Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-07T20:59:41.290Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Utopia and the doubters: truth, transition and the law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Abstract

Truth commissions have an intuitive appeal in squaring the circle of peace and accountability post-conflict, but some claims for their benefits risk utopianism. Law provides both opportunities and pitfalls for post-conflict justice initiatives, including the operation of truth commissions. Rather than adopting a heavily legalised approach, derived from Public Inquiries, an ‘holistic legal model’, employing social science fact-finding methodologies to explore pattern of violations, and drawing appropriately on legal standards, may provide the best option for a possible Northern Ireland truth commission.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Society of Legal Scholars 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

2. Hayner, Priscilla Unspeakable Truths: Facing the Challenge of Truth Commissions (New York and London: Routledge, 2002).Google Scholar

3. The emerging field of ‘transitional justice’ is generating a vast literature. For some key critical analyses see Teitel, Ruti Transitional Justice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) andGoogle Scholar

4. Landman, Todd Studying Human Rights (London and New York: Routledge, 2006) pp 107125 CrossRefGoogle Scholar;

5. This is not to deny the possible benefits of utopian thinking in that the ‘activating presence’ of such thinking can ‘set things in motion’, even if Utopia is never attained. See Young, PeterThe Importance of Utopias in Criminological Thinking’ (1992) 32 Brit J Criminol 423, drawing onCrossRefGoogle Scholar

6. Medeloff, David Truth Seeking, Truth Telling and Post Conflict Peacebuilding: Curbing the Enthusiasm?’ (2006) 6(3) International Studies Review 355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

7. For discussion of some criticims, see Tepperman, Jonathan Truth and Consequences’ (2002) (March/April) Foreign Affairs 128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

8. On the Agreement see Campbell, Colm, Aoláin, Fionnuala Ní and Harvey, Colin The Frontiers of Legal Analysis: Re-Framing the Transition in Northern Ireland’ (2003) 66 Modern Law Review 317345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

9. For some application of transitional justice analyses to Northern Ireland, see Symposium: Transitional Justice – Northern Ireland and beyond’ (2003) 25 Fordham International Law Journal (Special Issue) 983906;Google Scholar see also

10. Bell, Christine Dealing with the past in Northern Ireland’ (2003) 26(4) Fordham International Law Journal 1095.Google Scholar The most recent of these initiatives is the Consultative Group on the Past, a group appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and chaired by Robin Eames and Dennis Bradley to consult across the community on the best way to deal with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland. See http://www.cgpni.org.

11. Kohler, Lotte and Saner, Hans (eds) [R Kimber (transl)] Hannah Arendt/Karl Jaspers Correspondence, 1926–1969 (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992).Google Scholar

12. See, generally, Ní Aoláin, Fionnuala and Turner, Catherine Gender, Truth and Transition’ (2007) 16 UCLA Women's Law Journal 229.Google Scholar

13. Ibid.

14. See for instance the critique of ‘legalism’ in transitional justice discourses in McEvoy, KieranBeyond Legalism: towards a Thicker Understanding of Transitional Justice’ (2007) 34 Journal of Law & Society 411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

15. See, generally, Zegveld, Liesbeth The Accountability of Armed Opposition Groups in International Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), andCrossRefGoogle Scholar

16. For analyses of law along these lines (without reference to post-conflict justice), see Scheingold, Stuart The Politics of Rights: Lawyers, Public Policy and Political Change (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974); McCann, Michael (ed) Law and Social Movements (Aldershot & Burlington: Ashgate 2006); andGoogle Scholar

17. See Ní Aoláin, Fionnuala and Campbell, Colm The Paradox of Transition in Conflicted Democracies’ (2005) 27 Human Rights Quarterly 172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

18. See Requa, Marny Truth, Transition and the Inquiries Act 2005’ (2007) 4 European Human Rights Law Review 404.Google Scholar

19. For some incisive contemporary analysis of ‘reconciliation’ in a transitional context see Schapp, Andrew Political Reconciliation (London and New York: Routledge, 2005), and of law and reconciliation seeGoogle Scholar

20. The South African TRC drew somewhat uneasily on both religious and secular concepts of reconciliation. See Wilson, Richard A The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: Legitimizing the Post-Apartheid State (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001) pp 98111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

21. For views of democratic politics as agonistic encounters see Chantal Mouffe ‘Deliberative Democracy or Agonistic Pluralism’ Political Science Series (Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, 2000), and Schapp, above n 19.

22. Akhavan, Payam Justice in the Hague, peace in the former Yugoslavia? a commentary on the United Nations war crime tribunal’ (1998) 20(4) Human Rights Quarterly 737.CrossRefGoogle Scholar Our emphasis.

23. For some reflections on related themes see Chayes, Antonia Handler and Minow, Martha (eds) Imagine Coexistence: Restoring Humanity After Violent Ethnic Conflict (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003).Google Scholar

24. Hamber, Brandon Rights and Reasons: Challenges for Truth Recovery in South Africa and Northern Ireland’ (2003) 26 Fordham International Law Journal 1074 Google Scholar at 1080.

25. Hamber, Brandon and Wilson, Richard A Symbolic Closure through Memory, Reparation and Revenge in Post Conflict Societies’ (2002) 1 Journal of Human Rights 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

26. Cohen, Stanley State Crimes of Previous Regimes: Knowledge, Account Ability and the Policing of the past’ (1995) 20 Law and Social Inquiry 12; See alsoCrossRefGoogle Scholar

27. Chapman, Audrey and Ball, Patrick The Truth of Truth Commissions: Comparative Lessons from Haiti, South Africa and Guatemala’ (2001) 23 Human Rights Quarterly 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

28. Article 6(5) of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), 1125 UNTS 609, entered into force 7 December 1978.

