Transitional Justice

The Evolution of an Essential Component of Post-Conflict Peace Building Processes

Abstract

The term transitional justice has become synonymous with contemporary post-conflict peacebuilding processes. The concept evolved from modest theoretical assumptions into distinctive models. The formal origins of the transitional justice concept can be traced to the 1990s, following the demise of the Eastern Communist bloc when nations experienced transition from autocratic to democratic rule. The roots of the concept can however be traced back to major peace settlements such as the Congress of Vienna (1815), the Paris Peace Settlement (1918) and the Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials after 1945. The major challenge it faced was acceptability and legitimacy; it was largely viewed as an instrument devised invariably to punish either the vanquished or the perceived perpetrators. This criticism may have informed the concept's evolution from being a vindictive 'victor's justice' seeker into defined frameworks such as criminal tribunals, commissions and courts.  This paradigm shift was evidenced by the United Nation's recognition of the framework and its deployment in Yugoslavia (1993), Rwanda (1994) and Sierra Leone (2002). Arguably, the success stody of these case studies' motivated the formation of the International Criminal Court in 2003. The paper will underscore the importance of contexts in the choice of transitional options.