Swapnil Gupta, LL.M, School of Law, Manav Rachna University & Dr SK Bose, Associate Professor, School of Law, Manav Rachna University
ABSTRACT
International Criminal Court can be termed as the highest criminal court in the world. It was established with a view to prosecute mass crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. Many women’s rights activist groups have contributed to making of the Rome Statute which has established the International Criminal Court. The effort was made to somehow to correct the historical unfairness of including offences based on sexual orientation and gender in international law. The measures that emerged as a result and were included in the Rome Statute of the ICC, which was established in 1998, were seen as a victory by the feminists and women rights groups. It is regrettable that the legal requirements have not resulted in effective prosecutions nearly two decades after the ICC started handling cases of these crimes. There is a gap between the written legislation and how a court- which is supposed to be an authority on sexual and gender-based violence- applies it to actual situations. Through this paper we seek to study what is amiss.
Keywords: International Criminal Court, Sexual Violence, Gender Based Violence.
