Jan
26

Second ICC trial resumes

The trial of Germain Katanga and Matthieu Ngdolo Chui resumed today at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.  This is the second ICC case to proceed to trial.  Katanga and Chui are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity as part of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  They are charged specifically with an attack on the Bagoro village.

War crimes include attacks by armed combatants on civilians, targeting civilians rather than other combatants is a focus of current war crimes prosecutions.  The Katanga and Chui trial was delayed in December when one of the three judges was injured in a car accident.  The court’s press release on the resumption is available here.

Jan
26

Victims Called back by Defense in Lubanga Case

The defense in the Thomas Lubanga case called two of the witnesses back to testify.  The victims had testified last week on their own behalf, as part of the court’s process allowing victims to seek reparations.  The victims had previously testified in closed session and were questioned again in closed session so it is not clear what the substance of the testimony was.

The court allows victims seeking reparations to participate anonymously and allows questioning in closed session to protect the identity of victims.  Some details of the day’s events are here.

Thomas Lubanga is the first case to go to trial at the International Criminal Court and these victims are the first to use the court’s process to seek reparations.  Thomas Lubanga is accused of using child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was brought to the court in 2007 his trial started in January 2008.

Jan
22

Third Lubanga Victim Testifies Seeking Reparations

A third child soldier victim of Thomas Lubanga testified about the treatment of young soldiers at the direction of Lubanga.  The victim testified about his abduction and conscription into the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC in French).  A detailed report on the day of testimony is available here.

The testimony is part of the court’s unique process allowing the victims to participate in the case as it goes on, and to seek reparations.  The reparations will be funded by the victims fund, persons convicted may be directed to contribute by paying fines as well as serving sentences, but the fund will also be supported the state’s parties.

Persons who have a potential claim before the court can seek victim’s status and appointed counsel to represent their interests.  A person who applies may choose their own lawyer at the time of the application, or they will be assigned to the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims, which will handle the case within their pool of cases.

Jan
21

Lubanga Victims Testify

The Lubanga trial entered an unprecedented phase last week as the victims who are seeking reparations from Lubanga and the court testified about the harm they suffered because of Lubanga.  The victims tesitfied about their experiences being abducted as child soldiers and of others being held in sexual slavery. A summary of the testimony of the  first week of victims seeking reparations is available here.

The ICC process is unique in the history of war crimes prosecutions.  Never before have the victims of war crimes had an opportunity to seek reparations and never have they had the opportunity to participate in the case as it is going on.  This creates a difficulty for the defense as they have to defend the case on multiple fronts.  Reparations will be funded not just by the parties convicted, but by a victims fund which the member states contribute to.

Victims may seek reparations, including psychological and physical rehabilitation services. To assist them in seeking reparations, victims may request appointed counsel of their choosing, if they do not select counsel, they will be represented by the Office of Public Counsel for Victims.   Appointed counsel will not be funded by the courts and not by the victims personally.

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