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Countries emerging from long periods of authoritarian rule must often confront a legacy of gross human rights abuses perpetrated over many years. During the past two decades, these age-old issues have been termed 'problems of transitional justice', both by academics and policy makers around the world. Given the frequency with which these problems arise, as well as the complexity of the issues involved, it is striking that no book series has taken the issue of transitional justice as its point of focus. <br><br>The Series on Transitional Justice offers a platform for high-quality research within the rapidly growing field of transitional justice. This research is, of necessity, inter-disciplinary in nature, drawing from disciplines such as law, political science, history, sociology, criminology, anthropology and psychology, as well as from various specialised fields of study such as human rights, victimology and peace studies. It is furthermore international in outlook, drawing on the knowledge and experience of academics and other specialists in many different regions of the world.<br><br>The series is aimed at a variety of audiences who are either working or interested in fields such as crime and justice; human rights; humanitarian law and human security; conflict resolution and peace building. These audiences may include academics, researchers, students, policy makers, practitioners, non-governmental organisations and the media.
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After a period of authoritarian regime like those in Latin America during the 70's and 80's, a transition to democracy usually raises questions such as 'Who will be held accountable?', and 'Who deserves reparations?'. At the same time, in the foreground of the debate is the threat to the stability of the regime: 'How can we balance competing moral imperatives, reconcile legitimate claims for justice with equally legitimate claims for stability and social peace, and foster the relationship between justice for crimes of the past and a democratic order?'
Based on fieldwork that is unprecedented in scope, this two-volume project provides the first systematic study of the formulation and implementation of the recommendations of 13 Latin American truth commissions.
Beyond Words Vol. II is a unique collection of 11 Latin American country studies covering all 13 formal truth commissions established in this region that submitted their final reports between 1984 and 2014. Based on qualitative original data and a common analytical framework, the main focus of each of the country chapters is threefold: (1) to provide a brief background to the truth commission(s); (2) to provide a detailed account of the formulation of the truth commission's recommendations; and (3) to analyze the implementation record of the recommendations, taking into account the actors and factors that have aided - or obstructed - the implementation process.
Based on fieldwork that is unprecedented in scope, this two-volume project provides the first systematic study of the formulation and implementation of the recommendations of 13 Latin American truth commissions.
Beyond Words Vol. I examines the variations in truth commission recommendations across 13 Latin American cases. Insights are provided regarding how the internal dynamics of truth commissions, as well as the political, social and economic context in which they operate, influence how recommendations are formulated. The authors then explore how the nature of these recommendations themselves, along with the aforementioned factors, influence which recommendations are actually implemented. The conclusion considers the findings' relevance for the crafting of future truth commission recommendations and reflects upon how the formulation and implementation of these recommendations shape the impact of truth commissions on societies emerging from periods of violence and repression.
This book examines how international judicial and non-judicial bodies in Europe address the needs of the families of forcibly disappeared persons. The needs in question are returning the remains of disappeared persons; the right to truth; the acceptance of responsibility by states; and the right to compensation. These have been identified as the four most commonly shared basic and fundamental needs of families in which an adult was disappeared many years previously and is now assumed to be dead, which is representative of the situation of the vast majority of families of disappeared persons in Europe.
The analysis covers the judgments and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Human Rights Advisory Panel in Kosovo, as well as the activities of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, the Special Process on Missing Persons in the Territory of former Yugoslavia, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the International Commission on Missing Persons. In so doing, the book demonstrates whether, how, and based on what principles these four needs of the families of disappeared persons can constitute a claim based on international human rights law.
