Reparations And Victim Support In The International Criminal Court

Explores the ICC's regime of victim redress, including both its reparations regime and the work of the ICC Trust Fund.

The book analyses the difficulties the International Criminal Court faces with the definition of those persons who are eligible for participating in the proceedings. Establishing justice for victims is one of the most important aims of the court. It therefore created a unique system of victim participation. Since its first trial the court struggles to live up to the expectancies its statute has generated. The book offers a new approach of how to define victimhood by looking at the different international crimes. It seeks to offer guidance for the right to participate in the different stages of the proceedings by looking at the practice in national jurisdictions. Lastly the book offers insights into the functioning of the reparation regime at the ICC by virtue of the Trust Fund for Victim and its different mandates. The critical analysis of the ICC-practice with regard to definition, participation and reparation aims at promoting a realistic approach, which will avoid the disappointing of expectations and thus help to enhance the acceptance of the ICC.

"Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court established and vested the Court with the power to decide on reparations to victims. The concept of reparations to victims remains a controversial topic in international criminal law. Does the Statute explicitly create victims' right to reparations? How and why have we to distinguish between reparations under Article 75 and victim assistance or support from the Trust Fund created by Article 79 of the Statute? Does the Statute or international law embody substantive law to be applied to reparations to victims? From a procedural perspective other questions arise: Has the Statute or the Court developed procedural law that allows to balance the interests of parties to proceedings before a court whose mission is primarily criminal? Where a conflict of jurisdiction arises between the International Criminal Court and national courts, as regards reparations against a convicted person, how can the risk be dispelled? What kind of reparations may redress victims of the most serious international crimes, such as crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes? Does there exist an effective legal framework to facilitate the implementation of reparations orders issued by the Court? This book endeavours to discuss the major legal issues arising from the introduction of the concept of reparations to victims in international criminal law. More particularly, the book describes challenges in implementing Article 75 of the Rome Statute and attempts to suggest legal solutions thereto"--Back cover.

Dedicated to one of the great innovations in the proceedings before the International Criminal Court, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of the Court’s power to order a convicted person to make reparations to victims, possibilities for its implementation and its potential to bring justice to victims.

Combining interdisciplinary techniques with original ethnographic fieldwork, Christoph Sperfeldt examines the first attempts of international criminal courts to provide reparations to victims of mass atrocities. The observations focus on two case studies: the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, where Sperfeldt spent over ten years working at and around, and the International Criminal Court's interventions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Enriched with first-hand observations and an awareness of contextual dynamics, this book directs attention to the 'social life of reparations' that too often get lost in formal accounts of law and its institutions. Sperfeldt shows that reparations are constituted and contested through a range of practices that produce, change, and give meaning to reparations. Appreciating the nature and effects of these practices provides us with a deeper understanding of the discrepancies that exist between the reparations ideal and how it functions imperfectly in different contexts.

Reparations for Victims of Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity: Systems in Place and Systems in the Making provides a rich tapestry of practice in the complex and evolving field of reparations, which cuts across law, politics, psychology and victimology, among other disciplines. Ferstman and Goetz bring their long experiences with international organizations and civil society groups to bear. This second edition, which comes a decade after the first, contains updated information and many new chapters and reflections from key experts. It considers the challenges for victims to pursue reparations, looking from multiple angles at the Holocaust restitution movement and more recent cases in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. It also highlights the evolving practice of international courts and tribunals. First published in a hardbound edition, this second, fully revised and updated edition, is now available in paperback.

Many prosecutors and commentators have praised the victim provisions at the International Criminal Court (ICC) as 'justice for victims', which for the first time include participation, protection and reparations. This book critically examines the role of victims in international criminal justice, drawing from human rights, victimology, and best practices in transitional justice. Drawing on field research in Northern Uganda, Luke Moffet explores the nature of international crimes and assesses the role of victims in the proceedings of the ICC, paying particular attention to their recognition, participation, reparations and protection. The book argues that because of the criminal nature and structural limitations of the ICC, justice for victims is symbolic, requiring State Parties to complement the work of the Court to address victims' needs. In advancing an innovative theory of justice for victims, and in offering solutions to current challenges, the book will be of great interest and use to academics, practitioners and students engaged in victimology, the ICC, transitional justice, or reparations.

Many prosecutors and commentators have praised the victim provisions at the International Criminal Court (ICC) as 'justice for victims', which for the first time include participation, protection and reparations. This book critically examines the role of victims in international criminal justice, drawing from human rights, victimology, and best practices in transitional justice. Drawing on field research in Northern Uganda, Luke Moffet explores the nature of international crimes and assesses the role of victims in the proceedings of the ICC, paying particular attention to their recognition, participation, reparations and protection. The book argues that because of the criminal nature and structural limitations of the ICC, justice for victims is symbolic, requiring State Parties to complement the work of the Court to address victims' needs. In advancing an innovative theory of justice for victims, and in offering solutions to current challenges, the book will be of great interest and use to academics, practitioners and students engaged in victimology, the ICC, transitional justice, or reparations.