What Is Transitional Justice?

Abstract

This approach emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s, mainly in response to political changes in Latin America and Eastern Europe—and to demands in these regions for justice. At the time, human rights activists and others wanted to address systematic abuses by former regimes but without endangering the political transformations that were underway. Since these changes were popularly called " transitions to democracy, " people began calling this new multidisciplinary field " transitional justice. " Governments there adopted many of what became the basic ap-proaches to transitional justice. They include the following initiatives: œ Criminal prosecutions. These are judicial investigations of those responsible for human rights violations. Prosecutors frequently emphasize investigations of the " big fish " : suspects considered most responsible for massive or systematic crimes. œ Truth commissions. These commissions of inquiry have the primary purposes of investigating and reporting on key periods of recent abuse. They are often official state bodies that make recommendations to remedy such abuse and to prevent its recurrence. œ Reparations programs. These are state-sponsored initiatives that help repair the material and moral damages of past abuse. They typically distribute a mix of material and symbolic benefits to victims, benefits that may include financial compensation and official apologies. œ Gender justice. These efforts challenge impunity for sexual and gender-based violence and ensure women's equal access to redress of human rights violations. œ Security system reform. These efforts seek to transform the military, police, judiciary and related state institutions from instruments of repression and corruption into instruments of public service and integrity. œ Memorialization efforts. These include museums and memorials that preserve public memory of victims and raise moral conscious-ness about past abuse, in order to build a bulwark against its recurrence.