ABSTRACT
A draft Statute has been produced by the Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC) which was created by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1995. The advent of the ICC thus creates real hope for victims that the promises of the Universal Declaration will be fulfilled and that justice will actually be done. The Victims Declaration lays down four categories of claim that victims might make on the State and on the criminal justice system in particular: access to justice and fair treatment, restitution, compensation, and assistance. A United Nations Expert Meeting on Victims Issues took place while the report of the Secretary-General setting out the draft Statute for the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was before the Security Council. The Victims Declaration and the van Boven Principles attempt to remedy this anomaly, and the ad hoc Tribunals address most of the protection and assistance issues faced by victims as witnesses.
