Search: Affective Justice: Book Symposium: A Response
16 Sep Transitional Justice Symposium: Teitel’s Conceptual Revolution–Locating Law in Shifting Political Ecologies
ecological thinking. Academics across diverse fields are also coming to recognize the critical importance of inter-disciplinary scholarship, especially when we are trying to address wicked problems like institutionalized violence and injustice (even as academic structures continue to impede inter-disciplinary collaboration). Transitional Justice (the book), in this regard, prefigured transitional justice (the field), as one formed through multilateral conversations between scholars of history, political science, literature, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, law, and of course the communities of activists, writers and artists who were building the field in practice all along. Although...
24 Aug Rohingya Symposium: Why Accountability Should Be at the Heart of Policy on Myanmar–Applying the Principles Against Impunity
be sustainable peace, nation-building, and social cohesion without justice and accountability. Numerous case-studies illustrate the point, including in ASEAN, of which Myanmar is a member. A colleague recently talked to me about the 2019 Indonesian elections, which were contested between Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto. I asked her why Subianto, who as a former Lieutenant General in the Army had been implicated in alleged serious human rights violations, including the enforced disappearance of pro-democracy activists, was so popular? She replied that, because he had never faced justice, this had contributed...
17 Sep Transitional Justice Symposium: Building upon Ruti Teitel’s Seminal Work–Towards a Transitional Justice Narrative
[Valeria Vegh Weis is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin an Associate Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History and a Professor of Criminology at Buenos Aires University .] Introduction Re-reading Ruti Teitel’s Transitional Justice makes for an even more moving experience than expected. The book, written nearly 20 years ago, set the basis for a ground-breaking field of study, bringing to light important legal, political, and ethical dilemmas such as truth versus justice and reparations for victims versus structural inequality, and even suggesting possible ways...
09 Sep Libya and International Justice Symposium: Justice Delayed, A Promise Betrayed?
I witnessed in Benghazi in February 2011 was the long search for justice for the families of victims of the single worst atrocity of Gaddafi’s Libya, the Abu Salim prison massacre in 1996. Many key figures participating in those demonstrations that later tipped into an armed uprising against the Gaddafi regime had a legal background. Several were lawyers or judges. They were adamant they wanted a different Libya, one that included a justice system anchored in the rule of law and respect for human rights. The National Transitional Council (NTC),...
03 May Apartheid-Era Crimes: Indeed “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied”
...offences.” This is why Rodrigues stands charged with murder and defeating the ends of justice. He is seeking a stay of prosecution with regard to the murder charge alleging that the it would infringe his constitutional rights including his right to dignity given that he is 80 years old and that the crime occurred 48 years ago. From the perspective of the Timol family and other families in a similar position, this argument adds insult to injury and is yet another attempt to evade justice. Be that as it may,...
05 Nov Justice Under Pressure: Strategic Litigation of Judicial Independence in Europe
recent report (Justice Under Pressure: Strategic Litigation of Judicial Independence in Europe), the authors of this blog have examined how, across the EU, courts and legal processes are being used to defend judicial independence. The report followed a two-year process of consultation with lawyers, judges, and civil society engaged in this litigation across 8 EU Member States. It maps myriad ways in which judicial independence is under attack, but also the remarkable array of litigation that has been employed in response. Unsurprisingly, practice reveals many obstacles that impede resort to the courts...19 Mar Comparative Free Speech About Bong Hits
and Lawrence?” Mr. Kneedler: “Justice Ginsburg, I think you can distinguish Roper and Lawrence from the free speech context. In those cases…” Justice Kennedy: “But counsel, if I may, what if Joseph Frederick said that his advocacy of bong hits is central to his own constitutional search to define meaning, to comprehend the universe and to understand the mystery of human life?” Mr. Kneedler: “With all due respect Justice Kennedy, I’m not sure that Joseph Frederick’s personal quest for the mystery of human life through mind-altering drugs should be relevant...
08 Jan Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Why Afghan Survivors Need Sustained ICC Action
[Yifat Susskind is the Executive Director of MADRE, an international human rights organization dedicated to meeting urgent needs in communities facing crisis and using the human rights framework to create durable social change] For women, girls, and LGBTQI+ persons in Afghanistan, the struggle for justice has never been more urgent. With each passing day, the Taliban is consolidating power while the international community edges toward normalizing relations with Afghanistan’s de facto rulers. This leaves the International Criminal Court (ICC) as one of the few institutions able to secure justice for...10 Jun Outlawing Amnesty: The Return of Criminal Justice in Transitional Justice Schemes
[Lisa J. Laplante is Visiting Assistant Professor at Marquette University Law School] Until recently, immunity measures like amnesties were considered an acceptable part of promoting transitional justice in countries seeking to address past episodes of systematic violations of human rights. The politically sensitive context of countries seeking to broker peace between oppositional forces often outweighed the moral imperative of punishing those responsible for perpetrating human rights atrocities. Latin America exemplified this trend in the 1980s, while also popularizing truth commissions. The resulting truth v. justice debate eventually sidelined criminal trials...