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Victims' Rights and the International Criminal Court: Perceptions within the Court Regarding the Victims’ Right to Participate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 July 2010

JO-ANNE WEMMERS
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Abstract

Based on interviews with 23 key figures at the International Criminal Court, this study represents an effort to go beyond the text of the Rome Statute. It tries to understand the different views or interpretations of the law regarding victim participation that exist within the organization and will ultimately shape how victims’ rights are applied in the Court. Rather than being a legal study, this research is rooted in organizational psychology.

Keywords

International Criminal Courtparticipationvictim rightsvictims
Type
HAGUE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNALS: International Criminal Court
Information
Leiden Journal of International Law , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , September 2010 , pp. 629 - 643
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation of the Leiden Journal of International Law 2010

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References

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2 Bassiouni, M. C., ‘International Recognition of Victims’ Rights’, (2006) 6 (2)Human Rights Law Review 203CrossRefGoogle Scholar; J. Wemmers, D. Casoni, and M.-M. Cousineau, Reparation and the International Criminal Court: Meeting the Needs of Victims (2006).

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7 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Adopted by the United Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court on 12 July 1998, UN Doc. A/CONF. 183/9.

8 See Friman, supra note 4, for a discussion of relevant court decisions on victim participation.

9 Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Adopted by the Assembly of States Parties, First Session, New York, 3–10 September 2002, UN Doc. ICC-ASP/1/3.

10 Victim Participation and Reparation Section, International Criminal Court, 8 December 2009.

11 For a discussion of ICC decisions on victim participation see Friman, supra note 4. In particular see, e.g., Prosecutor v. Lubanga Dyilo (Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Decision on Victims’ Participation, ICC-01/04-01/06-1119, T.Ch.I, 18 January 2008; Prosecutor v. Lubanga Dyilo (Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Judgment on the Appeals of the Prosecutor and the Defence against Trial Chamber I's Decision on Victims’ Participation of 18 January 2008. ICC-01/04-01/06 OA9 OA10, A.Ch.,11 July 2008.

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17 Also known in England and Wales as a victim personal statement.

18 A. Ashworth, ‘Victim Impact Statements and Sentencing’, (1993) Criminal Law Review 498. In the United States, Payne v. Tennessee (501 US 808 (1991)) brought victim participation to the country's Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided to allow the inclusion of VISs in cases involving a possible death sentence, thus reversing a decision by the state of Tennessee to exclude victim input from possible capital cases. For a discussion see E. Erez, ‘Victim Participation in Sentencing: And the Debate Goes On . . .’ (1994) International Review of Victimology 17.

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22 Friman, supra note 4; Stahn, Olasolo, and Gibson, supra note 2.

23 Ashworth, supra note 18; Roach, supra note 21.

24 Erez, supra note 19.

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28 For example, Art. 722 of the Canadian Criminal Code obliges judges to ‘consider’ victim impact statements whenever they are available.

29 See J. Wemmers, Introduction à la victimologie (2003), for a discussion of passive and active participation by victims in the criminal justice system.

30 Edwards, supra note 20, at 977.

31 The remaining seven respondents did not talk about when victims should be allowed to participate and whether victim participation should be permitted before an arrest warrant has been issued.

32 Office of the Prosecutor, Policy Paper on Victims’ participation under Article 68(3) of the ICC Statute. December 2009. See also the updated version of April 2010, available at www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/BC21BFDF-88CD-426B-BAC3-D0981E4ABE02/281751/PolicyPaperonVictimsParticipationApril2010.pdf.

33 Ibid., at 1.

34 Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Case of Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, ICC-01/04-01/07-1788, Trial Chamber II, 22 January 2010.

35 Situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, ICC-01/04-01/06 OA9 OA10, Appeals Chamber. Judgment on the appeals of the appeals of the Prosecutor and the Defence against Trial Chamber I's decision on victims’ participation of 18 January 2008.

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37 supra note 34.

38 Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ICC-01/04 OA4 OA5 OA6, Appeals Chamber, Judgment on victim participation in the investigation stage of the proceedings in the appeal of the OPCD against the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I of 7 December 2007 and in the appeals of the OPCD and the Prosecutor against the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I of 24 December 2007.

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42 V. Tochilovsky, ‘Victims’ Procedural Rights at Trial: The Approach of Continental Europe and the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia’, in J. J. M. Van Dijk, R. Van Kaam, and J. Wemmers (eds.), Caring for Victims of Crime (1999), 287.

43 Shapland, J., ‘The Criminal Justice System and the Victim’, (1985) 10 Victimology: An International Journal 485Google Scholar; see also J. Shapland, J. Willmore, and P. Duff, Victims in the Criminal Justice System (1985); M. Baril, S. Durand, M. M. Cousineau, and S. Gravel, Mais nous, les témoins . . .(1983); J. Wemmers, Victims in the Criminal Justice System (1996); Wemmers, J. and Cyr, K., ‘Victims’ Perspectives on Restorative Justice: How Much Involvement Are Victims Looking for?’, (2004) 11 International Review of Victimology 259CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

44 J. Wemmers, ‘Restorative Justice: The Choice between Bilateral Decision-Making Power and Third Party Intervention’, in Brian Williams (ed.), Reparation and Victim-Focused Social Work (2001), 34.

45 See Ashworth supra note 18; Roach supra note 21.

46 Davis and Mulford, supra note 26; Carr, P., Logio, K., and Maier, S., ‘Keep Me Informed: What Matters for Victims as They Navigate the Juvenile Criminal Justice System in Philadelphia’, (2003) 10 International Review of Victimology 117CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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51 Erez and Roberts, supra note 19, at 277.

52 Edwards, supra note 20.