Justice

In post-conflict societies, justice often plays an important role fort he process of peace-building and reconciliation. In fact it is often argued that there cannot be peace without justice. However, when talking about justice, many people think about retributive and punitive measures such as war crime tribunals. However in the context of post-conflict peace-building there is a variety of approaches to justice, including truth commissions or methods as healing or purges. Which approach is appropriate must be decided from case to case, considering the cultural background, the underlying causes of the conflict, as well as many other factors.

Those interested in an detailed analysis of the various aspects and dimensions of justice in post-conflict-societies, may want to have a look at the book Seeking Justice in the Shadows of War, written by Rama Mani. In the book, Mani distinguishes between three dimensions of what she calls “public justice” in post-conflict peace-building processes. One dimension is Legal Justice that concerns the erosion or even the absence of the rule of law that is typical for post-conflict societies. Another one is Distributive Justice that seeks to deal with structural and systemic injustices, (e.g. political and/or economic discrimination) which can be both the underlying causes and the result of violent conflicts. Finally, there is Rectificatory Justice that deals with “injustice in terms of direct physical violence suffered by people during conflict” including gross violations of human rights, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

For General information on the topic of reconciliation in general, including justice, a good starting point would be a handbook called Reconciliation after Violent Conflict, issued by the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

Recommended literature:
Mani, Rama; 2002: Beyond Retribution – Seeking Justice in the Shadows of War. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN-10: 0745628362
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance: Reconciliation after Violent Conflict – A Handbook. Available online (free download) .