GSDRC newsfeed on Justice

Constitution Building After Conflict: External Support to a Sovereign Process

International IDEA — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

This paper examines the challenges and nuances of external support to constitution building, which can, it argues, be both constructive and problematic. It calls for a restrained approach to such support, based on 'invitation points' rather than 'entry points'. The quality of the process used is crucial to successful constitutional design, and the choice of process needs to be left to national actors.

Social Repair in Divided Societies: Integrating a Coexistence Lens into Transitional Justice

Huma Haider — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

This article suggests that transitional justice could contribute more positively to the process of reconciliation, one of its core aims, by: 1) supporting and working alongside coexistence initiatives; and 2) incorporating coexistence frameworks within its own processes and mechanisms. Coexistence initiatives � such as dialogue facilitation, intergroup projects aimed at achieving shared goals, and media campaigns designed to reframe the 'other' � are essential to restoring trust, transforming perceptions and rebuilding relationships in divided societies. Unless people's lived realities are transformed, members of identify groups are likely to continue to focus on 'data' that confirm their existing beliefs.

No Rights without Accountability: Promoting Access to Justice for Children

Anne Grandjean — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How can policy interventions help in securing children's access to justice? Widespread acceptance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) implies a profound change in attitudes to children, but obstacles remain for children in accessing justice. This chapter analyses initiatives targeting the 'demand-side' of justice for children. It highlights principles such as targeting the most excluded children, local ownership, and a multi-disciplinary, systemic approach.

Criminal Justice: Security and Justice Thematic Paper

Jake Sherman — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How can criminal justice be strengthened in countries at risk of violent conflict? This paper examines criminal justice sector reform, relating it to research on the causes of violence. It argues that rather than focusing exclusively on state institutions � or blindly rushing to support informal systems � reform must be based on an understanding of actual demand for justice services. Donors need to improve their understanding of local contexts, address funding gaps, and improve measurement of results and outcomes. Interventions should: 1) encompass a broader range of local justice requirements; 2) seek to incorporate existing links between state and informal sectors into legislation and procedures; and 3) counter organised- and cross-border crime through multi-sectoral interventions with long-term vision.

Transitional Justice and Displacement

Roger Duthie — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

How does transitional justice fit within broader responses to the problem of displacement? Conflict-induced displacement is an important factor in contexts in which transitional justice operates, yet displacement has received little attention in the literature and practice of transitional justice. This article argues that transitional justice can and should address displacement, but in doing so needs to take account of and establish links with other relevant actors.

A Window of Opportunity: Making Transitional Justice Work for Women

Nahla Valji, with Romi Sigsworth and Anne Marie Goetz — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How can transitional justice processes serve women more effectively? Among the guiding principles of UN engagement in transitional justice activities is the need to 'strive to ensure women's rights'. This report examines gender equality issues in relation to prosecutions, truth seeking, reparations, national consultations and institutional reforms. It argues that post-conflict transitions provide opportunities both to secure justice and to address the context of inequality that gives rise to conflict. Normative, procedural and cultural aspects of transitional justice institutions require reform.

A Delicate Balance: Building Complementary Customary and State Legal Systems

Leigh T. Toomey — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This paper argues that, given the empirical evidence on the high level of recourse to customary law, customary legal systems are integral to development, and that both customary and state legal systems have a role to play in a functional justice sector. It sets out a framework of policy options for programmes that seek to harness the respective strengths of customary and state legal systems.

The Justice Balance: When Transitional Justice Improves Human Rights and Democracy

Tricia Olsen, Leigh Payne and Andrew Reiter — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Evidence from the Transitional Justice Data Base shows that specific combinations of mechanisms � (1) trials and amnesties, and (2) trials, amnesties and truth commissions � improve human rights and democracy. These findings suggest a 'justice balance' approach to transitional justice � that trials provide accountability and amnesties provide stability. Truth commissions alone have a negative impact on human rights and democracy, but contribute positively when combined with trials and amnesties.

Development, Climate Change and Human Rights: From the Margins to the Mainstream?

Edward Cameron — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

What are the social and political implications of a discourse linking climate change and human rights? How is this discourse relevant for development practitioners? The human rights lens has rapidly emerged from obscurity to prominence and has succeeded in broadening the scope of climate change debate. This paper predicts that vulnerable groups worldwide will increasingly use arguments based on human rights to demand action. However, this discourse will need to adapt and demonstrate practical value for policymaking in order to achieve substantive outcomes.

World Development Report 2011: Overview

World Bank — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Some 1.5 billion people live in countries affected by repeated cycles of political and criminal violence. This report argues that breaking these cycles involves a) strengthening legitimate national institutions and governance to meet citizens' key needs; and b) alleviating international stresses that increase the risks of conflict (such as food price volatility and infiltration by trafficking networks). It is important to: refocus assistance on confidence building, citizen security, justice and jobs; reform the procedures of international agencies to accommodate swift, flexible, and longer-term action; respond at the regional level (such as by developing markets that integrate insecure areas and pooling resources for building capacity); and to renew cooperative efforts between lower, middle, and higher income countries.