How do memory and remembrance relate to the specific mode of transitional justice that lays emphasis on restoration? What is captured and what is obliterated in individual and collective efforts to come to terms with a violent past? Across this volume consisting of twelve in-depth contributions, the politics of memory in various countries are related to restorative justice under four headings: restoring trust, restoring truth, restoring land and restoring law. While the primary focus is a philosophical one, authors also engage in incisive analyses of historical, political and/or legal developments in their chosen countries. Examples of these include South Africa, Colombia, Rwanda, Israel and the land of Palestine, which they know all too well on a personal basis and from daily experience. On 10 December 2020, the book was officially launched with a webinar which brought together the editors of the book and prof. Stephan Parmentier (KU Leuven) and prof. Eric Heinze (Queen Mary University of London) as respondents. A recording of the presentations and the discussion can be viewed here. CAMILA DE GAMBOA TAPIAS is Associate Professor at the Centro de Estudios sobre Paz y Conflictos, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia. BERT VAN ROERMUND is Professor Emeritus of legal philosophy and Honorary Professor at Tilburg University, the Netherlands.
The Global Impact and Legacy of Truth Commissions emerges at a time when there is a confluence of two trends. The first is a growing critique of truth commissions as being unresponsive to the socio-economic needs of transitional societies as part of growing criticism of transitional justice as a whole. The second is the increasing use, salience, professionalism and ambition of truth commissions. Thus, the book is published at a time when truth commissions are being both doubted and reified like never before. In this context, the book's purpose is to understand the impact and legacy of these institutions over the past fifty years. Bringing together many prominent voices on the topic, this book investigates what kind of impact and legacy (possibly 100) truth commissions have had on the societies in which they have taken place, and for future truth commissions the world over.
The backdrop to Bridging Divides in Transitional Justice is Cambodia's history of radical Communist revolution (1975-1979) under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, and the culture of impunity and silence imposed on the society by successive national governments for close to three decades. Dialogue on the suppressed past began in 2006 as key figures of the regime were brought before the in situ internationalised criminal court, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). The ECCC forms part of the panoply of international criminal courts of the post-Cold War era. The book engages with the dissonance between the expressivism of idealised international criminal trials and their communicative or discursive value within the societies most affected by their operation. An alternative view of the transitional trial is posited as the author elucidates the limits of expressivism and explores the communicative dynamics of ECCC trial procedure which have precipitated unprecedented local debate and reflection on the Khmer Rouge era.The book provides a timely and nuanced analysis of the ECCC's politically contentious and frequently criticised proceedings by examination of the trial dialogue in the Court's first two cases. From transcripts of the proceedings, exchanges between trial participants including witnesses, civil parties and the accused, are examined to show how, at times, the retributive proceedings assumed the character of restorative justice and encompassed significant dialogue on current social issues, such as the victim/perpetrator equation and the nature of ongoing post-traumatic stress disorder flowing from the events that took place under this violent regime The Court's capacity for representative and discursive proceedings is attributed to the substantive inclusion of the voice of the victim in proceedings, a modified inquisitorial procedure, narrative testimony and role-sharing between national and international court actors.
Winner of the 2018 Ciardi PrizeThis book offers an analysis of the existing normative framework regulating the right to reparation for child victims of armed conflict. The study questions whether the current framework is sufficiently developed to provide child victims with adequate, effective and prompt reparations; furthermore it presents and critically assesses the judicial and non-judicial mechanisms in place as well as the reparations awarded and implemented so far at the international and regional level.The research stems from the need to fill a gap in the current literature on transitional justice, in particular on the right to reparation. Even though reparations are well-established legal measures in several domestic judicial systems all over the world, in transitional periods reparations are not just a means to redress the harm suffered by the victims of wrongful acts, but they also seek to contribute to the reconstitution or the constitution of a new political community in the aftermath of an armed conflict. The overview of the relevant cases and materials provided in this book helps paving the way for reparations that are effective, adequate, prompt, and in line with the international standards set forth by the CRC and other instruments. This book ultimately strives to highlight the shortcomings of the existing mechanisms and it points out the main issues that need to be improved and/or overcome in pursuance of child victims' redress.From the foreword by Professor Theo van Boven (Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of Human Rights and Professor Emeritus of International Law at the University of Maastricht):"A leading motive of this study carried out with precision and persuasion is the design of transitional justice processes in law and practice. In many situations the plight of victims and for that matter the plight of child victims in armed conflicts happens to be ignored as inopportune and inconvenient. While relevant international legal framework and applicable mechanisms are developing as part of the process of an assumed humanization of international law major complexities and shortcomings still abound."'[The book's] principal merit is precisely to fill a gap in existing literature by addressing the legal challenges posed by violations of children's rights in armed conflicts and by the dearth of adequate reparations mechanisms against a very broad background and to dwell in depth on these challenges both on the theoretical and normative level and on the practical side. [It] represents a precious source of reference for lawyers and practitioners active in the field of children's rights and working for their social reintegration after the war. Francesca Capone not only provides a comprehensive analysis of the topic and proposes solutions to improve existing reparations mechanisms but she also succeeds in showing that one of the keys to moving forward is building on children's capability to be actively involved in transitional justice processes.'Micaela Frulli in ICLQ 2017.'[The] practice-oriented approach clearly adds to the book's appeal both for scholars and for those who are directly involved in the formulation and implementation of the standards concerned.'Christine Bakker in Italian Yearbook of International Law 2017, 683.
