On 26 March 2021, Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) decided to extend until 1st October 2021 the deadline for persons wishing to apply for reparations to make themselves known in relation to the reparations ordered by the Chamber for the victims of crimes for which M. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was convicted.
Balancing the various interests at stake, the Chamber considered it reasonable to extend the cut-off date for the Trust Fund for Victims (“TFV”), with the assistance of the Legal Representatives of Victims (“LRVs”) and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims (“OPCV”), to finalise and collect the dossiers of potentially eligible direct and indirect victims, residing both within and outside of Bunia, and submit them to the Victims Participation and Reparations Section (“VPRS”), for an additional and final six-month period ending on 1 October 2021.
The conditions of eligibility as direct and indirect victims are detailed in the decision issued on 15 December 2017, where the Chamber noted that hundreds and possibly thousands more victims were affected by the crimes of which Mr Lubanga was convicted.