concrete recommendations on how to gather linkage

evidence effectively, and to use the modes of liability accurately to

prove the connection between the committed crimes, the broader

context and the accused’s role.

Sylvester Sammie holds a Ph.D. in International Criminal Law (University

of Groningen), an LLM in International Criminal Law (University of

Turin), and an MA in Human Rights (Scuola Sant’ Anna/University of

Pisa). He has over 15-years’ experience with the United Nations, ICTR,

and ICC where he has investigated and written numerous reports on

atrocity crimes.