Victims and the Labor of Justice at the International Criminal Court

Victims and the Labor of Justice at the International Criminal Court Speaker: Dr. Ullrich Date: 13 June 2024 The Labor of Justice - 'Justice for victims' is work which creates more workers. - As such, it resembles social reproduction work (e.g. birthing, nursing, cleaning, educating and caring), which is essential for reproducing the worker, but is not usually recognized or paid as work. Rethinking Justice As Labor - What are the different forms of labor involved, how are they valued and divided, who does the labor of justice and why, and, finally, what is the product of that labor? - Seeing victim participation as labor is an entry point into a much broader study of the interplay between the Court's victim engagement and the global capitalist economy in which it operates. Structure - Victim Participation as Labor - Why are victims and intermediaries doing that labor: The ideological labor of justice - What is the product of that labor: From ideological subjects to capitalist subjects Victim Participation As Merely Symbolic? - NGO Perspective: Victim participation too distant/bureaucratic/legalized to be meaningful. - Legal literature: Victim participation erodes the defendant's rights to a fair trial. - Critical Literature: Victim participation is merely a spectacle created for audiences in the Global North. - Thus, all three perspectives concur that victim participation is largely a symbolic gesture designed to legitimate the Court. Localizing Victim Participation: From the Courtroom to the Field - ICC-2023 in Review • 2 new arrest warrants • 126 hearings • 4 ongoing trials • 46 witnesses testified • 16,000 victims participated in the proceedings • 1600 victims received reparations • 17,000 victims in 8 situations benefitted from assistance programs • 400+ outreach meetings with affected communities • Over 34 million people reached in 16 countries Intermediaries as Laborers of Love - The darker you are, the closer you are to victims, the more emotional labor you do, the less valuable your work is. - 'The function of an intermediary to the ICC is in principle unpaid' (ICC, Q&A Intermediaries) - 'The services provided by an intermediary are generally provided on a voluntary basis (ICC Guidelines on Intermediaries, 2014). The Lighter And Darker Side Of Ideological Subject Production - 1) First, victims are interpellated by the Court more than they are persuaded by its merits. - 2) Second, ideology operates through practices as much as ideas. - 3) Third, contradictions make ideologies more, not less, effective. - The Court calls and lures people to become its subjects - 'Happy Justice Day! You are the champions of justice' - 'we are united as humanity against crimes'. From Ideological To Capitalist Subject Production - 1) Most immediately, victims' labor reproduces the Court as a working and legitimate institution. - 2) More broadly, however, I argue that by becoming the Court's ideological subjects, victims are also gradually formed as capitalist subjects. - Indeed, by engaging in the Court's processes, people not only become 'victims'; they are also trained to become productive and reproductive capitalist 'survivors.' The Blame Cascade - The judges blame the victims' lawyers, the victims' lawyers the intermediaries and the intermediaries the victims. - Village Savings and Loan Associations The Indebted Subject - Care Uganda, 'Village Savings and Loans Association' • 'The VSLA methodology has moved people from being idle to being very productive and busy. Many participants have adopted better work ethics and habits; people work harder, keep time better and deliver on their word.' Conclusion - 1) Justice as a legal process? - 2) Justice as a gift? - 3) Justice as labor - Both law and love are labor, and that labor is unevenly distributed and paid in international criminal justice.