The Rights of Participating Victims to Appeal and Participate in the Appeal Against Interlocutory Decisions and Trial Judgments

Abstract

Appeals against decisions at international criminal courts can generally be classified into appeals against interlocutory decisions (rulings made by a court before rendering a judgment in the case) and appeals against judgments, of acquittal, conviction, sentencing and reparations. All three courts analysed in this chapter—the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)—provide victims participating in the proceedings with varying degrees of entitlements in respect to such appeals. This chapter provides an overview of these rights. First, it addresses the rights of participating victims to lodge interlocutory appeals in their own right. Then it looks at the extent to which victims can participate in the interlocutory appeals of the (other) parties and the procedure that must be followed. On this basis, it provides a comparative table of the different approaches adopted by the three courts as regards victims’ rights in interlocutory appeals. Secondly, the chapter reviews the rights of participating victims to appeal judgments on acquittals, conviction, sentencing and reparations as well as their entitlement to participate in such appeals. The comparative conclusions as to the rights of participating victims in appeals against judgments are also organised into a table for better clarity. Finally, the chapter highlights the key points to be remembered in relation to victims’ rights in interlocutory and final appeals.