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Representing Victims Who Have Been Subject to Violent Sexual or Reproductive Crimes

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Victim Advocacy before the International Criminal Court

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Abstract

Legal representatives of victims of violent sexual or reproductive crimes guide victims through the judicial proceedings. Their role is to represent the ‘views and concerns’ of the victims, to persuade the court that victims’ experiences can add to establishing the truth and therefore that they should be allowed to participate to the judicial proceedings. As a corollary, legal representatives should manage victims’ expectations of what the judicial may be able to achieve for them. The challenge for legal representatives is to acknowledge the specificity of this category of victims, but also their bravery and resilience in coming forward. Effective legal representation must therefore understand the suffering of victims in order to devise the best way to represent victims and should be developed around the victims’ security, emotional and physical needs. To do so in a meaningful manner presents major difficulties.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    UNSC Resolution S/C/2106, 24 June 2013, p. 1.

  2. 2.

    Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), July 17, 1998, 2187 U.N.T.S, Article 68(3): “[w]here the personal interests of victims are affected, the Court shall permit their views and concerns to be presented and considered at stages of the proceedings determined to be appropriate by the Court and in a manner which is not prejudicial to or inconsistent with the rights of the accused and a fair and impartial trial”.

  3. 3.

    The Office of Public Counsel for Victims, Representing Victims before the International Criminal Court – A Manual for Legal Representatives, 5th edition, 2019. https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=pr1447. Accessed 25 March 2020.

  4. 4.

    UNSC Resolution S/C/2106, 24 June 2013.

  5. 5.

    ICC-02/11-01/12.

  6. 6.

    ICC-02/11-01/11.

  7. 7.

    ICC-02/11-01/11.

  8. 8.

    ICC-02/05-01/12.

  9. 9.

    ICC-02/05-01/09.

  10. 10.

    ICC-02/05-01-07.

  11. 11.

    ICC-02/05-01/05.

  12. 12.

    ICC-01/05-01/08.

  13. 13.

    ICC-01/04-02/12.

  14. 14.

    ICC-01/01-01/12.

  15. 15.

    ICC-01/01-01/10.

  16. 16.

    ICC-01/01-02/06.

  17. 17.

    On the 30th June 2013, in the Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubango Dyilo the application of 120 victims were accepted, in the Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga, the application of 364 victims were accepted, in the Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo the application of 5229 victims were accepted, in the Prosecutor v. Ruto and Sang, the application of 327 victims were accepted, in the Prosecutor v. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, the application of 233 victims were accepted and in the Prosecutor v. Laurent Gbagbo, the application of 199 victims were accepted. These figures were produced by Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice (2014) Gender Report Card 2013, available at http://www.iccwomen.org/news/docs/WI-GRC13_launch/GRC13_launch.html. Accessed 21 February 2020.

  18. 18.

    Rome Statute, Article 68(3).

  19. 19.

    RPE, Rules 89–93.

  20. 20.

    The Prosecutor v. Kony et al., n. ICC -02/04-01/05-134, 1 February 2007, paras. 2–12.

  21. 21.

    The Prosecutor v. Kony et al., ibid. at para 48.

  22. 22.

    See Situation in Uganda, n. ICC-02/04-105, Pre-Trial Chamber II (Single Judge), 28 August 2007, pp. 4–5.

  23. 23.

    The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo, ICC-01/04-01/07, Order on the Organisation of Common Legal Representation of Victims, 22 July 2009 at para 7.

  24. 24.

    RPE, Rule 90(2) and Rule 22(1).

  25. 25.

    The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang, ICC-01/09-01/11-267. This rationalisation has also been applied in the Prosecutor v. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, ICC-01/09-01/11.

  26. 26.

    The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang, ICC-01/09-01/11-460 para. 60.

  27. 27.

    Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice Report Card 2013, p. 181.

  28. 28.

    The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang, ICC-01/09-01/11-460, paras. 42–43. At the request of the Trial Chamber, the Registry and OPVC have prepared a joint proposal: ‘OPVC’s Proposal on the Division of Responsibilities and Effective Functioning of the Common Legal Representative System’, 17 October 2013.

  29. 29.

    RPE, Rule 90(6).

  30. 30.

    ASP, Report of the Court on the strategy in relation to victims, ICC-ASP/8/45, 18–26 November 2009, p. 10.

  31. 31.

    RPE, Rule 22(1).

  32. 32.

    RPE, Rule 22(1).

  33. 33.

    Rome Statute, Article 68(3).

