On the occasion of the promotion of the book Crimes of Sexual Abuse in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-1995. in the light of the theory and practice of international law, University of Sarajevo, Institute for Research on Crimes against Humanity and International Law, 2021, 490 p.
International legal theory and practice have undergone radical changes when it comes to serious violations of human rights, such as sexual abuse committed in armed conflicts. Regulated normatively as "violation of honor", crimes of sexual abuse were part of the unsanctioned "practice of war" until the 90s of the 20th century, with the exception of the minor legal effect of the international military tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo. The scope of the crimes of sexual abuse committed during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina and their systemic character pointed to all the weakness of international legal instruments and were one of the key reasons for the establishment of the International Ad Hoc Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The empirical research carried out in this paper shows that out of 127 objects related to various crimes committed in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 75 persons were prosecuted on the basis of individual responsibility, among other things, for crimes of sexual abuse. Almost at the same time, before the International Court of Justice, also based in The Hague, the process initiated by Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro for violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide took place for 14 years. The analysis of this process shows in what way and to what extent this court treated the crimes of sexual abuse in terms of state responsibility. Did the international judiciary manage to see the extent of the criminal phenomenon and the role these crimes played during the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995)?
"This work clearly articulates the problems of sexual violence during armed conflicts and the relevant jurisprudence that treated them in the judgments in this area. The work is theoretically important, because it shows the development of international law in this area, and it gains practical importance in research focused on sexual crimes, their legal and judicial treatment in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The book is original in its conception and methodology, and it is written in a clear academic style. The book Crimes of sexual abuse in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) in the light of the theory and practice of international law will undoubtedly be useful literature for researchers of human rights in armed conflicts, sexual crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, legal and judicial treatment of these crimes in the international and to domestic judicial practice" (excerpt from the review, Prof. Dr. Jasna Bakšić-Muftić).
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