Peace and Justice

In recent years there has been a tendency to intervene in themilitary, political and economic affairs of failed and failingstates and those emerging from violent conflict. In many cases thishas been accompanied by some form of international judicialintervention to address serious and widespread abuses ofinternational humanitarian law and human rights in recognition ofan explicit link between peace and justice.


A range of judicial and non-judicial approaches has been adopted inrecognition of the fact that there is no one-size-fits-all modelthrough which to seek accountability. This book considers themerits and drawbacks of these different responses and sets out anoriginal framework for analysing transitional societies andtransitional justice mechanisms.


Taking as its starting point the post-Second World War tribunals atNuremburg and Tokyo, the book goes on to discuss the creation of adhoc international tribunals in the 1990s, hybrid/mixed courts, theInternational Criminal Court, domestic trials, truth commissionsand traditional justice mechanisms. With examples drawn from acrossthe world, including the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Sierra Leone, Uganda and the DRC, it presents acompelling and comprehensive study of the key responses to warcrimes.


Peace and Justice is a timely contribution in a world where anever-increasing number of post-conflict societies are grapplingwith the complex issues of transitional justice. It will be avaluable resource for students, scholars, practitioners andpolicy-makers seeking to understand past violations of human rightsand the most effective ways of addressing them.