Reparation for Victims of Crimes Against Humanity ─ The Healing Role of Reparation

"Each year, countless victims fall prey to crimes against humanity. These are among the worst crimes known to humans and include widespread occurrences of systematic murder, torture, rape, disappearances, forced deportation and political persecution. Crimes against humanity constitute an attack on human dignity and as such they violate the human rights of the victim, as well as the laws of humanity. In recent years, following the creation of the International Criminal Court, there has been a growing interest in the prosecution of offenders and in particular, in reparation following crimes against humanity. While such measures are meant to provide justice for victims, victims are often forgotten or lost in legal debates about what constitutes reparation and who is eligible to receive it. This book reaches beyond the boundaries of law and psychology and takes a multidisciplinary approach to the question of reparation for victims of crimes against humanity. Law does not take place in a vacuum and it is important to consider the impact of the law on the psychology of the victim, as well as the legal principles themselves. Herein lies the originality of this book, which bridges the gap between psychology, victimology, criminology and law and will be of key interest to academics and students engaged in the study of these areas"--

Jo-Anne M. Wemmers (PhD) is a full Professor at the School of Criminology of the Universite de Montreal as well as Head of the Research Group Victimology and Reparative Justice at the International Centre for Comparative Criminology. She has published widely in the areas of victimology, international criminal law and reparative justice. Her books include Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Victim Participation in Justice: International Perspectives (Carolina Academic Press 2011), Introduction a la victimologie (Les Presses de l’Universite de Montreal 2003), Caring for Victims of Crime (Criminal Justice Press 1999) and Victims in the Criminal Justice System (Kugler 1996). Former Secretary General of the World Society of Victimology, she is currently Editor-in-Chief of the French language journal, Criminologie, as well as Editor of the International Review of Victimology.