How do societies at the national and international level try to overcome historical injustices? What remedies did they develop to do justice to victims of large scale atrocities? And even more important: what have we learned from the implementation of these so-called instruments of transitional justice in practice? Lawyers, socials scientists and historians have published shelves full of books and articles on how to confront the past through international criminal tribunals, truth commissions, financial compensation schemes and other instruments of retributive/punitive and restorative justice. A serious problem continues to be that broad interdisciplinary accounts that include both categories of measures are still hardly available. With this volume a group of international experts in the field endeavors to fill this gap, and even more. By alternating historical overviews with critical assessments this volume does not only offer an extensive introduction to the world of transitional justice, but also food for thought concerning the effectiveness of the remedies it offers to face the past successfully. 'This synthetic volume is a comprehensive introduction to the various facets of the field of historical injustice of which transnational justice is its best known manifestation. This practical and thoughtful publication addresses critical aspects that challenge the goal of redressing the past as these are presented in scholarship, advocacy and policy. The book delves into questions from justice to ethics and to education and would be useful for students as well as policy makers.' Elazar Barkan, Columbia University'This is a superb reference work on Transitional Justice, covering nearly all of the general questions regarding the various mechanisms in its toolbox, and the combinations thereof, and including case studies and pending cases. It provides expert analyses of transitional justice in post-conflict, post-authoritarian, and democratic states, presenting problems and solutions. The subjects broadly range from apologies to corporate complicity, to America's self-proclaimed exceptionalism when it comes to confronting onerous chapters of its past. In recent years, a number of problematic cases have emerged that will require us to re-think the transitional justice toolbox - this volume offers a solid basis from which to depart'Nanci Adler, University of Amsterdam.
In a political climate that holds limited promise for addressing the issue of child recruitment, Child Soldiers and Transitional Justice: Protecting the Rights of Children Involved in Armed Conflicts challenges the trend towards a narrow focus on recruitment and use of the child, and seeks to contribute to more effective prevention and responses that offer the child a chance of recovery, reconciliation and reintegration. This book adapts existing theoretical frameworks of transitional justice in order to analyse child recruitment, with a view to demonstrating how a society can address the issue in a holistic way. It systematises relevant knowledge across a wide range of legal fields to allow for greater understanding of the law and principles, and a more informed basis for practical engagement with transitional justice mechanisms.Delving deep into the travaux préparatoires of each of the fundamental legal instruments, the author analyses their evolution, spanning humanitarian law, human rights law, criminal law, and other aspects of public law, including peace agreements and action plans developed with armed groups and forces. He provides a particular focus on and in-depth analysis of the Lubanga case, and its implications for other components of transitional justice. The findings highlight arguments for placing child recruitment firmly on the transitional justice agenda. By considering child recruitment against a transitional justice framework, the book allows a detailed understanding of the distinct but complementary components - rule of law, criminal justice, historical justice, reparatory justice, institutional justice, and participatory justice - and reveals the untapped potential in interactions between different areas of transitional justice.About the authorBo Viktor Nylund is a protection and legal practitioner who has focused on state and non-state actor responsibility and accountability throughout his career. Bo Viktor has Masters degrees in law and political science from Columbia University Law School and Abo Akademi University and a PhD in international law from the Geneva Graduate Institute for International Studies. He has served UNHCR, UNICEF and OHCHR and is currently UNICEF's Representative in Burundi.
