Concept Of Transitional Justice Research Articles

Firearms control as an element of criminological security in the concept of transitional justice for Ukraine

Firearms control as an element of criminological security in the concept of transitional justice for Ukraine

Transitional Justice in Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia in a Comparative Framework

This thesis aims to enhance transitional justice studies with a focus on the Balkan peninsula, by providing a comparative analysis of the extent of transitional justice mechanisms in Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. With the fall of military dictatorships in Latin America in the 1980s, the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the emergence of new states in the 1990s, the concept of Transitional Justice (TJ) saw a significant rise in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This was further propelled by the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), the prolonged breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992) as well as the fall of the communist dictatorship in Albania (1990). The emergence of new states and the state-building processes that followed the political and social changes also brought new challenges and conflicts, although they marked the end of significantly repressive political regimes. Considering that the implementation of TJ has undergone several changes over time and is dependent on the different settings in which it was employed, it is necessary to conduct extensive comparative research to determine the extent to which TJ differs in post-communist and post-conflict nations. The study has developed three main hypotheses: (1) The limited achievement of lustration law in Albania has conditioned the current status of transitional justice; (2) The state-building process has contributed to the evolution of Transitional Justice in Kosovo; (3) The power-sharing process as a TJ pillar in North Macedonia has fueled TJ in the country. By utilizing a mixed methods approach, data was collected through elite interviews, conducted in the three countries with 44 representatives from academia, politics, media, and civil society. To conclude, two hypotheses are fully upheld in terms of the limited achievement of lustration law and its implications with the current status of transitional justice in Albania; and the contribution of state-building in Kosovo to the evolution of transitional justice. The third hypothesis related to the power-sharing process in North Macedonia as a fueling mechanism for the evolution of transitional justice is partially upheld. Received: 13 February 2024 / Accepted: 30 April 2024 / Published: 5 May 2024

Repairing Historic Injustice: The Return of Indigenous Peoples’ Ancestral Human Remains Through Transitional Justice

Abstract This article focuses on the ancestral human remains of Indigenous peoples that were taken by European invaders during the colonial era. It begins by considering the notion of human remains. It then describes the two types of heritage that result from the removal of human remains: the tangible heritage made of the remains exhibited or stored in the museums or universities of former colonial States, and the intangible heritage made of the collective memories of the surviving communities and their descendants about the removal (and the absence) of the stolen remains. The article next examines the role of national and international laws with respect to the restitution of human remains by exploring the concept of transitional justice. This article argues that transitional justice can facilitate the meaningful repatriation of ancestral human remains and hence the healing of past injustice.

Nazi Crimes, Max Merten and his Prosecution as Reflected in Greece and beyond

The prosecution of Max Merten (1911–1971), the only Nazi war criminal accused of Holocaust involvement in Greece, coincided not only with the start of the Greek-German negotiations on victim compensation but also with the Eichmann trial. In 1959, the Merten Case provoked a massive public backlash, both because of the gravity of his crimes and because of his impending extradition to West Germany. We argue that in the Cold War atmosphere, when the Merten Case attracted international attention, the actions of internal and external power elites in the West deliberately departed from the concept of transitional justice to use this murky affair to their political advantage. Rather than a fair trial, the aim was to obstruct it in the interests of good relations, political self-preservation, and gradual social amnesia about Greek complicity during the German occupation. In contrast, the Eastern Bloc fed the opposite narrative of rotten capitalism by building on its proclaimed struggle against fascism. By combining archival sources and newspaper coverage of the Merten Case on both sides of the East-West conflict, our article explores which mechanisms were mobilised in public and which incentives were carried out behind the scenes. This allows us to examine multidirectional attitudes in a geopolitical sense, with the main aim of showing the discursive imposition of disinformation operating (in)formally through the channels of political institutions during the Cold War.

