A chief concern? Victims and extraterritorial atrocity prosecution

• In Event: Victim Rights, Victim Values

Abstract

Extraterritorial atrocity prosecutions are often at least prima facie legitimized by their concern with victims and victim-communities. This is visible at the ICC, as well as in domestic prosecution of international crimes, for instance relating to the wars in Syria and Ukraine and the prosecution of the downing of Flight MH17. In (some of) these cases, the prosecution increasingly invests in additional lines of communication to victim communities than merely through courtroom proceedings. Based on a case study of participation of the survivors of the victims of MH17, the paper will analyze the prosecutors’ communication with victim communities and the world-at-large in light of theories of the expressive purpose of international criminal justice and of the (changing) role of the prosecutor. To what extent can victims’ interests be seen as a main motivation for extraterritorial atrocity prosecution and what does this reveal about the role of the prosecutor more generally?

Author

• Marieke de Hoon, University of Amsterdam