In order to become a Civil Party, a Victim must be a natural (living) person or a legal entity who suffered physical, material or psychological harm as a direct consequence of at least one of the crimes alleged against the Charged Person.
What kind of rights do Civil Parties have?
Civil Parties have the right
- To choose a legal representative (the VSS can assist in this);
- To request the investigation of alleged crimes;
- To request the judges to ask specific questions to the witnesses and the accused;
- To ask the Court to take measures to respect their safety, well being, dignity and privacy in the course of their participation in the proceedings;
- To request collective and moral reparations.
What kind of reparations can Civil Parties request?
If a defendant is found guilty, under the Internal Rules of the ECCC Civil Parties are able to ask the court to order reparations against the convicted person. The judges have determined that individual financial compensation will not be possible, however they do have the power to award what are called “collective and moral reparations”. In this context, “collective” means that the court is only able to order reparations that benefit Civil Parties as a group or that benefit groups of Victims or Cambodian society. The term “moral” reparations in this context refers to the specific type of reparations that the court is able to order. “Moral” reparations are reparations that are more symbolic than they are material or economic.
Examples of “collective and moral reparations” could be: orders to publish the court’s judgment in the mass media at the expense of the convicted person; orders to fund non-profit services or other activities that aim to benefit Victims; or the creation of a memorial. The Victims Information Form gives people who are applying to become Civil Parties the opportunity to propose the type of collective and moral reparations that they would like the court to order.
When should people apply?
The deadline for the submission of Civil Party applications in Cases 001 and 002 has expired. Information about how to apply to become a Civil Party in Case 003 and Case 004 is avilable at the following pages:
Please note that only Civil Party applications that are complete will be admitted by the judges.
To be complete, you must include the following information:
- Names of the Victims or Victims and of the Civil Party applicant,
- Contact address of the applicant in Cambodia,
- Signature or thumbprint of the applicant,
- All available information related to the crime or crimes alleged by the applicant,
- (Important) A copy of an identity card (if available) or any other form of identification, and
- Any documents that support the information the applicant provides, such as a photo of the Victim (if available).