Remote Victimisation and the Proximate Cause. Transgenerational Harms before the International Criminal Court

Abstract

Victims of international crimes suffer from various harms, losses and injuries sustained by them personally during or after acts of victimisation. While most harms take an immediate and easily identifiable form, some of them become visible only years later. Transgenerational harms belong to the latter category since they denote negative consequences of victimisation that are transmitted across generations. Those who sustain such harms, that is future victims, are not yet born when the crime is committed against their next of kin. Reflecting on the complex nature of transgenerational harms, this study examines two theories of transgenerational victimisation and asks whether future victims should receive reparations under Article 75 of the Rome Statute.