Victims before International Criminals Courts: A Challenge for International Criminal Justice

November 21, 2011
Klatsky Seminar in Human Rights
Presented by the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center

Speaker: Hon. Christine Van den Wyngaert
Judge, International Criminal Court

Victim participation in international criminal justice is a new trend of the 21st century. Although victims had access to international justice before the human rights courts were established, the international criminal court (ICC) has gone a step further by allowing them to participate in criminal proceedings. In addition, the ICC-system allows the Court to order reparations. This system, which seems closer to civil law than common law, poses important legal questions and practical challenges when applied before international criminal courts, in cases involving massive numbers of victims. With the first two trials at the ICC nearing completion, the picture of what victim participation means in practice is gradually emerging.