The Right to Reparations Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC)

Book excerpt: "Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court established and vested the Court with the power to decide on reparations to victims. The concept of reparations to victims remains a controversial topic in international criminal law. Does the Statute explicitly create victims' right to reparations? How and why have we to distinguish between reparations under Article 75 and victim assistance or support from the Trust Fund created by Article 79 of the Statute? Does the Statute or international law embody substantive law to be applied to reparations to victims? From a procedural perspective other questions arise: Has the Statute or the Court developed procedural law that allows to balance the interests of parties to proceedings before a court whose mission is primarily criminal? Where a conflict of jurisdiction arises between the International Criminal Court and national courts, as regards reparations against a convicted person, how can the risk be dispelled? What kind of reparations may redress victims of the most serious international crimes, such as crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes? Does there exist an effective legal framework to facilitate the implementation of reparations orders issued by the Court? This book endeavours to discuss the major legal issues arising from the introduction of the concept of reparations to victims in international criminal law. More particularly, the book describes challenges in implementing Article 75 of the Rome Statute and attempts to suggest legal solutions thereto"--Back cover.