Transitional Justice Status in Albania Through Local Perceptions

This research article aims to enhance regional studies with a focus on the Balkan peninsula, by providing a comprehensive analysis of the extent of transitional justice mechanisms in Albania and its local perception among the citizens. With the fall of military dictatorships in Latin America in 1980s, the breakup of the Soviet Union and the emergence of new states in 1990s, the concept of Transitional Justice (TJ) saw a significant rise in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This was further propelled by the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), the prolonged breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992) as well as the fall of the communist dictatorship in Albania (1990). The emergence of new states and the state-building processes that followed the political and social changes also brought new challenges and conflicts, although they marked the end of significantly repressive political regimes. Considering that the implementation of TJ has undergone several changes over time and dependent of the different settings in which it was employed, it is necessary to conduct extensive research to determine the extent to which TJ differs in post-communist and post-conflict nations. The main research question of this article is: How is reflected the current status of transitional justice in Albania in the lens of public perceptions? To achieve the goal, this article employs quantitative data through a survey conducted with 1021 respondents in Albania. The results of the study show that there are significant differences between the responses of participants who reported having knowledge of Transitional Justice and those who reported being unaware, particularly with their understanding of the number of victims affected. p-value <0.05.
 
 Received: 6 September 2023 / Accepted: 29 November 2023 / Published: 5 January 2024

Transitional justice mechanisms and processes: international experience for restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and national security

The mechanisms and processes used in post-conflict countries that contributed to the restoration and ensuring of sustainable peace after the end of armed conflict or active hostilities are analysed. Among the elements of transitional justice, the author identifies those whose implementation is appropriate and possible before the end of the active phase of the conflict in Ukraine: bringing to individual responsibility, recording, documenting and collecting evidence of crimes allegedly committed on the territory of Ukraine (including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression), cooperation with the International Criminal Court on international crimes, determining the procedure for bringing the top military and political leadership of the russian federation to justice (tribunal); establishing the circumstances of the conflict and recording them, which is especially important in the context of information and psychological operations and other methods of hybrid warfare used by the Russian Federation. With regard to reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence of the conflict, it is already advisable to discuss both issues, develop strategies for compensating Ukraine for losses and act during and after the de-occupation of the territories.
 It has been also noted that the issue of exemption from liability and punishment may be raised during negotiations on the terms of ending the conflict, as well as the issue of mitigation of punishment in case of guilt and cooperation in establishing the truth. In this aspect, the experience of Colombia has been analysed with a reservation regarding the individualisation of the concept of transitional justice, taking into account specific circumstances. In particular, it has been determined that for Ukraine, the experience of transitional justice in Colombia can be taken into account when addressing a number of issues of amnesty, organisation of work of truth commissions and others, with an understanding of the different nature of the conflict in Colombia, which is purely internal (non-international armed conflict).

Transitional Justice: What are the Reality and its Concept?

Background. Transitional justice is an important framework that addresses the ongoing impact of human rights violations and systemic injustice during significant political transitions. Purpose. From the results of this study, it was found that the reality or facts that exist in transitional justice have several existing challenges, besides that there are also several ideal concepts in implementing transitional justice. Method. This research examines the reality and the actual concept of Transitional Justice. In fixing the problem, the researcher uses normative (doctrine) research methods with library data sources as secondary data. Results. includes a comprehensive, victim-centered, and transformative approach. The advice obtained for this research is that it is important to find innovative solutions and involve all stakeholders. Conclusion. includes a comprehensive, victim-centered, and transformative approach. The advice obtained for this research is that it is important to find innovative solutions and involve all stakeholders.

The Role of Envy in Transitional Justice

Transitional justice has historically emerged from the belief that, when countries or communities have experienced severe internal conflicts and upheavals, one cannot simply “move on”. To prevent the same wrongdoing from occurring again, parties involved need to draw the line between what was accepted in the past and what will be acceptable in the future. This work occurs through a transformation of societal relationships, which primarily aims to reshape belief and value systems and mold emotional responses between involved parties. A nuanced understanding of the emotions at play in intergroup conflicts is thus essential to transitional justice approaches. Our contribution to this understanding is a philosophical study of the potential of such a common but complex emotion as envy to undermine or, in fact, corroborate just intergroup interactions.
 In the first two sections we introduce the concept of transitional justice as transformation of the relationship dynamics, and explain the role of just interactions between parties involved in transitional justice processes. Then, we review some of the ways in which emotions in general are relevant to transitional justice processes. Finally, we narrow our focus to envy, presenting four examples of intergroup conflicts in which group envy played a central role. We conclude by suggesting that investigating envy and its varieties is epistemically valuable and practically relevant to transitional justice processes.

