Victim Participation and Reparations in International Criminal Justice: Lessons for Nigerian Transitional Mechanisms

International criminal justice has undergone a significant paradigm shift toward recognising victims as active participants in proceedings rather than mere witnesses, exemplified by the victim participation and reparations regime of the International Criminal Court. Nigeria's experience of mass atrocity and ongoing communal violence, combined with weak domestic accountability mechanisms, makes the design of effective victim-centred justice mechanisms an urgent scholarly and policy priority. This doctoral research critically analyses victim participation and reparations in international criminal justice and extracts design lessons for Nigerian transitional mechanisms, making an original scholarly contribution to the intersection of international criminal law, victimology, and transitional justice. A comparative doctrinal and empirical methodology is employed, drawing on systematic analysis of ICC, Special Court for Sierra Leone, and Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia victim participation jurisprudence alongside field research in North East Nigeria and Plateau State with conflict-affected communities. Interviews were conducted with legal representatives of ICC victims, reparation trust fund managers, and Nigerian civil society justice advocates. Secondary sources include transitional justice scholarship, victimology literature, and international criminal law publications from 2018 to 2024. The research makes four original scholarly contributions: a comparative typology of victim participation models in international criminal justice; a contextually adapted Victim Participation Framework for Nigeria; an original Reparative Justice Design Theory grounded in African notions of communal harm; and a proposed National Atrocity Victims Reparation Act. Keywords: victim participation, reparations, international criminal justice, transitional justice, Nigeria.