The impact of the International Tribunal for the Far East on the development of the International Humanitarian Law of Armed in the aspect of sexual violence

The Second World War caused the collapse of the rules prevailing in the world so far. The cruelty of warfare, which also affected civilians, made the international community aware that the principles of humanitarianism adopted so far are insufficient. The world demanded that war criminals be brought to justice. At that point, no international court existed to take on the challenge. Two tribunals were established – the International Military Tribunal based in Nuremberg and the International Tribunal for the Far East based in Tokyo, whose task was to try the most serious crimes committed during II World War. The civilian population, especially women, suffered from sexual violence and rape. The International Tribunal for the Far East did not remain silent on the subject of sex crimes and undertook to judge war criminals who were also responsible for rapes. The actions of the International Tribunal for the Far East were one of the first steps in history in the field of punishing the crime of rape committed during armed conflicts and influenced the development of international criminal law in this area.