Full title in original language:
Truth-seeking after violent conflict: experiences from South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Education level:
University University (18+ years)Topic / subtopic:
Crime prevention and criminal justice Restorative justice Criminal justice systemTarget audience:
Students,
Teachers / Lecturers
Type of resource:
Publication / Article
Languages:
English
Region of relevance:
Global
Access:
restricted access: requiring payment
Individual authors:
Marta Valiñas, Kris Vanspauwen
Publication year:
2009
Published by:
Contemporary Justice Review / Taylor & Francis
Copyright holder:
© Taylor & Francis
Contact name and address:
Taylor & Francis
Contact email:
enquiries@taylorandfrancis.com
Key themes:
cpcj, criminal justice, justice, crime, restorative justice, Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Africa, conflict, violence, violent conflict
Links:
Short description:
Truth‐seeking efforts have gained an increasingly central position in the process of dealing with a legacy of mass abuse following political transition to democracy or the end of violent conflict. The place that ‘truth’ assumes within the transitional justice framework has often been subject to controversy. What seems to be commonly agreed upon is that creating the conditions for finding and revealing the truth is essential in any process of transition. The authors posit that restorative justice paradigm can be an attractive approach to inform future truth‐seeking mechanisms. They propose a framework for guiding such truth‐seeking mechanisms based on restorative justice principles that reverberate in current debates as well as in the official discourse laid down in the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programmes in Criminal Matters. The significance and application of these principles will be illustrated in the transitional justice processes of South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina.