Victims, Visibility and Selective Justice in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal

Abstract

This paper considers the extent to which victims’ visibility within transitional justice mechanisms is influenced by heterogeneous legal and political actors as they pursue a variety of not necessarily aligned goals. Drawing on critical victimology’s concern with who has the power to acknowledge victimhood, and what factors influence that determination, it considers the selective visibility of victims at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. First, it explores how political contexts, jurisdictional limits, and prosecutorial choices have shaped the victimisations which have been rendered visible through prosecution before the Tribunal. Second, it considers the visibility of victims within the courtroom, particularly focusing on the role of judges in enhancing or limiting victim visibility through their implementation of the Tribunal’s civil party participation mechanism.

Keywords: Victimology, Victim Participation, Selective Justice, International Criminal Law