Defining Rape ─ Emerging Obligations for States Under International Law?

Eriksson (Orebro U., Sweden) seeks to systematize the regulations concerning the prohibition on rape, and its definition in public international law, comparing the areas of international human rights law, international criminal law, and international humanitarian law and focusing on the extent of state responsibility. She addresses two main issues: state obligation to criminalize rape and whether such obligation demands the adoption of a specific definition of rape. She examines these issues through an exploration of traditional sources of international law, with an emphasis on relevant treaties and judicial decisions, and proceeds to consider indications of an emerging customary international law on rape. Martinus Nijhoff is an imprint of Brill. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Maria Eriksson has, after finishing a degree in law at Uppsala University, researched and taught mainly international human rights law and international criminal law at Orebro University as well as worked as a clerk at the International Criminal Court, The Hague.