"The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Rome in 1998 is a milestone for humanity and a watershed in the life of victims of ongoing violations or wars. The Preamble to the Rome Statute of the ICC acknowledges that 'during this century [20th century] millions of children, women and men have been victims of unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity'. This dissertation explores the development and state of victims' rights in international criminal law. ... The study consists of five chapters. Chapter one will provide the context in which the study is set. It oulines the basis and structure of the study. Chapter two endeavours to define some of the basic concepts central to the study: victim, witness, compensation, reparation, redress, restitution, etc. This chapter will give a brief overview of victims' rights in the domestic system. It will also analyse the right to an effective remedy in international law with specific focus on the UN human rights system and on regional systems. Chapter three will outline victims' rights before the ad hoc international criminal tribunals and hybrid courts. These tribunals and courts are the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Special Court of Sierra Leone (SCSL), Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECC), and the Special Pannels for Serious Crimes in East Timor (SPSC). Chapter four is devoted [to] the ICC. It will focus on its provisions dealing with victims' rights and assess whether this mechanism makes effective allowance for victims to be heard and compensated. Chapter five will consist of a summary of the entire presentation and the conclusions drawn from the study. It will make some recommendations for the adequate protection of victims' rights." -- Introduction. / Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Raymond Koen at the Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2006. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This dissertation intends to analyse the practice of amnesties in the context of grave human rights violations using northern Uganda as a case study. It also examines its consistency with the obligation upon states to protect human rights through the prosecution of perpetrators of the said violations. It will, accordingly, analyse the implications of the complementary mandate of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to national jurisdictions. Furthermore, the author also explores the tension which results from national amnesties and the principle of international criminal responsibility, a principle that the ICC has the mandate to enforce. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2007. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Dr Ben Kiromba Twinomugisha of the Faculty of Law, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

„We need to defend culture – source of resilience and resistance, of belonging and identity – as a wellspring to rebuild and restore normality in societies in crisis” – mit diesem Aufruf forderte die ehemalige UNESCO-Generaldirektorin Irina Bokova eine Reaktion der internationalen Gemeinschaft auf die Schändungen materieller und immaterieller Kulturgüter durch die Terrormiliz IS im Irak und Syrien. So besteht Palmyra – Symbol kultureller Vielfalt und interkulturellen Dialogs – zwar in seinen Grundfesten fort, die Zerstörung von Statuen, Vandalismus an prähistorischen Tempeln und Sprengungen des Triumphbogens lassen Experten jedoch schlussfolgern: „Palmyra remains, but its legacy is forever transformed“. Die Zerstörung materiellen Kulturerbes bildet längst nicht alle Schandtaten der Terrormiliz ab; gleichzeitig trachtet sie nach der Zerstörung der distinkten Kultur ganzer Volksgruppen. In ihren Angriffen auf die Jesiden blieb es nicht bei der Zerstörung heiliger Schreine. Auch immaterielle Ausdrucksformen von Kultur sind Gegenstand systematischer Angriffe. Durch Zerstörung materieller und immaterieller Kulturgüter zeichnete der IS verantwortlich für „unprecedented cultural eradication“. Irina Bokova folgerte, „we are witnessing what can be described as ‚cultural cleansing‘ on an unprecedented scale.“ Eine wichtige Rolle in der Bestrebung, die Kulturen der Welt vor solchen Gräueltaten zu schützen, kommt der strafrechtlichen Ahndung letzterer zu. Vor diesem Hintergrund hält der Terminus kultureller Genozid Einzug in die Debatten. Die vorliegende Abhandlung führt zunächst in das Konzept kulturellen Genozids ein und analysiert seinen Status nach geltendem Recht. Daraufhin erfolgt eine Analyse der neueren Völkerrechtspraxis, um festzustellen, inwiefern im Hinblick auf die rechtliche Behandlung des kulturellen Genozids Reformbedarf besteht. Sodann werden Reformmöglichkeiten vorgestellt und bewertet. Am Ende dieses Beitrages soll ein Überblick über den Mehrwert eines potenziellen Straftatbestands kulturellen Genozids und zukünftige Schritte in Reaktion auf die derzeit von Extremisten begangenen Verbrechen an Kultur stehen.

[pt] Entre 06 de abril a 20 de julho de 1994, após a queda do avião que transportava, dentre outros passageiros, o então presidente de Ruanda, Juvenal Habyarimana, ocorreu um dos maiores genocídios da história contemporânea, o genocídio em Ruanda. De forma organizada e sistemática, estima-se que entre 800.000 a 1.000.000 pessoas, tutsis em especial, tenham sido exterminadas. Através da Resolução número 955/94, o Conselho de Segurança da ONU demonstrou preocupação com as graves violações do Direito Internacional Humanitário, ocorridas no território ruandês. Nesse sentido, foi criado o Tribunal Penal Internacional para Ruanda (TPIR), com mandato para apurar os crimes praticados durante o genocídio daquele país e punir os responsáveis por estes crimes. O presente estudo tem por objetivo verificar as contribuições do TPIR para o Direito Internacional Penal e a Justiça Penal Internacional. Verificou-se que o TPIR auxiliou na definição e elaboração de diversos conceitos sobre os crimes internacionais centrais previstos no Estatuto do TPIR e na Convenção de Genocídio de 1948. Ainda, produziu farta jurisprudência e grande corpus de direito material e processual, e efetuou a responsabilização dos grandes líderes do genocídio em questão. Desta forma, contribuiu para a evolução do Direito Internacional Penal e também para a criação de um Tribunal Penal Internacional Permanente. / [en] Between April 6 and July 20, 1994, after the plane crash carrying, among other passengers, the then president of Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana, one of the greatest genocides in contemporary history took place, the genocide in Rwanda. In an organized and systematic way, it is estimated that between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people, Tutsis in particular, were exterminated. Through Resolution number 955/94, the UN Security Council expressed concern about the serious violations of international humanitarian law that occurred in Rwanda. In this sense, the International Criminal Court of Rwanda (ICTR) was created, with a mandate to investigate the crimes committed during the genocide of that country and punish those responsible for these crimes. This study aims to verify the contributions of the ICTR to International Criminal Law and International Criminal Justice. It appears that the ICTR assisted in the definition and elaboration of several concepts on the central international crimes provided for in the ICTR Statute and in the 1948 Genocide Convention. Furthermore, it produced abundant jurisprudence and a large corpus of substantive and procedural law, and effected the accountability of the great leaders of the genocide in question. In this way, it contributed to the evolution of International Criminal Law and a creation of a permanent international criminal court.

[pt] Esta tese analisa o processo de contestação iniciado pelos Estados africanos em relação ao Caso Al Bashir no Tribunal Penal Internacional. A promulgação por esses Estados de práticas de contestação representou um momento sem precedentes na prática do direito penal internacional. Não apenas os Estados se engajaram com o Tribunal por meio de uma vasta gama de práticas, mas também essa participação gerou um nível alto de escrutínio de estudiosos e profissionais do direito internacional. Ao longo da resposta ao envolvimento africano com o TPI, esteve constantemente presente a conhecida mobilização da fronteira entre direito e política. Uma posição frequente nas reações dos praticantes foi a de que a política não deveria ocorrer no ambiente do Tribunal e a prática do direito internacional deve ser capaz de transcendê-la. A análise desta tese centra-se nestes dois elementos: as práticas de contestação realizadas pelos Estados africanos e as respostas dadas pelo Tribunal. Nesta tese, questiono se a forma como o Tribunal deu sentido a essas práticas por meio da divisão do trabalho entre direito e política afetou a capacidade desses Estados contestadores de provocar mudanças no direito internacional. Por meio dessa pergunta, procuro capturar os aspectos mais significativos que estão velados não apenas nas práticas de contestação, mas na atribuição de significados em resposta a elas. Esse esforço requer um exame dos padrões de significado subjacentes a essas práticas e narrativas, pois apontam para as condições que permitem que certos atores questionem a autoridade. Argumento que a criação de uma fronteira entre o que pertence à esfera do direito e à esfera da política é em si uma postura política que tem consequências na forma como o direito internacional é praticado. A forma como o direito e a política são mobilizados nas práticas argumentativas do direito internacional criam um conjunto de barreiras para que certas práticas de contestação realizadas pelos Estados africanos em relação ao Caso Al Bashir no TPI, quando enquadradas como política, não tenham chance de provocar a mudança em primeiro lugar. / [en] This thesis works through the process of contestation embarked by African States in relation to the Al Bashir Case in the International Criminal Court. The enactment by these States of practices of contestation represented an unprecedented moment in the practice of international criminal law. Not only were States engaging with the Court through a vast array of practices, but also this participation generated an enormous level of scrutiny from scholars and practitioners of international law. Throughout the response to the African engagement with the ICC was the familiar mobilization of the frontier between law and politics. A frequent position in the practitioners reactions was that politics should not take place in the environment of the Court, and the practice of international law should be able to transcend it. The analysis of this thesis focuses on these two features: the practices of contestation performed by African States and the responses it engendered from the Court. In this thesis, I question whether the way the Court made sense of these practices through the division of labour between law and politics affected the ability of these contesting States of engendering change in international law. Through this question, I seek to grasp the more significant aspects that are veiled not only in the practices of contestation but in the attribution of meanings in response to them. This endeavour requires an examination of the patterns of meaning underlying these practices and narratives, as they point to the conditions that allow certain actors to question authority. I argue that the creation of a boundary between what belongs to the realm of law and the sphere of politics is itself a political stance that has consequences on the way international law is enacted. The way law and politics are mobilized in the argumentative practices of international law creates a set of barriers so that certain practices of contestation being performed by African States in relation to the Al Bashir Case in the ICC, when framed as politics, do not stand a chance to provoke change in the first place.

L’utilisation croissante de l’information audiovisuelle devant les tribunaux de droit pénal international indique une trajectoire qui oblige à considérer plus attentivement les enjeux soulevés par ce type de preuve à partir de sa collecte, sa conservation jusqu’à son utilisation dans le cadre d’un procès. Ces enjeux peuvent être variés et se rattacher à la véracité, l’authenticité et l’intégrité du contenu d’une telle information. Dans le cadre de ce mémoire, nous plaidons, au moins, pour une approche rigoureuse dans l’évaluation de la preuve audiovisuelle, et ce, tout au long du processus judiciaire d’une affaire devant la CPI, ou au plus, pour un encadrement objectif des règles applicables à la preuve audiovisuelle, et ce, en s’écartant du principe général de souplesse et de flexibilité fortement ancré dans la culture de l’administration de la preuve devant cette institution, pour adopter une approche stricte et rigoureuse. Laquelle favoriserait, d’une part, l’application du critère préalable de fiabilité lors de la phase de l’introduction d’un élément de preuve audiovisuel, et d’autre part, l’application d’une méthode d’évaluation de la preuve audiovisuelle basée sur le modèle d’admission. La présence d’une phase préalable d’analyse substantielle des éléments sensibles, tels que les éléments de preuve audiovisuels, n’implique pas forcément une perte du pouvoir discrétionnaire des juges à renvoyer l’évaluation des éléments de preuve introduits à la fin du processus. L’enjeu fondamental réside dans le fait que le critère préalable de fiabilité et le modèle d’admission permettraient de tempérer le pouvoir discrétionnaire des juges et favoriseraient une analyse plus diligente et rigoureuse des éléments de preuve audiovisuels. À notre avis, cette démarche devra être initiée par les juges des chambres préliminaires et de première instance, en leur qualité de juges de faits et de la preuve, et se concrétiser sur le terrain par les premiers et différents intervenants impliqués dans le processus judiciaire de cette institution. / The increasing use of audiovisual information before international criminal courts is indicative of a trajectory that calls for a closer look at the issues raised by this type of evidence, from its collection and preservation to its use in court. These issues can be varied and relate to the veracity, authenticity and integrity of the content of such information. In this research Paper, we argue for at least a rigorous approach to the evaluation of digital evidence, throughout the judicial process of a case before the ICC, or at most, an objective framing of the rules applicable to digital evidence, departing from the general principle of flexibility strongly rooted in the culture of the administration of evidence before this institution, in favor of a strict and rigorous approach. This would favor the application of the preliminary criterion of reliability when introducing audiovisual evidence, and the application of a method for evaluating audiovisual evidence based on the admission model. The presence of a substantial preliminary analysis phase for sensitive elements, such as digital evidence, does not necessarily imply a loss of judicial discretion to defer the evaluation of the evidence produced to the end of the process. What is fundamentally at stake is the fact that the prior reliability criterion and the admission model would temper judicial discretion and encourage a more diligent and rigorous analysis of digital evidence. In our opinion, this approach should be initiated by the judges of the preliminary and trial chambers, in their capacity as judges of fact and evidence, and implemented in the field by the first and various stakeholders involved in the judicial process of this institution.

This thesis considers the extent to which the International Criminal Court's Office of the Prosecutor ('OTP') has been successful in realising its self-defined mandate of ending impunity in Kenya. In particular, it focuses on the OTP's attempts to encourage domestic investigations and prosecutions as part of its strategy of positive complementarity. This strategy has been hailed as being the best and perhaps the only way that the OTP may use its finite resources to make a significant contribution to ending impunity. Despite this, no empirical study has been published that evaluates the effectiveness of this strategy and the impact that it has on ending impunity in the targeted situation country. This thesis seeks to address this gap in the literature by conducting a case study on the OTP's implementation of its strategy of positive complementarity in Kenya following that country's post-election violence in 2007/08. In doing so, I also hope to make a modest contribution to existing debates over the effectiveness of the ICC as an institution as well as international criminal justice and transitional justice more generally.

L'incorporation du Statut de Rome de la Cour pénale internationale dans l’ordre juridique d'un État partie représente pour celui-ci un énorme engagement envers la justice, la protection et la garantie des droits fondamentaux de la personne humaine. La situation est particulièrement préoccupante dans le cas de la Colombie où la violation de ces droits fondamentaux a historiquement été notoire au cours du conflit armé interne qui sévit encore dans le pays aujourd’hui. Du fait de la ratification du Statut de Rome par l'État colombien, ce pays a le devoir de privilégier la recherche de la vérité, de la justice, de la réparation intégrale et les garanties de non-répétition pour les victimes du conflit armé. Ce traité international vise à empêcher la mise en place de règles consacrant l'impunité et empêchant de connaître la vérité de faits, comme ce qui a longtemps été le cas dans ce pays et qui a entraîné la prolongation du conflit pendant tant d'années. L'adoption du Statut de Rome par l'État colombien a produit différents effets juridiques dans le droit interne colombien. Certains de ces effets peuvent être observés dans les lois adoptées par le Congrès de la République ainsi que dans les arrêts de la Cour constitutionnelle et de la Cour suprême de justice où s'expriment les obligations internationales de l'État, rattachées au respect du système universel des droits de l'homme. Ce mémoire vise ainsi entre autres à exposer de quelle manière les dispositions sur les amnisties et la Loi Justice et paix rendent inefficace la mise en œuvre législative du Statut de Rome en Colombie. / The incorporation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court into the domestic legal system of a State Party constitutes an enormous commitment to justice and the protection and guarantee of fundamental human rights. This situation is especially interesting in Colombia, where the violation of human rights has been historically well-known during the internal armed conflict in which the country has gone through for several years now. Since its ratification of the Rome Statute, Colombia has a duty to search for truth and justice, as well as providing for integral repair and guarantees of non-repetition for the victims of the armed conflict. The treaty does not allow the creation of rules that allow for impunity and prevent knowledge of the truth which can explain that the conflict has persisted for so many years. The implementation of the Rome Statute by Colombia adjustment has produced different legal effects into its legal system. Some of these effects can be observed in certain laws adopted by the Congress of the Republic and in the Constitutional’s Court and the Supreme Court of Justice’s judgements. These laws and judgments have relied on the international obligations of the country contained in human rights treaties and the Statute of Rome. This master thesis exposes, among other things, how the provisions of laws relating to amnesties and the Law Justice and peace make the Rome Statute inefficient in Colombia.

Si le respect du droit à un procès équitable devrait occuper une place éminente au sein de toute société démocratique, cette exigence revêt un caractère axiomatique au sein d'une juridiction tournée vers la lutte contre l'impunité et la protection des droits de l'homme, telle que la Cour pénale internationale. Le peu de jugements rendus depuis plus de dix ans par la Cour permanente pourrait laisser penser qu'une telle étude est encore prématurée. Cette analyse met au contraire en exergue la densité de son activité et la singularité de ses procédures. Sacralisé par la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme, le droit à un procès équitable se décline en règles qui régissent non seulement les relations entre les parties mais aussi les rapports des individus avec la juridiction. Si la notion de droit à un procès équitable est familière des juristes, son interprétation pose un certain nombre de difficultés nouvelles. L'hybridité structurelle et normative de la Cour pénale internationale influencera nécessairement la réception que celle-ci réservera au principe, mais également l'interprétation unique qu'il conviendra de donner à ce droit fondamental. Prenant acte du caractère novateur de cette juridiction, cette thèse n'omettra pas d'envisager le droit à un procès équitable sous le prisme singulier de la victime, nouveau visage du procès. Souvent exclue du débat judiciaire relatif à l'équité des procédures, cette analyse s'attèle à replacer cet acteur au coeur des préoccupations régissant la conduite équitable du procès. / While the right to a fair trial should be at the heart of any democratic society, this requirement has an axiomatic significance in a court dedicated to the fight against impunity and the protection of human rights, such as the International Criminal Court. In view of the few judgments rendered in over ten years of this permanent Court's existence, this study might seem somewhat premature.Rather, this analysis purports to shed light on the diverse nature of the Court's activities and the unique character of its procedures. Enshrined by the European Court of Human Rights, the right to a fair trial is expressed in the form of regulations that govern not only the relationships between the parties, but also the interaction of individuals with the Court. The concept of the right to a fair trial may be familiar to legal experts trained in different legal traditions. Still its interpretation is fraught with challenges that are new and specific to this permanent Court. The structural and normative hybridity of the ICC will inevitably influence not only the treatment of this concept, but also the unique interpretation that this fundamental right deserves. Against the backdrop of the innovative nature of this Court, it would be remiss of the author of this thesis not to consider the right to a fair trial through the unique prism of the victim, the new face in the trial. Often excluded from the judicial debate on the fairness of the proceedings, this analysis will nevertheless endeavour to place this stakeholder back in the heart of the concerns over the conduct of a fair trial.

Právnická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy v Praze Katedra mezinárodního práva Mgr. Pavel Bureš Human Rights in International Criminal Procedure Praha 2011 2 Abstract The rapid development of International Criminal Law in the second half of 20th century and especially on its end is marked by a proliferation of international criminal judicial organs and thereby by a huge increase and development of procedural norms determining these organs' jurisdiction and functioning but also specifying procedural status of individuals - suspected and accused persons, victims. The submitted thesis focuses on one of the aspects of individuals procedural status, namely their procedural guarantees - human rights in international criminal procedure. The analyse of human rights in international criminal procedure (the proceedings before International Criminal Court) was done having been backed by statutory regulations of international military tribunals and ad hoc tribunal for Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and their case-law. The hypothetical start point was to consider that procedural guarantees in the ICC procedure established by Rome Statute in 1998 are on a highest level and more detailed than these guarantees enshrined in ad hoc tribunals Statutes and even in international universal or regional human rights protecting...