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THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS OF JUST SATISFACTION…
Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of
International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian
Law7 also employ the term reparation.
On the basis of the aforementioned, compensation is only one type of reparation;
therefore, it would probably be more logical to speak of reparation mechanisms
instead of compensation systems. Nonetheless, in practice the differentiation
between restitution, compensation and satisfaction is not as clear as in the DARS.
The Cambridge dictionary defines compensation as “money that is paid to someone
in exchange for something that has been lost or damaged or for some problem”.8
Such an explanation may also cover satisfaction in the sense of the DARS as “some
problem” actually may lead to moral damage. UN human rights bodies, such as the
Human Rights Committee,9 use the term compensation in this general meaning.10
The United Nations Compensation Commission,11 created to process claims and
pay compensation for losses and damage suffered as a result of Iraq’s invasion and
the occupation of Kuwait in 1990-91, already contains the word ‘compensation’ in
its title. The same is true of the Compensation Commission for Darfur.12 The main
purpose of the German Forced Labour Compensation Programme13 was to establish
a compensation programme for slave and forced labourers.14 These commissions also
compensate moral damages.15 Some of them in addition deal with restitution.
Regarding the main term of this paper, namely, ‘just satisfaction’ under Article 41
of the Convention, the case-law of the Court makes it obvious that just satisfaction
may take the form, for instance, of restitution. Thus, in the case of Dacia S.R.L. v.
Moldova, 16 the Court held that Moldova had to return to the applicant company
7 Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross
Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian
Law. Resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations No. 60/147 of 16 December 2005.
8 URL:
9 See
10 For example, in the case derived from Communication No. 1186/2003, submitted by Dorothy Kakem
Titiahonjo, the Human Rights Committee held that “…In accordance with article 2, paragraph 3 (a),
of the Covenant, the State party is under an obligation to provide the author with an effective remedy,
including compensation and institution of criminal proceedings…”.
11 Resolution 687 (1991) adopted by the Security Council at its 2981st meeting, on 3 April 1991. S/
RES/687 (1991).
12 Resolution 1564 (2004) adopted by the Security Council at its 5040th meeting, on 18 September
2004. S/RES/1564 (2004).
13 See
-Programme-GFLCP.pdf.
14 WÜHLER, Norbert. Property restitution and compensation: practices and experiences of claims programmes.
Geneva : IOM, 2009, p. 68.
15 Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-
General, Geneva, 25 January 2005, p. 96.
16 Dacia S.R.L. v. Moldova (just satisfaction), no. 3052/04, 24 February 2009.