In September 2023, the United Kingdom (UK)’s Parliament passed the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 (hereinafter 2023 Act) in the latest effort to address the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and promote reconciliation in Northern Irish society. Despite then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s claims that the new legislation would help people obtain the information they need and achieve the justice they deserve, the 2023 Act was strongly condemned across the Northern Irish political spectrum. Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Féin’s Vice President and First Minister of Northern Ireland, called the Act a “denial of human rights of victims and their families.” Her words were echoed by the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who categorically stated, “the Bill must be scrapped and for good.” Even the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed his concerns about the 2023 Act, affirming that it “would obstruct the rights of victims, survivors and their families to effective judicial remedy and reparations, including by prohibiting most criminal prosecutions…
Transitional Justice
Page 1 of 3
South Korea’s Plan to Compensate Victims of Forced Labour Employed in Japanese Factories During Colonial Rule: A Step Forward for Peaceful Relations, but not for Victims’ Rights
On 6 March 2023, the Republic of Korea, in the person of the Minister for Foreign Affairs Park Jin, announced a plan for South Korea to compensate South Korean citizens who were forced to work in Japanese factories under Tokyo’s thirty-five-year occupation of the Korean peninsula. The plan is an attempt to settle the long-standing dispute between South…
Transitional Injustice? Concerns over Judicial Accountability at Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace
Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (“JEP,” for its acronym in Spanish) has drawn considerable attention for its attempt to balance calls for retribution with a restorative approach aimed at peacebuilding. Despite a myriad of challenges, the JEP has made significant progress in the investigation of hostage-taking by…
The rocky road to peace II: additional challenges at the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia
The transitional justice process in Colombia and the institution at its centre, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), have faced a series of difficulties (see here and here). Aware of this, the Prosecutor of the ICC announced on 28 October 2021 the closure of the country’s preliminary examination. This decision was partly motivated by the JEP’s progress…
Colombia: Time for the ICC Prosecutor to Act?
The controversy evolving around the role and competence of the Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, SJP) has reached a new peak: Colombian President Iván Duque initiated a frontal attack against the Jurisdiction’s statutory law that goes beyond all previous assaults directed against the country’s Transitional Justice (TJ) system. We argue…
- Page 1 of 3
- Last