ICCCOURTDECISIONONREPARATIONFORVICTIMSOFTHEPOST-

ELECTIONVIOLENCE:NOREPARATIONWITHOUTCONVICTIONPROSECUT
ORV.WILLIAMSAMOEIRUTOANDJOSHUAARAPSANG,DECISIONONTHERE
QUESTREGARDINGREPARATIONS,1JULY2016JOANNAMUSIAŁ-
BUDNICKA*On1July2016,theTrialChamberV(A)
(TrialChamber)1ofthepermanentInternationalCriminalCourt(ICC)initsDecisionon
theRequestregardingReparations(DecisiononReparations)2,bymajority-
heldthattheTrialChambercannotproceedfurtheranddecideonthereparationis-
suesconnectedtothejointtrialofKenyanDeputyPresidentWilliamSamoeiRu-
toandco-accused,ex-
journalistJoshuaArapSang,bothofwhomfacedchargesofcrimesagainsthumanityf
ortheirsuspectedrolein“post-
electionviolence”thatledtothedeathsofapproximately1,000personsandover300,0
00displacedpersons.3Initsruling,twoofthethreeTrialChamberjudges,whoterminat
edtheRutoandSangcaseearlieronApril5,20164,declinedtoconsiderthemeritsofth
evictims’viewsandconcernsexpressedbytheLegalRepresentativeofVictims-
WilfredNderitu(LRV).5Therein,theLRVDOI:10.1515/wrlae-2015-
0042*MasterofArts(FacultyofLaw,AdministrationandEconomics,WroclawUniver
sity);LL.M.InternationalandEuropeanLaw(RadboudUniversityNijmegen);advo-
cate;joanna.musial@gmail.com1TheICCTrialChamberV(A)includedthreeJudge
14_Eng(14April2016).4ProsecutorvWilliamRutoandJoshuaSang(DecisiononDef
enceApplicationsforJudgmentsofAcquittal)ICC-01/09-01/11-2027-
Red(5April2016)electoralviolenceinKenyaaftercollapseoftheICC’sRutoandSang
case.ThemajorityoftheTrialChamberinitsrulingreasonedthatduetothefacttionon“
NoCasetoAnswer”,theTrialChamberhasnopowertomakeanydecisiononthequesti
onofreparationinaccordancetoArticle75oftheRomeStatuteforthebenefitofthepost
-electionviolencevictims.7ThePresidingJudgeChileEboe-
Osujistronglydissented,8explainingfurtherhisthinkingonthequestionofreparation
sheprovidedearlierintheReasonsofJudgeEboe-
Osuji.9InhisDissentingOpinion,JudgeEboe-
OsujiupraisedanumberofsignificantargumentssupportingtheviewthattheCourtha
slegitimatepowertoaddressreparationsforharmsufferedtothevictimsasaresultofcr
imesifsuchcrimeshavebeenfoundtohavetakenplacebutthepersonsstandingtrialfo
rhisparticipationinthosecrimesisnotfundguilty.10WhiletheDissentingOpinionofJu
dgeEboe-
Osujistronglydissented,8explainingfurtherhisthinkingonthequestionofreparation
sheprovidedearlierintheReasonsofJudgeEboe-
Osuji.9InhisDissentingOpinion,JudgeEboe-
OsujiupraisedanumberofsignificantargumentssupportingtheviewthattheCourtha
slegitimatepowertoaddressreparationsforharmsufferedtothevictimsasaresultofcr
imesifsuchcrimeshavebeenfoundtohavetakenplacebutthepersonsstandingtrialfo
rhisparticipationinthosecrimesisnotfundguilty.10WhiletheDissentingOpinionofJu
dgeEboe-

toestablishthattheGovernmentofKenyabearsanobligationtoprovidereparationsto
victimsofthepost-electionviolenceof2007-
2008forvariousformofharmsufferedand/
or(2)toinitiateandprovideassistanceforsuchvictimsthroughtheTrustFundforVictim
s(TFV)inaccordancewithitsassistanceprogramme.6Inotherwords,theLRVaskedt
heChambertobepartofthecausetoawardreparationsandassistthevictimsofthe200
7-2008post-
Osujihasnosolidbasisintheinternationalcriminallawdocuments,intheeyesofthe-