Practices of Reparations in International Criminal Justice

Explores how reparations in international criminal justice have been constituted and contested in various social contexts.

Christoph Sperfeldt (Author)

9781009166454, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 July 2022

456 pages, 8 b/w illus. 1 map 3 tables
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.1 cm, 0.7 kg

'Sperfeldt's work contributes to the understanding of reparations in international law, filling the gap between discussions of reparations and how reparations work in practice and showing how reparations, in practice, take on different meanings than they have in theory … Recommended.' W. R. Pruitt, Choice

Combining interdisciplinary techniques with original ethnographic fieldwork, Christoph Sperfeldt examines the first attempts of international criminal courts to provide reparations to victims of mass atrocities. The observations focus on two case studies: the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, where Sperfeldt spent over ten years working at and around, and the International Criminal Court's interventions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Enriched with first-hand observations and an awareness of contextual dynamics, this book directs attention to the 'social life of reparations' that too often get lost in formal accounts of law and its institutions. Sperfeldt shows that reparations are constituted and contested through a range of practices that produce, change, and give meaning to reparations. Appreciating the nature and effects of these practices provides us with a deeper understanding of the discrepancies that exist between the reparations ideal and how it functions imperfectly in different contexts.

Introduction
Background to the two case studies
Part I. Norm-Making: 1. Punishment and redress in international criminal justice
2. Negotiating
Part II. Engaging Survivors: 3. Targeting, participating and representing
4. Communicating and consulting
5. Assisting
Part III. Adjudicating: 6. Adjudicating at the ICC
7. Adjudicating at the ECCC
Part IV. Implementing: 8. Projectifying
9. Receiving and contesting
Conclusion
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: International criminal law [LBBZ], International human rights law [LBBR], Criminology: legal aspects [LAR], Law & society [LAQ], Law [L]