Transitional justice

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Transitional justice refers to a wide variety of inter-connected efforts to deal with the legacies of past human rights abuse, crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes.

The challenges of dealing with past atrocity have been debated since at least as far back as Aristotle (see Jon Elster, “Coming to terms with the past. A framework for the study of Justice in the transition to democracy,” Arch. European Sociology, (1998), vol.39, pp.7-48)).

But in recent years, more and more countries have started to develop concrete strategies for doing so. These include (1) prosecutions of past dictators and their collaborators; (2) the establishment of truth-seeking mechanisms (such as truth commissions); (3) the memorialization of victims through memorials and museums in an effort to "never forget"; (4) the establishment of reparations policies, including financial compensation as well as other forms (such as official apologies); (5) guarantees of non-repetition of the crimes, by eliminating or reforming the institutions most responsible for the crimes, such as certain police, military, or security agencies; and (6) efforts to bring communities together under the heading of reconciliation.

For more on this topic see, generally, www.ictj.org and for a copyrighted definition: http://www.ictj.org/static/TJApproaches/WhatisTJ/macmillan.TJ.eng.pdf.

[edit] Classic works

  • Kritz, Neil, ed. (1995). Transitional Justice: How Emerging Democracies Reckon with Former Regimes, Vols. I–III. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Institute of Peace Press.
  • Mendez, Juan E. (1997). "Accountability for Past Abuses." Human Rights Quarterly 19:255.
  • Nino, Carlos S. (1996). Radical Evil on Trial. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.
  • Zalaquett, Jose (1993). "Introduction to the English Edition." In Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation: Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, trans. Phillip E. Berryman. South Bend, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press.
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