Transitional justice: definition and functions

Abstract

The end of the Cold War led to the search for new forms of peacemaking. These initiatives include a focus on public policy in the regions, finding ways to help weak states strengthen their capacity and deal with the effects of violence on the society. The transition from conflict to peace requires special measures to restore and develop social life. The set of measures in UN documents and scientific theories was called "Transitional Justice". As a result of the armed conflict in the Donbas and in the annexation of the Crimea, Ukraine needs mechanisms of post-conflict settlement, adapted to the national context. A topical issue is the use of practical and theoretical developments in transitional justice and defining the necessary functions of the state in the implementation of post-conflict measures. Obviously, different interpretations of the past are used by politicians, which is especially characteristic of divided societies, where the attitudes of particular groups of the population are used for political dividends. From this perspective, the task of the state in post-conflict reconstruction is to act autonomously from short-term, conjunctural political discourses, much of which can be divided by society. Transition justice is a set of processes related to society's attempts to find common ground on the legacy of past widespread violence to ensure accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation. The functions of transitional justice include: promoting democratization; reducing the number of human rights abuses; legislative consolidation of official events of the conflict past in the official version; reparations and, first and foremost, material payments to victims; promoting reconciliation. In fact, transitional justice is not a neutral tool for achieving truth, recovering victims and reconciliation, as it is always implemented in a particular political context. In addition to the legal expertise of transitional justice implementation, we believe that socio-political expertise should be used. A key element of such expertise is the formulation of memory policies, in particular through the study of public opinion and the interests of various social groups in society.