This volume considers the important and timely question of criminal justice as a method of addressing state violence committed by non-democratic regimes. The book's main objectives concern a fresh, contemporary, and critical analysis of transitional criminal justice as a concept and its related measures, beginning with the initiatives that have been put in place with the fall of the Communist regimes in Europe in 1989.The project argues for rethinking and revisiting filters that scholars use to interpret main issues of transitional criminal justice, such as: the relationship between judicial accountability, democratisation and politics in transitional societies; the role of successor trials in rewriting history; the interaction between domestic and international actors and specific initiatives in shaping transitional justice; and the paradox of time in enhancing accountability for human rights violations. In order to accomplish this, the volume considers cases of domestic accountability in the post-1989 era, from different geographical areas, such as Europe, Asia and Africa, in relation to key events from various periods of time. In this way the approach, which investigates space and time-lines in key examples, also takes into account a longitudinal study of transitional criminal justice itself. About the book'Transitional justice nowadays is an industry which produces hundreds of texts each year and it is difficult to turn our attention to an intellectual product. This book is well-balanced and will find recognition in readers and students of transitional justice, as well as researchers on social transformation. It is a collection in the best tradition of socio-legal research. The book is recommended for two reasons: its serious treatment of criminal justice as a part of transitional justice, and its approach, which locates the problem of transitional justice in post-communist Europe in a broader, comparative context.' Prof. Dr. Adam Czarnota, Scientific Director of the International Institute for the Sociology of Law, O�ati, Spain'By carefully considering how criminal justice relates to democratization, collective memory, internationalist concerns, and the passage of time since violations occurred, this volume contributes importantly to the evolving transitional justice literature. The questions it raises are timely and theoretically grounded, and the choice of cases diverse and illuminating. Its authors richly contextualize their examinations, complementing recent broad comparative studies that explore large numbers of cases with little detail. This in-depth study critically advances our understanding of the challenges of justice on the fraught terrain of transitioning societies.' Nadya Nedelsky, Associate Professor and Chair, International Studies, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN.'A collection of provocative, thoughtful and superbly documented contributions to our understanding of the dilemmas of transitional justice in post-dictatorial societies. The authors argue that democratic communities cannot function properly if they do not address past crimes and abuses. Genuine reconciliation cannot take place if memory and justice are ignored and denied. With its insightful comparative perspective, this book is highly recommended to all those who care about the relationship between human rights and democracy.' Vladimir Tismaneanu, University of Maryland (College Park)
Based on case studies spanning time and geography from the Spanish to the Nigerian civil wars, to government repression in Argentina, genocidal policies in Guatemala and Rwanda and on to forced population removal in Australia and Israel, this collection represents a focused attempt to come to grips with some of the strategies used to express traumatic memory work. Together, the essays constitute a kaleidoscope of new approaches to show how such performances of memory contribute to transitional justice efforts, demonstrating the complexities of striving for justice and reconciliation through the public expression of shared memories of violence.
