INTRODUCTION

On the basis of Article 75 of the Rome Statute, a child who has become the victim of international crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the Rome Statute can, like adults, claim reparations in order to remedy the harm suffered. The opportunity to not only participate in the course of the criminal proceedings (Chapter Three) but also claim reparations, constitutes an additional opportunity for children to be involved in ICC proceedings by pursuing their personal interests.

Reparations for international crimes claimed by a child constitute, in principle though, a twofold novelty: firstly, as with all victims of international crimes, until the establishment of the ICC, victims were unable to claim reparations before an international court or tribunal specifically mandated to adjudicate claims of this nature; secondly, children in particular have only occasionally been involved in other existing international or regional complaint mechanisms pursuing claims on their own behalf. Whether, however, the ICC will indeed be able to implement these two novelties in practice, remains to be seen.

This chapter examines the participation of children in reparation proceedings before the ICC bearing in particular in mind that prior to the establishment of the ICC, victim participation was largely limited to the participation of adult victims. It has been established in the foregoing chapters that child participation in criminal proceedings may require procedural treatment which takes into account the evolving capacities of the individual child. A similar need, which requests child specific treatment from a procedural and substantive perspective, might also exist in relation to child participation in reparation proceedings.

The first case before the ICC, the proceedings against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo draws particular attention to child soldiers. The recruitment of children below the age of fifteen years is the only war crime being charged in this case. In light of this uniqueness, also addressed in the course of the previous chapters, the current chapter will scrutinise once more this specific case.