Victims' Rights Law in the International Justice system are a relatively new but fascinating field. In the last twenty years domestic and international proceedings have progressively allowed victims of international crimes (ie. war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide) to participate, be legally represented and seek reparations. Through the study of victims' rights, students will be able to comprehend the complex nature of international justice mechanisms, from domestic extraterritorial or universal jurisdiction, to ad hoc and hybrid tribunals and the International Criminal Court.
The participation of victims in civil and criminal proceedings has raised numerous legal, political and trial management challenges that we will discuss, in an interactive manner throughout the course. Those challenges include mastering the fundamental differences between civil law (droit romano-germanique) and common law and how these legal systems have shaped the international justice mechanisms. Looking at the different rights that victims may claim and the challenges that it raises, this class will enable students to understand how prosecutorial discretion and politics are intertwined with the fight against impunity led by victims, victims associations and civil society around the world.
Given the scale and nature of the crimes involved, the course will also offer an in depth and insider views of how tribunals organize themselves (or fail to organize) the participation of numerous victims, their legal representation and their request for reparations. How can thousands or millions of victims claim their right to truth, justice and reparation? What are the legal representation schemes that exist? What kind of protection can they request when testifying or participating in such cases may put their physical integrity in danger? Can reparation be meaningful when the crimes committed are so atrocious that no traditional financial compensation may ever repair their physical, psychological and material prejudice?
The course will offer a world tour of the existing mechanisms that allow the participation of victims from Africa, South America, Asia or the Middle east and will also look at the geopolitics of the idea of a truly “universal” justice. We will look at the Nuremberg precedent, the two ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the International Criminal Court. We will also look at the principle of complementarity and the duty of all states to prosecute or extradite on the basis of their extra territorial jurisdiction. On this basis we will look into the Pinochet case in Europe and its aftermath in Chile, as well as ongoing extra territorial cases before French courts both against individuals and corporate accountability of multinationals in gross human rights violations.
The course will seek to open a debate about fair trial rights, issues of justice v. peace and reconciliation and what justice means for victims of international crimes. At the end of the 24 hours session, we will discuss fundamental questions such as "Who is international criminal justice imagined as being rendered for? Who are the beneficiaries or at least recipients of its work? And, relatedly, who is the “we” in international criminal justice? What is the legitimacy of international criminal tribunals?
The course is highlighting the pillars of transitional justice, (ustice, truth, reparations, non-repetition, and potentially, memorialization). It will include discussion on their link with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The debate will include the justice mechanisms during the post-conflict period, by introducing the perspective of victims, and raise awareness of the limitations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
A special focus would be plan on how to coordinate different measures and goals of transitional justice (like the classic "truth justice debate"), and some case studies should also be mentioned.
For the justice pillar, I think the historical perspective, which includes the history of war crimes, as well as the perspective of the limitations of war crimes prosecution in today's world should be discussed. For the truth pillar, the perspective of missing persons and practices in Latin America regarding the aspect of IHL in truth commissions could be mentioned. For the reparation pillar, the focus could be put on introducing the difference between reparations and compensation, and the practice of compensations/reparations for violations of IHL in history (e.g. after WWI and WWII, and through establishing a claim commission). The victims' perspective could be mentioned in the discussions about reparations as well. For the non-repetition pillar, the relationship between the respect of IHL and peace could be mentioned, while the topic of how the dissemination of IHL could change the behavior of combatants and fighters and therefore prevent war crimes could also be discussed. A suggestion for explaining the memorialization, the Memorial Museums in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the memorialization movement in Europe after WWII could be used as examples to demonstrate how people would react, remember and use memory of armed conflicts and war crimes.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Identify and discuss key developments and issues relating to the rights of victims of international crimes
2. Analyze International justice mechanisms in light of fair trial rights and victim's rights
3. Create and contribute to the Victims' rights International Journal by drafting an article and conducting an interview with a practitioner or academic in the field of victims' rights
4. Analyze the holistic approach to transitional justice, and how different transitional justice measures could complement IHL in ongoing conflicts or post-conflict settings.
5- Identify the limitations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) implementation and the link with the transitional justice.
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
Research & Analysis: Collecting and analyzing information to increase understanding of a topic or issue.
Oral communication: Communicating effectively and adequately orally.
Creative thinking: Looking at problems or situations from an original perspective.
Critical thinking: Engaging in reflective and independent thinking.
Understanding stakeholders: Understanding and taking into account the priorities and concerns of others.
Understanding multiculturalism: Adapting to and communicating with different audiences.
- Reading and Preparation for Class: 3 hours a week / 72 hours a semester
- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
2- An assessment of multiple-choices questions (40 %), due in May / June 2024.
3- Class participation and discussion 10 %