Compensation Scheme of Former Political Prisoners in Albania, as a Matter of Transitional (in) Justice

The change of the political and legal system in Albania gave birth to the great hope, not only of the triumph of dignity, but also of the correction of injustices towards former political prisoners. In Albania, from 1991 to 2008, a series of legal measures addressed the issue of former political prisoners. Their purpose was not only to legally consider punishment for crimes of a political nature as unjust, but also to award compensation. But, in the span of 17 years they remained a formal statement on paper, an inadequate legal solution that in very few cases became effective. At the beginning of 2008, with the entry into force of the law on the compensation of former political convicts, an administrative compensation process was sanctioned that offered a reasonable solution in terms of time and amount of compensation. However, the subsequent legal changes recognized the right of the state to carry out a compensation process based on budgetary possibilities and did not condition the realization of this process in terms of time. The paper aims to analyze the concept of transitional justice in international and domestic law, highlighting its main instruments, as well as focusing on compensation for former political prisoners in Albania. The work through the analytical and comparative method supports the hypothesis that the compensation of political prisoners designed as an effective tool for correcting the injustice caused during the years of communism is bringing back new injustices, which are incompatible with the principle of the rule of law and human rights. The compensation scheme for political convicts in Albania has created not only legal uncertainty regarding the time of compensation, but also such a duration can lead to inequality and discrimination. The paper recommends the need for immediate legal changes to build a fair, fast and effective compensation mechanism.
 
 Received: 05 May 2022 / Accepted: 16 May 2023 / Published: 20 May 2023

Democracy, Nazi Trials, and Transitional Justice in Germany, 1945–1950

Devin Pendas has written a stimulating study of the question of the relationship between early Nazi trials and the concept of Transitional Justice (TJ). He is less concerned with the extent to which contemporary concepts (TJ emerged in the 1980s) can be applied to historical cases than with verifying or falsifying an existing theoretical concept through historical-empirical research. This is an interesting spin on the topic, as it puts the spotlight on historically grounded studies in a field dominated by political and social scientists looking at current cases. However, this also raises the question of who Pendas’s study is aimed at. He attempts the balancing act of presenting new insights for historians of German history and of Nazi trials, for TJ scholars and for legal historians. The latter come into the picture because Pendas concentrates on a specific aspect of transitional justice: criminal trials, in this case against Nazi perpetrators in the years 1945 to 1950.

Policing the Mexican Past: Transitional Justice in a Post-authoritarian Regime

Policing the Mexican Past: Transitional Justice in a Post-authoritarian Regime

Проблема дефініції «перехідного правосуддя» у сучасному філософсько-правовому дискурсі

The article carries out a philosophical and legal analysis of existing approaches to the definition of "transitional justice" and forms the author's position regarding its understanding. Two features of the emergence of the model of transitional justice are singled out: 1) the studied model is built on practical experience, and later became the basis of theoretical studies on transitional justice; 2) this model arises at the initiative of the international community as a reaction to repeated violations of human rights. It was determined that despite the general nature of the definition of transitional justice defined by the UN, many researchers criticize it for the following reasons: firstly, its content does not cover the occasions of changes in political regimes during which human rights were violated; secondly, it does not indicate the admissibility or inadmissibility of using the concept of transitional justice during an armed conflict, or the possibility of its application only after the end of the conflict; thirdly, the definition defined by the UN does not reflect the relationship between transitional justice and international law. The author's definition of transitional justice is proposed, it is a set of tools, processes and mechanisms aimed at overcoming the consequences of human rights abuses in the context of armed conflicts and/or changes in political regimes, which consist, first of all, in bringing to justice those guilty of committed offenses, compensation for damage (as moral and material), establishing the truth about the circumstances in which human rights were violated, achieving reconciliation and establishing justice.

