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September 2019 - August 2020
Study Mode
Full-time
Application start 19 November 2018
Application end 1 March 2019
Application end (with scholarship) 1 February 2019
Module 1 - The Legal, Ethical and Conceptual Frameworks of Transitional Justice / Module 2 - Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Transitional Contexts / Module 3 - Institutional Reform and the Rule of Law / Module 4 - Transformative Justice, Development and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights / Module 5 - Criminal Justice / Module 6 - Transitional Justice in Practice
What might ‘coming to terms with the past’ mean when societies emerge from civil wars or oppressive regimes? What does justice ‘in transition’ entail and how can it be achieved in such extraordinary circumstances? How can we meaningfully speak of reconciliation in such contexts? And what does international law prescribe with regard to these situations? This introductory course explores the legal and ethical frameworks of transitional justice. It also provides an introduction to the history and concept of transitional justice and to current debates revolving around the ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘who’ of transitional processes.
Accountability is a crucial concept in transitional justice. Yet, the focus tends to be on the accountability of individuals, in particular individual criminal responsibility, a relatively recent concept in international law. This course provides an introductory overview of international law principles relating to accountability for human rights atrocities more generally. It introduces students to the relevant sources, mechanisms and actors, as well as the limits to accountability under international law. In particular, it discusses the traditional state-centred regime of accountability and compares it with the more recent phenomena of individual criminal accountability, including the different scopes of the substantive standards governing the conduct of states and individuals.
What is the distinctive gender dimension of mass violence and large-scale human rights violations? How can it be integrated into transitional justice norms and practices? What are the recent legal and policy developments in this area, particularly at the level of the United Nations (UN)? This course sheds light on the history and concept of gender studies and their impact on current transitional justice debates. It focuses especially on developments at the UN level.
