Victims' Right to Reparation before International Criminal Courts

Abstract

The International Criminal Court's interest in victims of international crimes represents the first experience of international criminal justice, as military or temporary courts have not enjoyed such an experience before. In addition to preventing impunity, the International Criminal Court has established rights for victims that enable them to participate in expressing their point of view and concerns at all stages of the proceedings. It has stipulated unique and multiple measures to protect them and ensure their safety, and has granted them the right to legal representation to defend their interests. It has also allowed them to demand compensation for the harm they have suffered as a result of the criminal act committed against them, through multiple forms that guarantee their compensation and justice. Accordingly, we aim through this research paper to attempt to shed light on the efforts made by the International Criminal Court to embody the right of victims to redress their material and moral damages, and to highlight the positive aspect represented by the stipulation of special rules for redressing victims’ damages in the court’s instruments, which in their entirety constituted a special system for redressing victims’ damages, including legal guarantees and mechanisms that brought them closer – to some extent – ​​to the situation of victims in civil suits before national criminal courts. Thus, the court has achieved remarkable progress in favor of victims, but it has not – in many cases – met their aspirations, and has not achieved complete fairness and justice for all victims.