DEFINITION OF RAPE IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW

Abstract

The paper deals with the historical development of the criminal offense of rape in international criminal law. A special emphasis in the paper is placed on determining the definition of the criminal act of rape in international criminal law as the basic problem of the work of international criminal courts when rape is the subject of accusation. The paper analyzes the relevant provisions of the statutes of international criminal courts, as well as the jurisprudence of the tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in cases that are considered to have significantly influenced the determination of the definition of this criminal offense. Special attention is paid to this incrimination in the Rome Statute, as one of the most important sources of international criminal law.