Understanding the Relationship between the Rule of Law, Judicial Reform, and Transitional Justice

Abstract

In the transitional justice literature it is often assumed that transitional justice mechanisms, such as trials, improve the rule of law, as well as strengthen democracy and human rights protections. Although there is a lively debate on the causal relationship between transitional justice mechanisms, and democracy and human rights, we still know little about the relationship between transitional justice and rule of law. But what is it about rule of law that makes accountability mechanisms more likely? If judicial reform aims to strengthen the rule of law, how does it relate to accountability mechanisms? Departing from an institutional- and process-oriented view of rule of law, in this paper I engage with some of these questions. The paper aims to provide a preliminary exploration on the theoretical links between judicial reform, domestic legal norms and institutions, and efforts for prosecuting human rights violations, through an empirical comparative analysis on Latin America.