Recognition as Transitional Justice ‘From Below’: Analysing Victims’ Grassroots Activism in Postconflict Colombia

ABSTRACT The framework of transitional justice ‘from below’ is often used to explore perspectives where victims are addressed as subjects with their own agency and organizational capability in temporal and normative aspects. Using qualitative research techniques to analyse victims’ organizations in Colombia, this article establishes the notion of recognition as crucial to comprehending ‘from below’ perspectives of transitional justice. It explores the cases of the Never Again Museum and the Trails for Life and Reconciliation in Eastern Antioquia. It examines victims’ efforts to create processes of ‘democratization of pain’ (the transformation of personal experiences of loss into common public knowledge) as expressions of recognition. The article’s main contribution rests in the idea that by scrutinizing victims’ initiatives as expressions of recognition, the normative idea of transitional justice ‘from below’ can be reinvigorated. It demonstrates that the concept of transitional justice ‘from below’ constitutes an abstract ideal that needs to be redefined by bringing into consideration the function and particularities of victims’ grassroots activism.

The concept of transitional justice: genesis and features

Transitional justice is a set of measures related to systemic or large-scale human rights violations designed to compensate victims of violations and to facilitate or facilitate the transformation of political systems, conflicts and other conditions that may be the cause of violations. Different methods and components of transitional justice usually combine restorative justice measures (truth and reconciliation commissions) and a parallel system of punitive justice (mainly for those most responsible for the most serious crimes and their direct perpetrators). In addition, transitional justice measures are aimed at reforming society’s institutions by restoring the rule of law and ensuring the functioning of the judiciary in the long run. At the same time, their goal is to ensure that crimes committed during the previous period do not go unpunished. Transitional justice is based on the responsibility and compensation of victims. It recognizes their dignity as citizens and as human beings. Ignoring mass abuses is a simple way out, but it destroys the values on which any decent society can be built. Transitional justice raises the most difficult questions of law and policy imaginable. Putting victims and their dignity first signals the path to new commitments to ensure the safety of ordinary citizens in their own countries - from abuse of power and effectively protected from harm by others. The historical development of transitional justice is nonlinear, and its conceptual definitions are descriptive and inexhaustible. In this context, countries in conflict or already in conflict have the opportunity to choose the most appropriate measures and mechanisms to achieve the ultimate goal of transitional justice in that country - justice for victims of conflict and the restoration of peaceful life. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that transitional justice cannot be the embodiment of the justice of the victors, so the parties to the conflict must participate in the national dialogue, and the winners and losers must be held accountable. First of all, it should be noted that transitional justice is only one of the approaches that can be used to build peace, along with the deployment of peacekeeping peacekeeping forces and other measures. It is the combination of these measures that will guarantee the long-term restoration of peace and non-return to the conflict. In addition, such measures may take place with the involvement of various actors, such as: the actual state in which the conflict took place (or is taking place); the international community or both. Key words: human rights and freedoms, transitional justice, armed conflict, post-conflict period.

The Possibility of Truth and Justice in Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden

The paper examines the possibility of attaining justice and truth for victims of human rights abuses as represented in Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden (1991). The paper investigates the validity of the concept of transitional justice, as a national reconciliation policy, in addressing individual sufferings and stories. While analyzing the play, the paper handles certain questions: is transitional justice the appropriate tool to expose the truth and achieve the justice desired by the victims? Is the perpetrators accountability possible? Is retribution more effective if taken by the hands of the victims themselves? Can reconciliation even be possible for the victims? The paper uses theories and definitions of the concept of transitional justice as well as those of Trauma as its main framework of inquiry. The conclusion of the play is open to speculations as it is the case with most of human rights abuses and the process of justice and accountability related to them.

The Possibility of Truth and Justice in Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden

The paper examines the possibility of attaining justice and truth for victims of human rights abuses as represented in Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden (1991). The paper investigates the validity of the concept of transitional justice, as a national reconciliation policy, in addressing individual sufferings and stories. While analyzing the play, the paper handles certain questions: is transitional justice the appropriate tool to expose the truth and achieve the justice desired by the victims? Is the perpetrators accountability possible? Is retribution more effective if taken by the hands of the victims themselves? Can reconciliation even be possible for the victims? The paper uses theories and definitions of the concept of transitional justice as well as those of Trauma as its main framework of inquiry. The conclusion of the play is open to speculations as it is the case with most of human rights abuses and the process of justice and accountability related to them.

