The Standardisation of Transitional Justice: Consolidation, Innovation and Politics

Societies transiting away from war and repression often call for justice: By addressing past wrongs they may heal and enter a path of peace and democracy. Transitional justice (TJ) denotes institutional justice responses to past violence, such as trials, truth commissions, purges, reparations, reform, memorials and amnesty.
Implemented globally since 1970, TJ has recently been internationally standardised. It is now defined as consisting of 4 essential mechanisms: criminal justice, truthseeking, reparations and reform. The standard, however, promotes institutions that struggle to demonstrate beneficial transitional impact. This begs the question: How, why, and by whom has TJ been standardised? The project investigates the international standardisation of TJ politically and legally by analysing and comparing it across 4 cases (the UN, Uganda, Colombia and Syria). Cutting-edge research and dissemination are carried out by an international team from Roskilde University and acclaimed Ulster University TJ Institute.