The objective of this article is to provide an analysis of what we consider to be the main challenges when devising and implementing reparative justice measures, whereby the focus is on victims of international crimes that have led to mass victimization. The focus is on situations involving gross and massive violations of human rights, often amounting to crimes under international law as defined in the Statute of the ICC.

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Author identifies three challenges to be addressed. Firstly, the concept of victimhood in post-conflict situations. Secondly, how to adapt the existing judicial right to an effective individual remedy in the context of mass victimization where it is often claimed that collective reparations might be better suited to provide reparative justice. The third challenge is whether to include – and if so, how to balance – development goals within the goal of providing reparation for the harm done.

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The authors rely on and advocate for an interdisciplinary approach whereby insights from fields such as development studies, traumatic stress studies, the social psychology of group conflict and resolution, and the psychology and sociology of national and international legal processes should be closely integrated.