Truth Commissions and Courts: The Tension Between Criminal Justice and the Search for Truth - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1402032234 ISBN 13: 9781402032233

Publisher: Springer, 2005

Synopsis

Criminal justice for human rights abuses committed during periods of political repression or dictatorship is one of the great challenges to post-con?ict societies. In many cases, there has been no justice at all. Sometimes serious political concerns that e?orts at accountability might upset fragile peace settlements have militated in favour of no action and no accountability. In many cases, the outgoing tyrants have conditioned their departure upon a pledge that there be no prosecutions. But thinking on these issues has evolved considerably in recent years. Largely driven by the view that collective amnesia amounts to a violation of fundamental human rights, especially those of the victims of atrocities, attention has increasingly turned to the dynamics of post-con?ict accountability. At the high end of the range, of course, sit the new international criminal justice institutions: the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the various ''hybrid'' tribunals in Kosovo, East Timor and Cambodia, and the new International Criminal Court. But in terms of sheer numbers, the most signi?cant new institutions are truth and reconciliation commissions. Of va- able architecture, depending upon the prerogatives of the society in question and the features of the past con?ict, they have emerged as a highly popular mechanism within the toolbox of transitional justice. In some cases, the truth commission is held out as an alternative to criminal justice.

About this title

Synopsis

In recent years, the two primary vehicles for the pursuit of post-conflict justice have been criminal prosecutions and alternative truth-seeking mechanisms. Although methods differ, the goal of accountability is fundamentally similar, yet more often than not the relationship between truth commissions and courts is viewed as one that is prone to conflict and difficulty. This volume explores the tension between the work of truth commissions and criminal courts in addressing serious human rights abuses in post-conflict situations. Drawing on country examples, such as Guatemala, Sierra Leone, Peru, East Timor, Ghana and Northern Ireland, this collection of essays examines how truth commissions and courts have dealt with victims, relatives and perpetrators and how the mechanisms have interacted at a practical level. The contribution of these differing approaches to the overall aim of national reconciliation is also assessed. With the growing engagement of the international community in transitional justice and post-conflict reconstruction, Truth Commissions and Courts promises to be of enduring interest to scholars and practitioners alike.

About the Author

William A. Schabas is Professor of Human Rights Law at the National University of Ireland, Galway and Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights. His numerous publications include Genocide in International Law (2000), The Abolition of the Death Penalty in International Law (third edition, 2003) and An Introduction to the International Criminal Court (second edition, 2004). He served as an international commissioner on the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Shane Darcy is a research associate at the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland, Galway, from where he holds an LL.M in International Human Rights Law. He is the author of several journal articles and is currently Managing Editor of Criminal Law Forum.

About this edition

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1402032234
• ISBN 13: 9781402032233
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 278
• Editor: Schabas William A., Darcy Shane