Victims and appeals at the International Criminal Court (ICC) : evaluation under international human rights standards

Abstract

Scholars have examined victim participation and reparations at the ICC. Nevertheless, no academic study focuses on victim participants and victims as parties (reparations claimants) in ICC appeals under international human rights law (IHRL) standards. This article seeks to: determine how victims’ roles as victim participants and parties (reparations claimants) take place in ICC appeals; and evaluate ICC’s law/practice on victims’ procedural roles/rights in appeals under IHRL. Victims at the ICC exercise procedural rights to: voice their views and concerns in appeals against final and interlocutory decisions (victim participants); and appeal reparations orders (parties). ICC’s law/practice on victims in appeals is generally consistent with IHRL. However, such law/practice present some important deficits under IHRL, including scope of victims’ procedural rights in ICC appeals and how these rights are exercised. Such deficits should be addressed to better realise victims’ procedural roles/procedural rights in ICC appeals.