Law In Post-Conflict States Research Articles

Building the Rule of Law in Post-Conflict States: International v. Mixed Model of Transitional Justice

Abstract The transitional justice literature emphasizes the importance of domestic actors in the successful design and implementation of mechanisms such as trials if the rule of law is to meaningfully develop in post-transitional societies. Yet in many post-conflict states the international community is involved in these policies from the beginning. Using a Most Similar System Design to compare the experiences of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, which incorporates data from the author’s fieldwork in both countries from 2016–2021, this article finds that expectations in the literature are overstated. Improvements in the rule of law as a result of transitional justice were found when there was a mix of international and domestic participation. Additionally, this analysis proposes a new methodology to categorize transitional justice when the international community and domestic actors are involved in these programs.

Human Rights and International Obligations of Post-Conflict States

During a period of transition from armed conflict to peace, or after an armed conflict, questions are raised about the international human rights obligations of post-conflict states. Because of the challenges faced by many post-conflict states, questions need to be asked about the difficulty of applying the rules of international human rights law in post-conflict states. This paper analyses this difficulty and highlights the uncertainty and rigidity of international human rights law. It addresses two main ideas. First, the extent of the applicability of international human rights law to post-conflict states is not clearly defined. Second, the burden that the rules of international human rights law put on the shoulders of post-conflict states is too heavy in certain situations and there is a need to establish clarity and flexibility in new post-conflict international human rights law.

Promoting the Rule of Law in Post-conflict States. By Laura Grenfell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Promoting the Rule of Law in Post-conflict States. By Laura Grenfell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Promoting the rule of law in Timor-Leste

The international community is eagerly promoting the concept of the rule of law in post-conflict states such as Timor-Leste in the belief that it will lead to political and social stability. To attract international legitimacy, Timorese leaders are also keen to be seen to be invoking the rule of law although the manner in which they understand and use the concept often diverges from dominant Western understandings. The concept of the rule of law assumes that the state enjoys a monopoly of law. This article examines the resonance of the rule of law at the local level in Timor-Leste in light of the fact that customary law is the type of law with which people are likely to have first and frequent contact as the state has little reach beyond the capital. It concludes by recommending that all actors promoting the rule of law in post-conflict states need to equip themselves with a strong understanding of how the population engages with legal norms in order to effectively promote the rule of law.

Law Overruled: Strengthening the Rule of Law in Postconflict States

Abstract There is a growing gap between what is meant by the rule of law in political discourse, its implementation by practitioners, and the development of the concept in academic analysis. Politically, it is often used interchangeably with democracy and good governance, which form part of a reform “package.” Practitioners tend to reduce it to judicial reform programs, which have not had a high rate of success in strengthening the rule of law when measured against a broader “academic” notion of the concept. This article attempts to introduce some clarity to the plurality of meanings of the rule of law, look at ways in which it has recently been applied in international cooperation, and map out a new approach to promote it in postconflict states.