Over the past decades, the practise of and research on transitional justice have expanded to preserving memory in the form of memorials. Memorials often employ a common architectural language and a set of political and ethical claims dictate the effect memory can or should have after large-scale violence: providing public sites of commemoration and mourning, putting past wrongs right, holding perpetrators accountable, vindicating the dignity of victims-survivors and contributing to reconciliation. Yet what are the general roles of memorials in transitions to justice? Who uses or opposes memorials, and to which ends? How – and what – do memorials communicate both explicitly and implicitly to the public? What is their architectural language? Questions such as these have long been pursued within the growing field of memory studies and provide valuable insights for researchers in transitional justice who mostly focus on the role of memorials as a mechanism to further some form of justice after the experience of violence. The goal of this volume is therefore to situate the analysis of transitional justice within memory studies’ broader critical understanding of the socio-political, aesthetic and ethical concerns underlying these memorial projects. It combines the two by providing a transnational selection of single case-studies that emphasise the global dimension of memory culture while couching it in current debates in the field of transitional justice. About the book ‘The collection has been well-selected to bring together a variety of perspectives on memorialisation practices and outcomes. [The] content makes a valuable and overdue contribution, bringing together two fields that have developed in parallel and with a lot to contribute to one another.’ Alison Atkinson-¬‐Phillips in Dialogues on Historical Justice and Memory (2014). ‘Memorials in Times of Transition represents an important and timely contribution to an emerging field of research […] This important volume is a significant step towards understanding the drive towards memorialization in diverse post-conflict contexts, the political impact of memorials and how memorialization intersects with other efforts towards coming to terms with difficult pasts.’ Sara Jones in Testimony (2015)
What lessons can we learn from history, and more importantly: how? This question is as commonplace as it is essential. Efficient transitional justice policy evaluation requires, inter alia, an historical dimension. What policy has or has not worked in the past is an obvious key question. Nevertheless, history as a profession remains somewhat absent in the multi-disciplinary field of transitional justice. The idea that we should learn lessons from history continues to create unease among most professional historians. In his critical introduction, the editor investigates the framework of this unease. At the core of this book are nine national European case studies (post 1945, the 1970s dictatorships, post 1989) which implement the true scholarly advantage of historical research for the field of transitional justice: the broad temporal space. All nine case studies tackle the longer-term impact of their country's transitional justice policies. Two comparative conclusions, amongst others by the internationally renowned transitional justice specialist Luc Huyse, complete this collection. This volume is a major contribution in the search for synergies between the agenda of historical research and the rapidly developing field of transitional justice.'The most sophisticated study to date of transitional justice. Responding to a thoughtful and well-elaborated conceptual framework, contributors explore transitional justice in nine European countries in the aftermath of civil and interstate wars. The collective findings document the variety of responses, some of the reasons for them, their consequences for justice, healing and democratic reconstruction and the important role played by official and collective memories. This is a must read for academics and policymakers alike.' Richard Ned Lebow, Professor of International Political Theory in the War Studies Department of King's College London and the James O. Freedman Presidential Professor (Emeritus) of Government at Dartmouth College'Surprisingly, we needed the detour of studying faraway tyrannies and wars to rethink in terms of transitional justice the legacy of painful pasts and the persistence of traumatic memories in postwar Europe. This impressive book offers a tableau of incisive country studies inspired by this new approach. Firmly embedded in comparative analysis and theoretical reflection, it should be in the hand luggage of the non-existent but dearly needed Special Rapporteur on Transitional Justice of the Council of Europe.' Antoon De Baets, author of Responsible History, University of Groningen
In this volume, fifteen contributors from the disciplines of law, politics and sociology reflect on South Africa's transition to democracy and the challenges of transformation and nation-building that have confronted the country since the first democratic elections of 1994. The range of topics covered is expansive, in keeping with a broader than usual definition of transitional justice which, it is argued, is more appropriate for states faced with the mammoth tasks of reform and institution-building in a context in which democracy has never been firmly rooted and the existence of widespread poverty gives rise to the dual demands for both bread and freedom. In the case of South Africa, the post-apartheid era has been characterised by wide-ranging attempts at transformation and nation-building, from the well-known Truth and Reconciliation Commission to reforms in education and policing, the promotion of women's rights, the reform of land law, the provision of basic services to hundreds of thousands of poor households, a new framework for freedom of expression, and the transformation of the judiciary. In the light of South Africa's commitment to a new constitutional dispensation and to legal regulation, this volume focuses in particular, but not exclusively, on the role that law and lawyers have played in social and political change in South Africa in the post-apartheid era. It sets the South African experience in historical and comparative perspective and considers whether any lessons may be learnt for the field of transitional justice.
