Transitional justice: a concept with various facets

Abstract

Transitional justice is a relatively new concept, especially in academic terms; its theoretical, research, and practical fundaments are still being in a phase of embedment but also they are the object of various controversies. This article tries to shed more light on the paradigm of transitional justice in the context of the concepts around which it has been build – and in return, which determines its essence, such as transition, law, and justice and peacebuilding in the conflict’s aftermath or the end of the authoritarian regimes. Bearing in mind the historic and political context in which the concept appeared at first, this research focuses on the etymology, the notion’s evolution, the meaning and dilemmas in implementing its key mechanisms. The article makes a critical assessment of the expectations from the transitional justice, which are quite often unrealistic, while it also emphasizes the fact that its mechanisms disregard the root causes and rather pay attention to the ‘cure’ of the consequences of internal conflicts and authoritarian regimes. The key hypothesis is that today’s notion of transitional justice is a brainchild of the liberal paradigm: its utility is seen in the promotion of the liberal political and economic ideology of liberalism rather than in providing societal conditions for durable positive peace.