The majority of FIDH’s litigation proceedings are judicial in nature and aim to establish individual criminal responsibility, in order to fight against the impunity of those bearing responsibility for serious violations of human rights and crimes under international law.
FIDH is implementing its vision according to which, if possible, perpetrators of grave human rights violations should be prosecuted in the country where the crimes were committed. In priority, FIDH supports victims to challenge national courts to effectively investigate. These proceedings may also challenge the genuine capacity or willingness to investigate and prosecute.
In cases of lack of remedies at the national level, alternative means of redress for victims of these violations may be found outside of the country. Judicial proceedings may be opened on the basis of extra-territorial jurisdiction. These proceedings face specific challenges but the experience also reveals that they have a real impact in the country of perpetration of the crime.
FIDH is also involved in judicial proceedings before international tribunals, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), or internationalised tribunals, also called « mixed » or « hybrid » tribunals, such as the ECCC, which FIDH has been monitoring quite extensively.