The Spanish transition from the Franco regime to democracy has not been a very popular subject amongst researchers examining transitional justice at the international level. However, Spain presents certain peculiarities that make it an interesting case in which to explore comparative law and sociology. It has sometimes been seen as a model of peaceful transition, but has also been labelled as an example of an ‘amnesic’ transition to a democratic system in which victims’ rights, justice and truth were forgotten. In contrast to other transitions, demands of justice were not expressed during what was the purely transitional period, but they have been on the increase since then. That is why, in this case, we can speak of ‘post-transitional justice’ or, more properly, of ‘late transitional justice’. This book analyses, above all, the laws, policies and judicial decisions adopted in Spain that were related to the construction of the past and could therefore be understood as measures of transitional justice. By comparing this experience with transitional decisions adopted in other countries, the book highlights the main features of the Spanish case and the lessons that can be learned from it. Measures adopted during the transitional period, such as the amnesty and subsequent decisions aimed at giving some kind of partial reparation to the victims of the repression, are here studied. Demands for reviewing the past, the 2007 Act of Historical Memory, and the controversial use of criminal justice are also considered. Criminal Law is hardly applicable to the facts of the past, but the purely amnesic option can no longer be defended. Therefore, the author proposes a plan of action including different measures, such as the creation of a commission of memory, which would be in charge of investigating not only violent crimes or torture, but also other related crimes, including child abduction and politically motivated unlawful adoptions and those perpetrated in a systematic way during the Dictatorship. A victim-centred approach requires ensuring that each victim has the right to be considered on the basis of his or her own suffering, needs and rights and not as a member of a large group.
Truth-seeking mechanisms, international criminal law developments, and other forms of transitional justice have become ubiquitous in societies emerging from long years of conflict, instability and oppression and moving into a post-conflict, more peaceful era. In practice, both top-down and bottom-up approaches to transitional justice are being formally and informally developed in places such as South Africa, Liberia, Peru, Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, and Northern Ireland. Many studies, conferences and debates have taken place addressing these developments and providing elaboration of theories relating to transition justice generally. However, rarely have these processes been examined and critiqued through a feminist lens. The position of women, particularly their specific victimisation, typically has not been taken into account in any systematic manner. Seldom do commentators specifically consider whether the recently developed mechanisms for promoting peace and reconciliation will actually help the position of women in a society moving out of repression or conflict. This is unfortunate, since women’s issues are often overlooked and post-conflict societies, because they must rebuild, are ideally poised to introduce standards that would enable and ensure the active participation of the entire population, including women, in rebuilding a more stable, fair and democratic polity. This book offers some insights into women’s perspectives and feminist views on the topic of transitional justice or ‘justice in transition’. Bringing feminism into the conversation allows us to expand the possibilities for a transformative justice approach after a period of conflict or insecurity, not by replacing it with feminist theory, but by broadening the scope and vision of the potential responses. About this book ‘This book is essential for those whose main lines of research are transitional justice, gender, feminism and conflict resolution because it collects together different -perspectives on feminism and the transition to post-conflict times. We have the opportunity to deepen the connection between transitional justice and feminism, but also to reflect on the challenges that lie ahead. In this respect, some of the chapters offer interesting methodologies through which previous findings may be seen in a new light. Everything makes more sense when theory and practice are linked, something that this book does extremely well. The cases of Chile, Kyrgyzstan, Bosnia, Cuba, South Africa, the United States, and others enrich the analysis and help to re-define new strategies to ensure that the gender perspective is kept firmly in the forefront of transitional justice.’ Carolina Jimenez Sanchez in Revue Québécoise de droit international (2013) 291 ‘[Feminist Perspectives on Transitional Justice] opens up fruitful avenues for further research.’ Rosemary Nagy in Canadian Journal of Women and the Law (2014) 446 ‘[W]ith this collection of essays Fineman and Zinsstag have succeeded in exposing transitional justice methodologies to the scrutiny of feminism. This book is essential reading for those involved in developing or implementing transitional justice mechanisms, as it raises the critical discussions that must not be ignored if transitional justice is to positively impact the lives of women in transitioning societies.’ Grace A. Harbour in Journal of International Criminal Justice (2015) Introduction
This edited volume focuses on developments in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting cases of sexual violence in (post-)conflict situations from an interdisciplinary angle. The investigation and prosecution of these cases raises new and challenging questions as to how to build evidence, but also how to address victims? concerns in that process. It addresses innovations and challenges of empirical and other new kinds of social scientific, archival and medical data collection techniques; the development of evidence in relation to charges ranging from sexual violence as a war crime, crime against humanity to genocide; evidentiary and procedural achievements and challenges involved in prosecuting sexual victimization in international courts; and how to create awareness of sexual violence crimes in order to recognize such crimes and to prevent them in the future.
