The Role Of Courts In Transitional Justice

Bringing together a group of outstanding judges, scholars and experts with first-hand experience in the field of transitional justice in Latin America and Spain, this book offers an insider’s perspective on the enhanced role of courts in prosecuting serious human rights violations and grave crimes, such as genocide and war crimes, committed in the context of a prior repressive regime or current conflict. The book also draws attention to the ways in which regional and international courts have come to contribute to the initiation of national judicial processes. All the contributions evince that the duty to investigate and prosecute grave crimes can no longer simply be brushed to the side in societies undergoing transitions. The Role of Courts in Transitional Justice is essential reading for practitioners, policy-makers and scholars engaged in the transitional justice processes or interested in judicial and legal perspectives on the role of courts, obstacles faced, and how they may be overcome. It is unique in its ambition to offer a comprehensive and systematic account of the Latin American and Spanish experience and in bringing the insights of renowned judges and experts in the field to the forefront of the discussion.

This book explores the complicated relationship between constitutions and transitional justice. It brings together scholars and practitioners from different countries to analyze the indispensable role of constitutions and constitutional courts in the process of overcoming political injustice of the past. Issues raised in the book include the role of a new constitution for the successful practice of transitional justice after democratization, revolution or civil war, and the difficulties faced by the court while dealing with mass human rights infringements with limited legal tools. The work also examines whether constitutionalizing transitional justice is a better strategy for new democracies in response to political injustice from the past. It further addresses the complex issue of backslides of democracy and consequences of constitutionalizing transitional justice. The group of international authors address the interplay of the constitution/court and transitional justice in their native countries, along with theoretical underpinnings of the success or unfulfilled promises of transitional justice from a comparative perspective. The book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of Transitional Justice, Comparative Constitutional Law, Human Rights Studies, International Criminal Law, Genocide Studies, Law and Politics, and Legal History.

The volume edited by Bartłomiej Krzan offers different perspectives on the prosecution of international crimes. The analyses contained therein reflect different backgrounds, mainly legal, combining several disciplines, and making it a multidisciplinary study. The main (but definitely not the exclusive) point of reference is that of international law. In addition, other perspectives, those of legal history or sociology of law and obviously the one of criminal law (both substantive and procedural) provide useful alternatives or in most occasions complementary approaches to the examination of the prosecution of international crimes. The book combines different views, backgrounds and underlying assumptions. But gathered together they, it is to be hoped, shed some additional, useful light that might be helpful for identifying new dimensions of the reaction (judicial or other) towards international crimes. Contributors: Władysław Czapliński, Patrycja Grzebyk, Witold Jakimko, Wojciech Jasiński, David Kohout, Karolina Kremens, Bartłomiej Krzan, Krzysztof Masło, Neringa Mickevičiūtė, Robert Uerpmann-Wittzack, Regina Valutyté, Karolina Wierczyńska, Joachim Wolf, Loammi Wolf, and Justinas Žilinskas.

Transitional justice is the way societies that have experienced civil conflict or authoritarian rule and widespread violations of human rights deal with the experience. With its roots in law, transitional justice as an area of study crosses various fields in the social sciences. This book is written with this multi- and inter-disciplinary dynamic of the field in mind. The book presents the broad scope of transitional justice studies through a focus on the theory, mechanisms and debates in the area, covering such topics as: The origin, context and development of transitional justice Victims, victimology and transitional justice Prosecutions for abuses and gross violations of human rights Truth commissions Transitional justice and local justice Gender, political economy and transitional justice Apology, reconciliation and the politics of memory Offering a discussion of the impact and outcomes of transitional justice, this approach provides valuable insight for those who seek both an introduction alongside relatively advanced engagement with the subject. Transitional Justice: Theories, Mechanisms and Debates is an important text for postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students who take courses in transitional justice, human rights and criminal law, as well as a systematic reference text for researchers.

This book seeks to refine our understanding of transitional justice and peacebuilding, and long-term security and reintegration challenges after violent conflicts. As recent events following political change during the so-called 'Arab Spring' demonstrate, demands for accountability often follow or attend conflict and political transition. While traditionally much literature and many practitioners highlighted tensions between peacebuilding and justice, recent research and practice demonstrates a turn away from the supposed 'peace vs justice' dilemma. This volume examines the complex relationship between peacebuilding and transitional justice through the lenses of the increased emphasis on victim-centred approaches to justice and the widespread practices of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of excombatants. While recent volumes have sought to address either DDR or victim-centred approaches to justice, none has sought to make connections between the two, much less to place them in the larger context of the increasing linkages between transitional justice and peacebuilding. This book will be of great interest to students of transitional justice, peacebuilding, human rights, war and conflict studies, security studies and IR.

Transitional Justice, Judicial Accountability and the Rule of Law addresses the importance of judicial accountability in transitional justice processes. Despite a general consensus that the judiciary plays an important role in contemporary governance, accountability for the judicial role in formerly authoritarian societies remains largely elided and under-researched. Hakeem O. Yusuf argues that the purview of transitional justice mechanisms should, as a matter of policy, be extended to scrutiny of the judicial role in the past. Through a critical comparative approach that cuts through the transitioning experiences of post-authoritarian and post-conflict polities in Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa, the book focuses specifically on Nigeria. It demonstrates that public accountability of the judiciary through the mechanism of a truth-seeking process is a necessary component in securing comprehensive accountability for the judicial role in the past. Transitional Justice, Judicial Accountability and the Rule of Law further shows that an across-the-board transformation of state institutions – an important aspiration of transitional processes – is virtually impossible without incorporating the third branch of government, the judiciary, into the accountability process.

What if we could change the conditions in post-conflict/post-authoritarian countries to make transitional justice work better? This book argues that if the context in countries in need of transitional justice can be ameliorated before processes of transitional justice are established, they are more likely to meet with success. As the contributors reveal, this can be done in different ways. At the attitudinal level, changing the broader social ethos can improve the chances that societies will be more receptive to transitional justice. At the institutional level, the capacity of mechanisms and institutions can be strengthened to offer more support to transitional justice processes. Drawing on lessons learned in Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Gambia, Lebanon, Palestine, and Uganda, the book explores ways to better the conditions in post-conflict/post-authoritarian countries to improve the success of transitional justice.

At the century's end, societies all over the world are throwing off the yoke of authoritarian rule and beginning to build democracies. At any such time of radical change, the question arises: should a society punish its ancien regime or let bygones be bygones? Transitional Justice takes this question to a new level with an interdisciplinary approach that challenges the very terms of the contemporary debate. Ruti Teitel explores the recurring dilemma of how regimes should respond to evil rule, arguing against the prevailing view favoring punishment, yet contending that the law nevertheless plays a profound role in periods of radical change. Pursuing a comparative and historical approach, she presents a compelling analysis of constitutional, legislative, and administrative responses to injustice following political upheaval. She proposes a new normative conception of justice--one that is highly politicized--offering glimmerings of the rule of law that, in her view, have become symbols of liberal transition. Its challenge to the prevailing assumptions about transitional periods makes this timely and provocative book essential reading for policymakers and scholars of revolution and new democracies.

An Introduction to Transitional Justice provides the first comprehensive overview of transitional justice judicial and non-judicial measures implemented by societies to redress legacies of massive human rights abuse. Written by some of the leading experts in the field it takes a broad, interdisciplinary approach to the subject, addressing the dominant transitional justice mechanisms as well as key themes and challenges faced by scholars and practitioners. Using a wide historic and geographic range of case studies to illustrate key concepts and debates, and featuring discussion questions and suggestions for further reading, this is an essential introduction to the subject for students.