Transitional Justice

This course seeks to introduce students to the most recent developments in state and societal practice and contemporary debates that have emerged from the field of transitional justice, i.e., the attempts to come to terms with legacies of mass atrocities of the recent past in the context of transitions from dictatorship to democracy or from conflict to peace. The course traces the field’s origins and its contributions to normative developments in the relevant international human rights law. The historic backdrop of post-authoritarian Latin America, post-apartheid South Africa and post-communist Eastern Europe is analyzed, together with more contemporary efforts in Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, Côte d’Ivoire, Colombia.  In particular, we will explore the set of victims’ rights that developed and came to serve as the key mechanisms within the transitional justice framework, namely: criminal accountability, truth-seeking, reparations, and measures of non-recurrence. Additionally, we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each component including how these play out depending on the timing, sequencing, and incorporation either in their totality or discrete parts, by looking to state practices.

The second half of the course will focus on contemporary debates including the updated dialogue on peace versus justice; the role of reconciliation; transitional justice mechanisms as applied to historic grievances, economic, social and cultural rights, and the plight of communities specifically affected; the coalescing of rule of law and transitional justice efforts; reforming of justice and security institutions and building confidence and legitimacy in them; addressing the root causes of conflict. The course will end with an attempt at an assessment of the success of transitional justice in preventing new abuses and an exploration of its role in international human rights law and conflict resolution.

Tutor: Prof Méndez or Prof Waldorf