TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

The notion of transitional justice as a separate field of research and action emerged during the ‘third wave’ of democracy in Latin America in the 1980s and in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. At the time, it focused on addressing dictatorial or authoritarian regimes and the transition of societies to democracies. Since then, the field has evolved from being a human rights instrument of democratisation to become an essential aspect of post-conflict transitions and peace-building interventions (Andrieu, 2010).

The UN defines transitional justice as ‘the full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society’s attempts to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past abuses, in order to ensure accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation’ (UN Security Council, 2004).