Master’s Paper

Sandra Pointet / Geneva Academy

The Master of Advanced Studies in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law (MTJ) promotes academic excellence and independent critical thinking. One of the core outputs is a master’s paper on a specific topic related to transitional justice, written under the guidance of a Faculty member.

INVESTIGATING A TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE TOPIC

The paper gives students an opportunity to investigate a subject of special interest to them, deepening their knowledge and expertise through research as well as exchanges with experts, scholars and practitioners. Students are encouraged to concentrate on specific case studies, legal frameworks or problems of immediate relevance to transitional justice.

EXTENDED MASTER’S PAPER

Students wishing to further their academic training or pursue a PhD after the programme can apply to work on an extended version of their master’s paper with increased supervision and guidance and be directly involved in academic activities such as seminars and workshops.

This forms part of the three tracks students can choose from during Spring Semester.

The Best MTJ Paper Prize

Awarded every year during the Graduation Ceremony, the Best MTJ Paper Prize distinguishes a graduating student for an MTJ paper of exceptional academic quality.

Tafadzwa Christmas received the 2017 Best MTJ Paper Prize for his exceptional academic work entitled ‘When the Law is Like a Door in the Middle of an Open Meadow’ Conceptualizing the Rule of law in the context of Customary Law in South Sudan’. This paper addresses a very relevant but largely underexplored topic in the field of transitional justice: the relation between customary law and the rule of law. Well written and extensively researched, it steers a well-argued course between romanticizing ‘the local’ and narrowly focusing on ‘conventional’ forms of law. As such, this paper makes a substantial contribution to ongoing debates in the field of transitional justice, human rights and the rule of law.