Victims' Participation In The Proceedings Before The International Criminal Court

The victims'participation regime, established by the International Criminal Court (ICC) according to its Statute and Rules of Procedure, is a landmark development for restorative justice. Under this regime, victims are granted an active and independent status significantly beyond that of mere claimants for compensation or passive witnesses. Consequently, this regime can serve as a special and unique psychological healing process for the victims. However, it is inevitable that it will also pose challenges to the traditional criminal justice procedure, which puts prosecutor and defendant at its two dimensions.. Therefore, it is important to make a balance among the victims'participatory rights, procuratorial power of the prosecutor and defendants' due process right recognized by the international human rights law. Nevertheless, as one of the most important achievements of the restorative justice, the significance of the regime shall not be questioned.