Realizing Victims’ Rights in International Criminal Law: A Critical Case Study Analysis

Over time, the rights of the victims have become more visible in international law. They have changed their position from the almost invisible ones in the cases of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals to main ones in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and mixed tribunals. The ICC and hybrid tribunals' decisions are the most recent manifestation of this change which in its turn reflects a paradigm shift in international justice from the emphasis on states to the victims' rights. This text is concerned with the issue of victims' rights of participation, protection, and reparations in international criminal proceedings, and it wonders how far tribunals such as the ICTR, ICTY, ICC, and ECCC have put these rights into practice. The research uses a case study approach with the analysis of landmark judgments such as Akayesu (ICTR), Lubanga (ICC), and the Duch trial (ECCC) to sketch out the normative outline of victims' righters and highlight the practical difficulties in their enforcement. The paper tries to analyze that, even though international criminal law has come a long way to the point where victims are recognized as the holders of rights, the law enforcement is still far from being consistent and largely appears as a symbolic gesture. Therefore, to allow for the real participation of the victims in international justice, further reforms are indispensable.