States that are in transition after a violent conflict or an authoritarian past face daunting challenges in (re)establishing the rule of law. This volume examines in detail attempts that were made in certain significant post-conflict or post-authoritarian situations to strengthen the domestic rule of law with the aid of international law. Attention is paid in particular to the empowerment of domestic courts in such situations. International law may serve these courts as a tool for reconciling the demands for new rights and responsibilities with due process and other rule of law requirements. The volume contains case studies of the role of domestic courts in various post-conflict and transitional situations (Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal, East Timor, Russia, South Africa, and Rwanda). Each of these case studies seeks to answer questions relating to the exact constitutional moment empowering domestic courts to apply international law, the range of international legal norms that are applied, the involvement of international actors in bringing about change, the contextualization of international legal norms in states in transition, tension within such states as a result of the application of international law, and the legacy of domestic courts' empowerment in terms of durable rule of law entrenchment.
Rule of law has emerged as an essential objective in assistance to post-conflict and post-crisis societies such as Somalia, Kosovo, Liberia and Egypt. This has led to a host of externally promoted programmes and projects on law reform, constitutional development and judicial training, and security sector transformation. Through UN Security Council resolutions and other means of conditionality, the rule of law is not simply promoted in post-conflict and crisis settings, but also enforced. A failure to adhere to the rule of law can result in donors withholding funds and political support. The employment of the concept as a standard and condition in state-building has national legal and political consequences. Clarity in communication on the rule of law is of great importance. This book provides a critical analysis of past and current rule of law promotion, and argues that despite past experiences of development and technical assistance, rule of law reform in war-torn and crisis societies operates in an autonomous field where best practices and lessons learned are rarely or only superficially acknowledged. Furthermore, there is a need for a reorientation of rule of law assistance to the core values of the concept in order to retain its independent and 'analytical bite', and to develop criteria that can guide reformers in the field. The author provides a comparative and systematic overview of how rule of law promotion has been put into effect and identifies challenges and opportunities for enhancing and strengthening norms, ideologies and methods for legal and judicial reform after war and crisis. About the book 'This compelling account of the role of international actors promoting rule of law in war to peace transitions argues that we have overreached. By prescribing value-laden rule of law reforms to formal justice institutions after war, we have created 'blind-spots': international actor accountability, informal and customary justice systems, and the procedures and outcomes of public administration. This important book argues that the real test of international rule of law interventions is whether they create spaces where conflict-weary citizens can demand, challenge, and participate in the creation of better local governance.' Professor Veronica L. Taylor, Australian National University and University of Washington 'In short, Sannerholm's pithy volume is an excellent primer for those interested in international rule of law reform efforts in countries emerging from war or crisis. He harbors no illusions about the challenges that these reform efforts face, and his criticisms of such efforts to date are realistic and incisive without succumbing to pessimism. Overall, Rule of Law After War and Crisis is a welcome contribution to our understanding of the foundational importance of the rule of law and the immense challenges the international community faces in establishing it where it is absent.' Kendall L. Manlove in International Law and Politics (2013) 953 About the author Richard Zajac Sannerholm holds a PhD in law and has experience in rule of law reform in post-conflict, crisis and transition countries, working as a researcher and adviser for international organizations, national agencies and non-governmental organizations. Zajac Sannerholm currently works as a researcher and project leader at the Folke Bernadotte Academy in Sweden.