Abstract

The essay argues that the legal qualification of the widespread and systematic inhumane conduct that characterized the Armenian genocide as “war crimes” may constitute an appropriate legal basis for reparations in addition to the one provided by the law of State responsibility, at least to strengthen claims based on either domestic or international law that may not derogate from the general principle of law of non-retroactivity. Reparations—including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition—may be characterized as essentially twofold, when referred to the status of the victims’ descendants: those aimed at partially restoring the harm and losses of victims through material and immaterial means of reparation provided to their descendants and those aimed at preventing that atrocities are repeated in the future, also via the proper memorialization. They should be carefully tailored to address multi-generational harm. In this connection, ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court by both Armenia and Turkey would be a meaningful and effective step to guarantee non-repetition, “never again”.