Criminological principles of transitional justice for Ukraine: zones of criminogenic risks

The criminological bases of the concept of transitional justice for Ukraine in the part of the description are formulated, the most dangerous criminogenic risks of its realization are found out. It is proposed to distinguish two zones of such risks, which are manifested in the field of existential semantic dilemmas of transitional justice and conditions of legal singularity.Such dilemmas of transitional justice as “truth vs justice”, “justice vs reconciliation” and “reconciliation vs truth” are described. The first is that the desire for just retribution for the suffering caused by the conflict and the existence of fear are contrary to plural rationality, the comprehensiveness of truth. This dilemma is a typical manifestation of binary opposition, which makes it impossible to think and practice in the format of nonlinearity of the history, socio-temporal multidimensionality in a single chronotope of pre-conflict and conflict events.The dilemma of “justice vs. reconciliation” expresses the target and instrumental conflict between retributive and restorative justice, the moral and legal request of the parties to the fair criminal prosecution of offenders and amnesty as a factor in reducing public transit intolerance by those involved in the conflict.The dilemma of “reconciliation vs. truth” is one of the manifestations of competing victimhood, as well as a consequence of metaphysical multiplicity of ontological simultaneous stay of the parties to the conflict in different socio-temporal modes: excellent narrative, discursive symbolic systems of thought, practice.If the internal dimension of social conflict is maintained by foreign policy agents, an energy-charged social mythology, fueled by propaganda, collective commemorative practices, and postmemory mechanisms, becomes an obstacle to the substantive synchronization of time modes.The connection between the shortcomings of the transitional justice components and hate crimes, the delegitimization of state and municipal authorities has been proved. Accent has been placed on the criminogenic significance of competing victimhood, the mythology of postmemory, the desynchronized elements of criminal justice and criminological policy. Emphasis has been placed on the criminogenic significance of shortcomings in approaches to restoring criminal justice mechanisms in the occupied territories, mutual exclusion of jurisdictions of the sovereign Ukrainian state and quasi-law enforcement, quasi-judicial bodies of the occupation administration, which creates obstacles for the conflict-free performance of tasks related to the further treatment of persons “convicted” by the bodies of the occupation administration for committing general criminal offenses under the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Similar criminogenic risks are formed within the legal regulation of relations on: a) recognition / non-recognition of quasi-legal facts in the field of registration of civil status, quasi-transactions with property that do not violate the rights and freedoms of citizens of Ukraine, i.e. are not socially dangerous or harmful, etc.; b) the legally significant status of special subjects of criminal offenses to ensure the possibility of bringing them to justice under the articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on crimes committed by such subjects in the temporarily occupied territories.

The role of international institutions in transitional justice processes

The article analyses the place and role of international institutions in the process of transitional justice. It is determined that the concept of transitional justice is a system of mechanisms and tools implemented in a country that is in a state of transition from armed conflict to post-conflict period or from totalitarian to democratic regime.

Some issues of OSCE participation in the formation of the concept of transitional justice

Some issues of OSCE participation in the formation of the concept of transitional justice

ІСТОРИЧНІ АСПЕКТИ СТАНОВЛЕННЯ КОНЦЕПЦІЇ ПЕРЕХІДНОГО ПРАВОСУДДЯ В ТЕОРІЇ МІЖНАРОДНОГО ПРАВА

The article examines the features of the historical development of the concept of transitional justice in the theory of international law. The author draws attention to the urgency of the need to generalize the patterns of development of directions and mechanisms of transitional justice, study the evolution of international legal regulation of the transitional justice model, and clarify the impact of national contexts on the content of the transitional justice model. The author analyzes in detail the existing theories of the concept of transitional justice and draws attention to the common features of these concepts. In particular, this concerns the emergence of a transitional justice model through human rights campaigns around the world in response to serious violations of human rights or humanitarian law. The author concludes that transitional justice was formed as a model that directs political processes in the state to the stage of sustainable development. Moreover, it is proved that a characteristic feature of the history of the formation of individual mechanisms of transitional justice is their visualization without a vision of a holistic model (this applies to such areas as: amnesty, lustration, satisfaction). The author also concludes that in the process of evolution of the model of transitional justice two processes take place in parallel: the formation of the concept of transitional justice as a holistic model; formation of separate mechanisms and forms of settlement of post-conflict and post-authoritarian periods of state development. The article substantiates the inter-institutional nature of the model of transitional justice, which combines private law and public law institutions. This means that the model of transitional justice affects the whole spectrum of relations in a post-authoritarian and postconflict society.