Two Core Concepts: Truth

and Justice
 TWO CORE CONCEPTS

transition justice

• The notion of transition comes from a sub-discipline in political science

(transitology) that studies the process of change from a political regime
to another, mainly from authoritarian regimes to democracies
• The notion expanded to the transition from conflict to peace or stability
A country in transition is a country which is emerging from one particular order
and is uncertain and unsure as to how to respond to the challenge of the new.
These countries face the problem on one hand, of dealing with the past and the
challenge of new directions, on the other one. In addition, they face the problem
of ensuring sustainable peace so that democracy and economic growth can
flourish.

Alex Boraine
former deputy chair of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
co-founder and president of the International Center for Transitional Justice
A society is transitional if it…
• Has not moved beyond legacies of violent past
• Has not established sustainable peace
• Is in transition between these two states

Why is the term ‘transitional’ potentially misleading?

• Could be conceived as only addressing judicial, political, and moral
issues immediately following end of regime/war
• Actually has much broader scope and can take decades
 Transition is
not necessarily a
linear process
and does not specify
what a society is
transitioning to, or
when a transitional
period will end.
 Retributive Restorative Reparative
• Focuses on • Focuses on: • Form of criminal
punishing  The needs of justice
perpetrators the victims emphasizing
 Restoring reparation to the
relationships victim or affected
between victims members of the
and
perpetrators community by
 Promotion of the offender
reparation, (cash payment,
reconciliation, community
reassurance service)
 Legal
• Addresses legal injustices:
 Political manipulation of the
legal system
 Corruption of the judiciary
 Lack of access to justice
Distributive
• Addresses structural and
systematic injustices and
distributive inequalities
(political, economic, social)
that are frequently at the root
of violent conflict

Transitional Justice
• Not strictly about either judicial or non-judicial practices
• Concerned with a vast range of issues
• Different ways of understanding justice
Narrow Definition of Transitional Justice

the conception of justice associated with periods of political change, characterized by legal
responses to confront the wrongdoing of repressive predecessor regimes
Ruti Tietel
leading scholar in the field

Emphasize legal approaches

Judicial measures
for past violations Prevent recurrence of
Backward-looking
violations in future
Broad Definition of Transitional Justice

• Includes political, social,

and economic measures
to address the legacies
of past human rights
violations
• Touches on all areas
of peacebuilding