International Criminal Law Review
Volume 18, Issue 2, 2018, Pages 331-353

The Expressive Nature of Law: What We Learn from Conjugal Slavery to Forced Marriage in International Criminal Law (Review)

Bunting A. , Ikhimiukor I.K.
  • a Conjugal Slavery in War (CSiW) Partnership, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • b Conjugal Slavery in War (CSiW) Partnership, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

Abstract

The March 2016 Confirmation of Charges Decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court in Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen characterized the practice of forced conjugal association as the crime against humanity of 'other inhumane acts'. This decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber comes amidst an unsettled jurisprudence on the legal characterization of the practice of forced conjugal association. The unsettled nature of the jurisprudence has led to inconsistencies in the legal characterization of forced conjugal association as either forced marriage as an 'other inhumane act' or sexual slavery, a variant of the general rubric of slavery. Accordingly, this article analyses the expressive effects of the labelling by contemporary international criminal courts and tribunals of forced conjugal association as either forced marriage as an 'other inhumane act' or slavery. © 2018 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Author Keywords

International Criminal Court forced marriage Slavery Special Court for Sierra Leone expressivism Sexual slavery conjugal slavery

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85046006485&doi=10.1163%2f15718123-01802004&partnerID=40&md5=2cb0694ad8c414d37a97a8a023213dfa
DOI: 10.1163/15718123-01802004
ISSN: 1567536X
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English