Restoring Confidence: Moving Away from the Brink

World Bank — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

There are a number of pathways back from the brink of violent conflict, but there are two common elements in successful cases. The first is building 'inclusive-enough' coalitions, and identifying the signals and commitment mechanisms that can galvanise support for change. Pacts to end violence need not be all-inclusive, and can promote peace if they are minimally inclusive at the beginning. The second element is delivering results on the ground to build confidence in citizen security, justice and economic prospects. For both elements, successful transitions have made astute use of capacity from the private sector, traditional institutions and non-governmental organisations.

International Support to Building Confidence and Transforming Institutions

World Bank — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

How can international actors more effectively support transitions out of violence and fragility? This chapter outlines trends in the international architecture that affect the ability to respond effectively in fragile and violence-prone settings. It argues that international agencies are geared to minimising domestic reputational and fiduciary risk � increasingly so � rather than supporting 'best-fit' institutional solutions that match political realities on the ground. The principle barrier to effectiveness is international agencies' dual accountability to domestic constituencies and citizens in recipient states. Development agencies also need to address critical gaps by focusing more on citizen security, criminal justice and job creation.

Legal Empowerment for Local Resource Control: Securing Local Resource Rights within Foreign Investment Projects in Africa

Lorenzo Cotula — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

How can the benefits to local groups of foreign investment into local resources be maximised and the costs minimised? This study analyses legal tools that have been used in several African countries to secure the resource rights of local groups affected by foreign investment projects. Empowerment can occur through opening to negotiation decisions that were previously closed to local groups, or by providing local groups with tools to aid their negotiations with external actors.

The Four Pillars of Legal Empowerment

UN Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Most of the world's poor live outside the ambit of the law and their poverty is both a cause and consequence of their lack of effective legal rights. This chapter argues that addressing the issue of legal empowerment is both smart politics and good economics. It presents a framework of legal empowerment based on 1) access to justice and the rule of law; 2) property rights; 3) labour rights; and 4) business rights.

State-Level Effects of Transitional Justice: What Do We Know?

Oskar N. T. Thoms, James Ron and Roland Paris — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Does transitional justice (TJ), including trials and truth commissions, strengthen or threaten societal peace in transitional countries? This paper reviews the empirical literature on the effects of trials and truth commissions on institutions and policy processes at the state level. It finds that empirical evidence of positive or negative effects is still insufficient to support strong claims. More systematic and comparative analysis of the TJ record is needed in order to advance evidence-based discussions of transitional justice impacts. Research needs to identify the conditions under which specific TJ mechanisms are most likely to have desired effects on transitional societies.

Linking State and Non-State Security and Justice

Bruce Baker — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How extensive are links between state and non-state security and justice providers? Should such links be supported, and if so, how? This study argues that state and non-state links abound, even creating hybrid institutions. Given that state- non-state links strengthen existing systems (rather than trying to build new Western ones), they seem an appropriate approach to security and justice in the South. Security and justice provision would be transformed if programmes, recognising the multiple layering of providers, were to build bridges across those layers.

Utopian Dreams or Practical Possibilities? The Challenges of Evaluating the Impact of Memorialisation in Societies in Transition

Brandon Hamber, Liz �evčenko and Ereshnee Naidu — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How can memorialisation of the past support social reconstruction or transitional justice? This study evaluates the youth education programmes of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience in Italy, Bangladesh and Chile in order to suggest strategies for conceptualising and evaluating the impact of memorialisation. It argues that while much thinking remains to be done on how to evaluate memorialisation in societies in transition, transitional processes can make better use of the resources that memorial sites have to offer. The impact of memorial sites needs to be maximised through long-term investment, ongoing programmes and accompanying evaluation.

When Truth Commissions Improve Human Rights

Tricia D. Olsen, Leigh A. Payne, Andrew G. Reiter and Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How, when and why do truth commissions improve human rights? This paper draws on the experiences of Brazil, Chile, Nepal, South Korea and South Africa. It concludes that although truth commissions are incapable of promoting stability and accountability on their own, they contribute to human rights improvements when they complement and enhance amnesties and prosecutions.

State-Society Relations and the Intangible Dimensions of State Resilience and Statebuilding: A Bottom Up Perspective

Beatrice Pouligny — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Crucial social and cultural elements underpin state institutions and ensure that they function. This is especially important to understand in 'fragile' settings. This paper argues that conventional perspectives need to be broadened beyond tangible dimensions of state resilience, institutions and statebuilding to include intangible dimensions. International actors need to gain an understanding of the relationships, structures and belief systems that underpin institutions, and of the multiplicity and diversity of political institutions, cultures, and logics through which statebuilding processes may be supported.

Haiti's Failed Truth Commission: Lessons in Transitional Justice

Joanna R. Quinn — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Why did the Haitian truth commission fail? This article evaluates the Haitian Commission nationale de vérité et de justice (CNVJ). It concludes that the Commission faced many complications (including a lack of political will and funding) and numerous institutional constraints (including lack of capacity, increasing security concerns, and shortages of time and funding). The Commission was therefore unable to contribute appropriately to the acknowledgement of Haiti's conflicted past, undermining donor attempts to advance reconciliation in the country.