Title: Censoring transitional justice: an intellectual departure from religious acceptance of methods

Authors: Felistas Ranganai Zimano

Addresses: College of Law and Management Studies, Westville Campus, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa

Abstract: Periods of disturbances leave physical and emotional destructions trails. The realisation that more needed to be done in such cases culminated in transitional justice philosophy. Using documentary analysis, this discursive paper interrogates the extent to which four major features of transitional justice; prosecutions, truth commissions, reparations and reforms, have been applied in different contexts. The main question revolves on the extent to which the reality ought to conform to the theory on transitional justice. The paper reveals that transitional justice has delivered in some cases whilst failing in others. Reservations to generalised transitional justice are presented. The researcher recommends a customized approach. Radical as it may sound, some things may need to be done the right way whilst others need to be omitted for peace to prevail. There is need for practicality in whatever is done as transitional justice if sustainable peace is to prevail.

Keywords: transitional justice; criminal prosecutions; truth commissions; reparations and institutional reforms.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2018.093988

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2018 Vol.6 No.2, pp.137 - 149

Received: 07 Mar 2018
Accepted: 09 Mar 2018
Published online: 10 Aug 2018 *

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