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International Criminal Justice & post conflict / Comment

Transitional justice: a European perspective

18/12/2007 By María Avelló

ICC's President, Philippe Kirsch, and the EU's High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, in June this year
Gerard Cerles/AFP/Getty Images
The concept of transitional justice is used to encompass a group of proceedings of a judicial or other nature that are carried out in societies undergoing a transition to democracy.

It generally includes efforts to reconcile and bring justice in cases of human rights violations which occurred during the previous regime, thus facilitating a stable and lasting peace.

The scope of possible action is broad and non-exclusive, since each society is free to choose how to deal with its past. The evolution of the concept and the most recent cases show that a combination of actions is often necessary.

Europe – at the levels of both the European Union and individual member states – has been participating in the development of transitional justice for some time, although it still has no clear policy for action in this respect.

Several actors and various lines of funding seem to indicate an increasing interest in transitional justice in post-conflict situations. This will require efforts to conceptualise and integrate this notion into the policies of the EU and of the member states themselves.

This Comment article examines the history of transitional justice and the way the concept has evolved over the years. It also explores the specific legal interpretations that have been applied to it and how these have played out in recent political contexts.

Finally, it offers some recommendations for how it should be integrated into EU policies, both foreign and domestic.


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Keywords

EU EU Foreign Policy Europe International Criminal Justice Transitional justice

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Bio author: María Avelló

Law Degree by the Oviedo University, M.A in Human Rights by Complutense University (Madrid) and M.A in European Law and Politics by the Institute of High European Studies (Strasbourg). At present, she works as international consultant in the area of institutional development, european law and human rights for the European Union and other international organizations.