Source: (2009) Contemporary Justice Review. 12(3):269 – 287.
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. We posit that restorative justice paradigm can be an attractive approach to inform future truth-seeking mechanisms. We 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. (author’s abstract)
Your donation helps Prison Fellowship International repair the harm caused by crime by emphasizing accountability, forgiveness, and making amends for prisoners and those affected by their actions. When victims, offenders, and community members meet to decide how to do that, the results are transformational.
Donate Now