Abstract
How can a country decimated by conflict establish accountability for grave crimes? How does a society reckon with mass human rights violations? How can perpetrators of some of history’s worst offenses be brought to justice?
The international justice movement seeks to address these issues. Today, that movement includes a diverse range of national courts, regional tribunals, and investigative mechanisms developed to deliver accountability in the aftermath of conflict. Some of these mechanisms have recorded major successes, holding fair trials that helped to re-establish the rule of law and bring justice to shattered societies. Others have struggled, hampered by inefficiency, lack of funding, or politics.
Options for Justice is the most ambitious effort to date to assess the design and impact of these different mechanisms—and to draw lessons that can inform the design of such institutions in the future. The report takes an in-depth look at 33 different justice mechanisms, from high-profile international courts such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, to less formal domestic tribunals, such as the gacaca courts of Rwanda, to mechanisms with a broader mandate that includes corruption, as in Guatemala.
Based on years of research and dozens of interviews with survivors, lawyers, judges, and other officials, Options for Justice is essential reading for anyone interested in establishing justice in the wake of mass atrocity crimes.
The international justice movement seeks to address these issues. Today, that movement includes a diverse range of national courts, regional tribunals, and investigative mechanisms developed to deliver accountability in the aftermath of conflict. Some of these mechanisms have recorded major successes, holding fair trials that helped to re-establish the rule of law and bring justice to shattered societies. Others have struggled, hampered by inefficiency, lack of funding, or politics.
Options for Justice is the most ambitious effort to date to assess the design and impact of these different mechanisms—and to draw lessons that can inform the design of such institutions in the future. The report takes an in-depth look at 33 different justice mechanisms, from high-profile international courts such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, to less formal domestic tribunals, such as the gacaca courts of Rwanda, to mechanisms with a broader mandate that includes corruption, as in Guatemala.
Based on years of research and dozens of interviews with survivors, lawyers, judges, and other officials, Options for Justice is essential reading for anyone interested in establishing justice in the wake of mass atrocity crimes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Publisher | Open Society Foundations |
| Number of pages | 670 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-1940983-83-7 |
| Publication status | Published - May 2018 |
