Source: (2004) DePaul Law Review. 53: 1155-1180.
The question of making reparations to victims in situations of systemic and widespread injustice and human rights violations is fraught with difficult complexities and questions. For example, who counts as a victim, and who makes the determination? What are the causal connections between perpetrators and victims for purpose of legal liability? Who are the beneficiaries? What counts as reparations? These and many other questions confronted those responsible for the transition to democracy and for the new legal and political order in South Africa following the end of apartheid. With all of this in mind, Penelope Andrews examines the South African context of reparations and reconciliation with the broader project of national reconstruction. As part of this, and with specific reference to issues of reparations, racial healing, racial harmony, reconciliation, and nation-building, she discusses the role of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
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