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Mégret, Frédéric; Vagliano, Raphael --- "Transitional justice and human rights" [2017] ELECD 774; in Lawther, Cheryl; Moffett, Luke; Jacobs, Dov (eds), "Research Handbook on Transitional Justice" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 95

Book Title: Research Handbook on Transitional Justice

Editor(s): Lawther, Cheryl; Moffett, Luke; Jacobs, Dov

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781955307

Section: Chapter 5

Section Title: Transitional justice and human rights

Author(s): Mégret, Frédéric; Vagliano, Raphael

Number of pages: 22

Abstract/Description:

This chapter presents a succinct overview of how international human rights law has shaped the field of transitional justice. It surveys human rights bodies’ treatment of the primary areas to be adjudicated in transitional contexts: amnesties, retroactive application of criminal measures, reparations, restitution of property, purges and vetting procedures, and power-sharing frameworks in constitutions. In general, human rights have served as both an impetus for undertaking transitional processes as well as a constraint on legitimate judicial and extrajudicial measures available to post-transition governments. However, the impact of human rights on the manifold dilemmas in transitional justice has been uneven, with human rights bodies willing to play a more active role in certain areas than others. Human rights; international human rights law; accountability; reparations; societal reform