Fulfilling the Mandate of National Reconciliation in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) - An Evaluation through the Prism of Victims' Rights

The central theme of this article is to assess whether the mandate of national reconciliation has been fulfilled in the ECCC. Recent retreats in the scope of victims' participatory rights reveal a palpable gap between the Court's rhetorical promises and the manifested reality. This article begins with providing some justifications for the primitive role given to national reconciliation. Then, in traversing the evolution of international criminal justice, this article highlights its departure from the traditional model of the exclusive retributive justice paradigm. Rather, there is a synergy of the retributive justice and the restorative justice paradigms within international criminal trials in the 21st century. The expanded role of victims in proceedings and the ECCC reparation regime will then be examined in this context. This article will thereafter emphasize the recurrent themes that could promote victims' rights and herald the fulfilment of national reconciliation.