Issues Home About Contact Us Issue 29 - September 2023 عربى
Terminology Corner
Satisfaction

In the case of reparation, the victim is entitled to the state of well-being in which s/he perceives that justice was done. Thus, satisfaction is an international legal norm providing that, where applicable, the remedy of the original violation/harm includes any or all of the following:

(a)     Effective measures aimed at the cessation of continuing violations;

(b)     Verification of the facts and full and public disclosure of the truth to the extent that such disclosure does not cause further harm or threaten the safety and interests of the victim, the victim’s relatives, witnesses, or persons who have intervened to assist the victim or prevent the occurrence of further violations;

(c)     The search for the whereabouts of the disappeared, for the identities of the children abducted, and for the bodies of those killed, and assistance in the recovery, identification and reburial of the bodies in accordance with the expressed or presumed wish of the victims, or the cultural practices of the families and communities;

(d)     An official declaration or a judicial decision restoring the dignity, the reputation and the rights of the victim and of persons closely connected with the victim;

(e)     Public apology, including acknowledgement of the facts and acceptance of responsibility;

(f)     Judicial and administrative sanctions against persons liable for the violations;

(g)     Commemorations and tributes to the victims;

(h)     Inclusion of an accurate account of the violations that occurred in international human rights law and international humanitarian law training and in educational material at all levels. [1]

Satisfaction is closely linked to the other forms of redress that constitute the legally defined elements of reparation: restitution, return, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of nonrepetition. No single one of the seven elements of reparation can substitute for another form. (See “Reparation,” “Compensation,” “Guarantees of nonrepetition,” “Rehabilitation,” “Restitution” “Resettlement” and “Return (right of)” in this list of terms.)


[1] “Remedy and Reparation Guidelines,” Article 22.



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