Fulfilling the mandate of national reconciliation in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)– An evaluation through the prison of victim’s rights.

Source: (2013) International Criminal Law Review. 13:865-894.

The central theme of this article is to assess whether the mandate of national reconciliation has
been fulñlled in the ECCC. Recent retreats in the scope of victims’ participatory rights reveal a
palpable gap between the Court’s rhetorical promises and the manifested reality. This article
begins with providing some justifications for the primitive role given to national reconciliation.
Then, in traversing the evolution of intemational criminal Justice, this article highlights its
departure from the traditional model of the exclusive retributive Justice paradigm. Rather,
there is a synergy of the retributive justice and the restorative justice paradigms within international
criminal trials in the 21st century. The expanded role of victims in proceedings and the
ECCC reparation regime will then be examined in this context. This article will thereafter
emphasize the recurrent themes that could promote victims’ rights and herald the fulfilment
of national reconciliation. (author’s abstract)