  34. 34.

    RPE, Rule 17.

  35. 35.

    Office of the Prosecution for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Prosecution of Sexual Violence – Best Practices Manual for the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Violence Crimes in Post-Conflict Regions: Lessons Learned from the Office of the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, 30 January 2014.

  36. 36.

    RPE, Rule 17(2)(a)(iv).

  37. 37.

    Rome Statute, Article 68(1).

  38. 38.

    RPE, Rule 17(2)(a)(i) & (ii) and 16.

  39. 39.

    World Health Organisation (2003) Guidelines for Medico-Legal Care for Victims of Sexual Violence, Geneva. https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/violence/med_leg_guidelines/en/. Accessed 25 March 2020.

  40. 40.

    RPE, Rule 17(2)(a)(iii).

  41. 41.

    Rome Statute and Elements of Crimes, Article 7(1)(g) -1.

  42. 42.

    Rome Statute and Elements of Crimes, Article 7(1)(g) - 2.

  43. 43.

    Rome Statute and Elements of Crimes, Article 7(1)(g) -3.

  44. 44.

    Rome Statute and Elements of Crimes, Article 7(1)(g) - 4.

  45. 45.

    Rome Statute and Elements of Crimes, Article 7(1)(g) - 5.

  46. 46.

    Rome Statute and Elements of Crimes, Article 7(1)(g) – 6.

  47. 47.

    Rome Statute and Elements of Crime 6(a).

  48. 48.

    Rome Statute and Elements of Crime, Article 6(b)(4) and 6(d)(5).

  49. 49.

    Rome Statute, Article 7(1)(g).

  50. 50.

    Rome Statute, Article 8(2)(b)(xxi) & (xxii), Article 8(2)(c)(ii), Article 8(2)(e)(vi).

  51. 51.

    Rome Statute, Article 25(3)(c).

  52. 52.

    The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga, ICC-01/04-01/06, Judgment on the Appeals of the Prosecution and the Defence against Trial Chamber I’s Decision on Victims’ Participation of 18 January 2008, 11 July 2008, at 33.

  53. 53.

    Rome Statute, Article 68(1) and RPE, Rule 16(1)(d).

  54. 54.

    The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga, ICC-01/04-01/06, Judgment on the Appeals of the Prosecution and the Defence against Trial Chamber I’s Decision on Victims’ Participation of 18 January 2008, 11 July 2008, at 33.

  55. 55.

    RPE, Rule 92. in particular r. 92(3).

  56. 56.

    Rome Statute, July 17, 1998, 2187 U.N.T.S, Article, art. 68(3).

  57. 57.

    The Prosecutor v. Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, Case No. ICC-02/05-02/09-136 17–18; Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Gombo Bemba, Case No. ICC-01/05-01/08-320 101.

  58. 58.

    See the Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, ICC-01/04-01/06-462-tEN 6 and ICC-01/04-01/06-1119, Trial Chamber I, 18 January 2008, par. 117; Prosecutor v. Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, at 19; Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, ICC-01/04-01/07-1665, Trial Chamber II, 20 November 2009, p. 9; Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Gombo Bemba, at 102.

  59. 59.

    The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, ICC-01/04-01/07-1665, Trial Chamber II, 20 November 2009, paras 19–30.

  60. 60.

    The Prosecutor v. Katanga & Ngudjolo Chui, Case No. ICC-01/04-01/07, Decision on the Modalities of Victim Participation at Trial, paras 72, 74–75, 78–81, 94, 99 (Jan. 22, 2010). http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc831030.pdf. Accessed 21 February 2020.

  61. 61.

    The Prosecutor v. Katanga & Ngudjolo Chui, Case No. ICC-01/04-01/07, Decision on the Modalities of Victim Participation at Trial, paras 81, 107, 121–22.

  62. 62.

    The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, ICC-01/04-01/07-1665, at para 7.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Solange Mouthaan

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  1. Solange Mouthaan
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Correspondence to Solange Mouthaan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Member, List of Counsel, International Criminal Court, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Elizabeth King

  2. President of Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Rianne Letschert

  3. School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University, East Lismore, NSW, Australia

    Sam Garkawe

  4. International Law, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

    Erin Pobjie

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Mouthaan, S. (2022). Representing Victims Who Have Been Subject to Violent Sexual or Reproductive Crimes. In: King, E., Letschert, R., Garkawe, S., Pobjie, E. (eds) Victim Advocacy before the International Criminal Court. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56733-0_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56733-0_12

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