Abstract
Professor Gentian Zyberi's chapter in the Research Handbook on Accountability for Human Rights Violations provides an analysis of two main forms of reparations, namely restitution and compensation, based on the 2005 UN Basic Principles and Guidelines. First, the analysis focuses on the development of reparations in the practice of various human rights mechanisms, with a focus on the regional human rights courts and the UN Human Rights Committee. Then, the analysis turns to restitution and compensation as specific forms of reparations. The chapter is limited to the restoration of liberty and the return of property. Compensation is provided for any economically assessable damage, as appropriate and proportional to the gravity of the violation and the circumstances of each case. The chapter analyses compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and the issue of adequate compensation. Some good practices are summarized at the end.
From the international to the national context
In 2022, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security appointed Professor Kjetil Mujezinović Larsen to investigate possible Norwegian legal regulation on the right to claim compensation for certain human rights violations on the basis of Norway's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Larsen concluded his work on 1 August 2023. Read the mandate description here. Professor Larsen will comment on Professor Zyberi's work and draw parallels to his own work on the domestic plane.