CYIL 2013

AGATA FOKSA CYIL 4 ȍ2013Ȏ injury to, or in respect of, victims. 10 Furthermore, the Rome Statute provides for two ways of making an order for reparations, either directly against a convicted person by the ICC, or through the Trust Fund under Article 75(2) after inviting and taking into consideration of the representations from or on behalf of the convicted person, victims, or other interested parties. 11 In the light of Rule 97(1) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the reparations may be awarded either on an individual or collective basis, with States Parties required to give effect to all decisions taken by the ICC on the basis of Article 75(6) of the RS. Trust Fund for Victims The establishment of theTrust Fund forVictims (TFV) is undeniablyunprecedented in international law. It was created as a tool which could be used by the victims of crimes before the Court to be compensated for the harm suffered. 12 Moreover, it operates under the legal framework of the Rome Statute, Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and Regulations of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP). 13 Articles 75 and 79 set out two different functions of the TFV, namely a means through which the Court grants reparations under the former, and a body that collects punitive damages and voluntary contributions established by the latter. 14 In the light of Rule 85, victims are those natural persons who have suffered harm as a result of the commission of any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court, and may include organizations or institutions that have sustained direct harm to any of their property. 15 As regards sources of funding, the TFV is authorized to receive funds based on: (a) voluntary contributions made by Governments, international organizations, individuals, corporations and other entities; (b) money and other property collected through fines or forfeitures pursuant to Article 79(2); (c) resources collected through awards for reparations if ordered by the Court; and (d) resources, other than assessed contributions, allocated to the TFV by the ASP. 16 It is important to notice that the TFV is independent from the administration of the Court and the development of the relations between these two bodies can be based either on a direct order of reparations by the Court from the convicted person without the involvement of the TFV, or situations included in Rules 98(2)-98(4), when the awards will be ordered through the TFV. In the second scenario, the Court may either identify the amount of reparations and the group of recipients, or call upon the TFV to advise on the these matters. The order may also take a form of framework principles, leaving the 10 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, UN Doc. A/CONF.183/9 (1998), Article 75(1). 11 ibid, Article 75(3). 12 Peter G. Fischer, The Victims’ Trust Fund Of the International Criminal Court- Formation of a Functional Reparations Scheme , Emory International Law Review, Spring 2003, p. 189. 13 K. De Feyter, S.Parmentier, Out of the Ashes. Reparation for Victims of Gross and Systematic Human Rights Violations , Intersentia, Antwerpen- Oxford, 2005, p. 228. 14 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, UNDoc. A/CONF.183/9 (1998), Articles 75 and 79. 15 International Criminal Court, Rules of Procedure and Evidence, U.N. Doc. PCNICC/2000/1/Add.1 (2000) Rule 85. 16 Resolution ICC-ASP/1/Res.6.