Open AccessCulture and Procedural Justice in Transitioning Societies
Author(s) -
Landon E. Hancock,
Tamra Pearson d’Estrée
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
peace and conflict studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.116
H-Index - 6
ISSN - 1082-7307
DOI - 10.46743/1082-7307/2011.1126
Subject(s) - retributive justice , transitional justice , commission , economic justice , procedural justice , restorative justice , political science , law and economics , mechanism (biology) , law , criminology , sociology , environmental ethics , psychology , epistemology , perception , neuroscience , philosophy
In any transitional justice mechanism there are tradeoffs between the search for retributive justice and the practical limitations on what can be accomplished. To date, this tension has been discussed in reference to internationally established norms of justice, which the authors argue are limited in the extent to which they can explain why certain mechanisms—such as the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission or Rwanda’s gacaca courts—have been considered successful. We argue that mechanisms that have a high overlap between local culture and elements of procedural justice are perceived as more fair and just, even to those who may not benefit—or indeed may be burdened—by their operation.