lecture tours       Dr. Ilaria Bottigliero Lecturer, Raoul Wallenberg Institute Sweden
Hanoi I Phnom Penh I Seoul I Beijing I Shanghai I Tokyo

Redress and International Criminal Justice

in Asia & Europe

Justice and redress for crime victims are basic principles that have been recognised around the world since time immemorial. The precepts that whoever commits an offence must be punished and that victims of offences deserve some form of compensation, run through ancient tribal customary law, major religious traditions, Roman Law, Medieval Law and the world's main legal systems.

The most striking paradox in this theme is that in all times and places, victims of ordinary crimes such as theft, robbery, assault or even murder, have generally had a much easier time obtaining justice and redress, as compared to victims of such massive crimes as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Often, even decades after the atrocities, perpetrators have remained at large, while victims have seen neither justice nor compensation. The reason for this paradox is simply that large-scale crimes have usually also rendered regular forms of criminal law enforcement and victims redress generally ineffective. Unstable political situations, weak human rights protection and a pervasive climate of impunity, in turn leave social trauma and suffering unaddressed, which then feed into a cycle of resentment, violence and conflict.

Over the last century, countries in both Asia and Europe have witnessed severe human rights and humanitarian law violations involving large numbers of victims, often committed during armed conflict or serious civil unrest. With the aid of case studies and current examples from both Asia and Europe, this lecture outlines how a lack of basic justice or redress for victims of major crimes ultimately undermines the rule of law, human security and the full enjoyment of human rights. The lecture discusses prospects and challenges for the better application of international standards on criminal justice and redress for such violations, with a particular focus on the potential role of the International Criminal Court.