Collective criminality and sexual violence: Fixing a failed approach

International criminal tribunals have developed a number of legal theories designed to hold individuals responsible for their role in collective criminal conduct. These doctrines of criminal participation, known as modes of liability, are the subject of significant scholarly commentary. Yet missing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Leiden journal of international law Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 207 - 241
Main Authors: SáCouto, Susana, Sadat, Leila Nadya, Sellers, Patricia Viseur
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.03.2020
Subjects:
Advisors
Atrocities
Courts
Criminal law
Criminal liability
Criminality
Culpability
Extraterritoriality
Gender
Gender-based violence
International courts
Jurisprudence
Law
Liability
Military tribunals
Offenses
Participation
Perpetrators
Sex crimes
Sexual violence
Thresholds
Tribunals & commissions
Violence
War crimes
ISSN:0922-1565, 1478-9698
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:International criminal tribunals have developed a number of legal theories designed to hold individuals responsible for their role in collective criminal conduct. These doctrines of criminal participation, known as modes of liability, are the subject of significant scholarly commentary. Yet missing from much of this debate, particularly as regards the International Criminal Court, has been an analysis of how current doctrine on modes of liability responds to the need to hold collective perpetrators criminally responsible for crimes of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Indeed, many writings in this area of the law address perceived shortcomings in the theoretical underpinnings of modes of liability doctrine in the abstract but ignore the application of this doctrine in concreto . As a result, facially neutral writings on modes of liability may in fact be gendered in application, either because they fail to account for the specific characteristics of sexual and gender-based violence or because they are applied in a manner that requires higher thresholds for finding culpability for the commission of SGBV crimes. This article fills the gap between theory and practice, examining past and present doctrine, and suggesting ways in which the treatment of modes of liability by international criminal courts and tribunals can both properly respond to the need for personal culpability and the dangers of collective criminal activity, particularly as regards SGBV crimes.
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ISSN:0922-1565
1478-9698
DOI:10.1017/S092215651900061X