The Right to Reparation in International Law for Victims of Armed Conflict
Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law Series

In this evaluation of the international legal standing of the right to reparation and its practical implementation at the national level, Christine Evans outlines State responsibility and examines the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, the Articles on State Responsibility of the International Law Commission and the convergence of norms in different branches of international law, notably human rights law, humanitarian law and international criminal law. Case studies of countries in which the United Nations has played a significant role in peace negotiations and post-conflict processes allow her to analyse to what extent transitional justice measures have promoted State responsibility for reparations, interacted with human rights mechanisms and prompted subsequent elaboration of domestic legislation and reparations policies. In conclusion, she argues for an emerging customary right for individuals to receive reparations for serious violations of human rights and a corresponding responsibility of States.

1. Introduction, objectives and method; Part I. Responsibility and Legal Standards: 2. State responsibility, the international legal order and development of legal norms for victims; 3. Human rights jurisprudence on reparations, international and regional; 4. Victims' rights in international criminal law; 5. Legal state of play: convergence of international law and reparation as an individual legal right with customary recognition; Part II. Transferring Standards into Reality: 6. The role of the UN, promotion of victims' rights and reparations in practice; 7. Case study: reparations in Guatemala; 8. Case study: reparations in Sierra Leone; 9. Case study: reparations in East Timor; 10. Case study: reparations in Colombia; 11. Reparations in practice: comparative analysis of practice, lessons learnt and future challenges; 12. The right to reparation and implementation of the legal norm: emerging convergence of law and practice?

Christine Evans is a staff member of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.