Criminal offense of forced marriage in international criminal law

Abstract

During armed conflicts in some countries, it became a common practice for fighters to force women to serve as wives. Although there is usually no official conclusion of marriage, in this way a relationship is created that is in many ways similar to a conjugal relationship. In a forced marriage, "wives" were expected to maintain regular sexual relations with their "husbands", but also to perform housework, get pregnant, take care of born children and their "husbands". Having this practice in mind, the Prosecutor before the Special Court for Sierra Leone determined this behavior as forced marriage and qualified it as other inhuman acts within the framework of crimes against humanity. This opened the door for a lot of legal problems related to the "new" crime. Namely, the question arose as to what the criminal act of forced marriage entails, i.e. what is the actus reus of this criminal act. Then, what is the difference between forced marriage and some other acts of crimes against humanity that are similar to it, such as, for example, sexual slavery. And finally, is forced marriage an act that is similar in its character to other acts of crime against humanity, so that it could be classified as other inhumane acts. The paper analyzes the etiological-phenomenological dimension of forced marriages in Cambodia, Sierra Leone and Uganda. After that, decisions of Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Special Court for Sierra Leone and permanent International Criminal Court are analyzed regarding all disputed issues related to forced marriage: the status of this act in international criminal law, the relationship with other similar international criminal offenses and the concept of forced marriage. Finally, proposals de lege ferenda are presented regarding the definition of forced marriage and its explicit prescription in international criminal law.