Uche, M. 2019. To Be, Or Not to be: That Is the Quandary of Victims Before the International Criminal Court. University of Liverpool 3rd Postgraduate Conference in International Law and Human Rights ‘Hope in International Law and Human Rights’. University of Liverpool, UK, Moot Room, South Campus Teaching Hub 17 - 18 Jun 2019
| Title | To Be, Or Not to be: That Is the Quandary of Victims Before the International Criminal Court |
|---|---|
| Authors | Uche, M. |
| Type | Conference paper |
| Abstract | Like Hamlet’s famous soliloquy in Act III Scene I, justice for victims of international crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is bogged down with difficult contemplations. These contemplations which begin with the recognition criteria have strong impacts on the concerned victims up to the reparations stage. In spite of this, the court’s “justice rhetoric” centers on the equation of punishment of perpetrators to justice for victims. Such an equation evinces the defective criteria and process for victim recognition at the court; one that is mainly dependent on a perpetrator and crimes charged. Consequently, victims’ status before the court determines what type of representational and participatory rights they will be entitled to. The problem with such a system is that it harbors several “exclusionary factors” that negatively impact victims’ status. These factors have been the subject of scholarly work focused on examining the impact of the application process for victim status and on justice for victims. While excellent proposals have been made to correct this issue, there remains a need for a set of recognition and evaluative criteria that is more restorative to ensure that victims are afforded meaningful justice beyond the rhetoric. This paper will review the ICC’s victims’ regime and case law, to discuss the impact of these exclusionary factors on victims’ justice experience and reparations. It will posit that the court’s victim-regime is defective and often appears to be a stumbling block to the court in achieving justice for victims. This paper will therefore propose a set of criteria for victim-status which should neither be divisive nor dependent on an alleged perpetrator but will be more restorative than purely retributive. |
| Keywords | Victims’ justice, reparations, international crimes, International Criminal Court. |
| Year | 2019 |
| Conference | University of Liverpool 3rd Postgraduate Conference in International Law and Human Rights ‘Hope in International Law and Human Rights’ |
| Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| File | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |