Court Reports on the Treatment of Victims
In anticipation of the meeting of the states parties who are the 110 signatories to the treaty authorizing the International Criminal Court, the court has issued its report on the treatment of victims.
The court laid out five objectives in dealing with victims:
Objective 1:
Ensure that the role of the Court and its judicial activities are clearly
communicated to all victims of a situation or case potentially falling within the
jurisdiction of the Court, including their right to petition the Court (i.e. the right to give
information to the Prosecutor to form the basis of a proprio motu investigation), to
participate in proceedings at the Court or to seek reparation.
Objective 2:
To enable victims to interact with the Court without suffering further harm as a
result of this interaction, including by providing protective measures and security
arrangements at all stages.
Objective 3:
Provide support and assistance to victims in order to safeguard their
psychological and physical integrity and well-being, ensure respect for their dignity and
privacy, and prevent them from suffering further harm as a result of their interaction
with the Court.
Objective 4:
To ensure that victims are able to fully exercise their right to participate in ICC
proceedings, in a manner that is sensitive to their rights and interests and consistent
with the rights of the Defence and the need to ensure a fair trial.
Objective 5:
To ensure that as many victims as possible are able to exercise their rights as
regards reparation and to benefit from assistance.
Objective 6:
To ensure that victims obtain high-quality legal representation before the Court.
The document as a whole is available here.
Of note under objective six is that participation with counsel will be by the counsel chosen by the victim in making their application. If, however, the victim does not choose counsel, then representation will be by the Office of Public Counsel for Victims(OPCV). This is despite the subheading under objective six which states the counsel should be in the same country as the victim. Using the OPCV may reduce the cost to the court, but will the OPCV staff be able to provide information and advocacy to the many victims who will not be residing in The Netherlands, but still seek to participate?
There is a precarious balancing act between the rights of the accused, the rights of the victims and the witnesses, the ability to participate, the ability to seek reparations and the ability of the victims to have court-funded counsel. Since the victims have the right to seek court-funded counsel, it would seem more fair to allow them the opportunity to chose between the OPCV and counsel on the list who office where the victims live.
In the meantime, it would make sense for the victims who wish to participate to seek the assistance of counsel on the list to fill out the application and make sure they seek counsel who will be able to keep them updated on the process of their case. Victims who wish to participate and have counsel who are accessible to their current home should seek out those counsel rather than count on the court to assign counsel outside of the OPCV.