29. Hegarty, Angela Truth, Law and Official Denial: the Case of Bloody Sunday’ (2004) 15 Criminal Law Forum 199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

30. Report of the Healing Through Remembering project, Making Peace with the Past: Options for truth recovery regarding the conflict in and about Northern Ireland (Belfast: Healing Through Remembering, 2006),Google Scholar http://healingthroughremembering.org.

31. For the terms of reference of the Inquiry see http://www.bloody-sunday-inquiry.org.uk/index2.asp?p=7 (accessed 15 January 2008).

32. The Rt Hon Lord Widgery, OBE, TD Report of the Tribunal appointed to inquire into the events on Sunday, 30th January 1972, which led to loss of life in connection with the procession in Londonderry on that day (London: HMSO, HL 101, HC 220, 1972).

33. Christine Bell, above n 10.

34. Healing Through Remembering, above n 30; Bell, above n 10.

35. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland confirmed in parliamentary questions that the cost for the Bloody Sunday Inquiry stood at £178.264 million at the end of April 2007. See http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansard/cm070726/text/70726w0050.htm (accessed 15 January 2008).

36. See Freeman, above n 4 at 31.

37. Healing Through Remembering, above n 30.

38. ‘Tribunal Will Cost €300 million Writes Judge Mahon’, http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0215/mahon.html.

39. Ball, Patrick, Spirer, Hf and Spirer, L (eds) Making the Case: Investigating Large Scale Human Rights Violations Using Information Systems and Data Analysis (Washington DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2000);Google Scholar Landman, above n 4.

40. Chapman and Ball, above n 27.

41. Ibid, at 20.

42. Ibid.

43. Ross, Fiona Bearing Witness: Women and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa (London: Pluto Press, 2003) p 89.Google Scholar

44. Chapman and Ball, above n 27, at 22.

45. Landman, above n 4, at p 110.

46. See for example Rolston, Bill Dealing with the past: pro-State Paramilitaries, Truth and Transition in Northern Ireland’ (2006) 28 Human Rights Quarterly 652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

47. Chapman and Ball, above n 27, at 23.

48. Ibid; Ball, Patrick et al How Many Peruvians Have Died? (Washington DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2003).Google Scholar

49. Landman, above n 4, at p 113.

50. Ní Aoláin and Turner, above n 12.

51. Landman, above n 4, at p 125.

52. Ibid.

53. See eg Chapman and Ball, above n 27, at 24.

54. Landman, above n 4, at p 117.

55. Ibid, at p 119.

56. Chapman and Ball, above n 27, at 37.

57. See generally, Freeman, above n 4.

58. Ibid, at pp 188–221.

59. The investigations by Sir John Stevens into allegations of security force collusion with loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland provide an example. See Stevens Enquiry: Overview and Recommendations, 17 April 2003, available at http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/collusion/stevens3/stevens3summary.pdf.

62. Osiel, Mark Why Prosecute? Critics of Punishment for Mass Atrocity’ (2000) 22 Human Rights Quarterly 118 CrossRefGoogle Scholarat 129.

63. See Gasser, Hp A Measure of Humanity in Internal Disturbances and Tensions: Proposal for a Code of Conduct’ (1988) 262 International Review of the Red Cross 38;CrossRefGoogle Scholar

64. Campbell, Colm Wars on Terror and Vicarious Hegemons’ (2005) 54 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 321;CrossRefGoogle Scholar

65. See Dixon, Rosalind Rape as a Crime in International Law’ (2002) 13(3) European Journal of International Law 697.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

66. See Remembering, Healing Through The Viability of Prosecution Based on Historical Enquiry: Observations of Counsel on Potential Evidential Difficulties (Belfast: Healing Through Remembering, 2006),Google Scholar http://healingthroughremembering.org.

67. See eg Orentlicher, Diane Settling Accounts: the Duty to Prosecute Human Rights Violations of a Prior Regime’ (1991) 100 Yale Law Journal 2537;CrossRefGoogle Scholar

68. Nino, Carlos Radical Evil on Trial (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1996);Google Scholar

69. Bassiouni, above n 67; Dugard, John Dealing with Crimes of the past: Is Amnesty Still an Option?’ (1999) 12 Leiden Journal of International Law 1004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

70. O’Brien, RoderickAmnesty and International Law’ (2005) 74 Nordic Journal of International Law 261;CrossRefGoogle Scholar

71. O’Brien, ibid; Stahn, ibid; Roht-Arriaza, NaomiAmnesty and the International Criminal Court’ in Shelton, Dinah (ed) International Crimes, Peace and Human Rights: The Role of the International Criminal Court (Ardsley NY: Transnational, 2000) p 79;Google Scholar

72. Stahn, above n 70.

73. Dugard, above n 69.

74. Prosecutor v Kallon (2004) 16 BHRC 252.

75. Ibid.

76. Moy, above n 70.

77. For example opposition to legislation proposed to deal with so-called ‘On the Runs’ resulted in the proposals being dropped, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_Ireland/4602314.stm.

78. This reflects findings made by Lundy and McGovern that of those in favour of a truth commission in Northern Ireland, 46.6% favoured the involvement of an international organisation such as the UN, making this the single most popular option. See Lundy, Patricia and McGovern, Mark Attitudes Towards a Truth Commission for Northern Ireland: A research report submitted to the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council based upon research conducted as part of the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey 2004 (Belfast: Community Relations Council, 2006).Google Scholar

79. See Craig, Paul and De Burca, Grainne EU Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008).Google Scholar

80. Bell, Christine Peace Agreements: Their nature and legal status’ (2006) 100 American Journal of International Law 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

81. Campbell, Ní Aoláin and Harvey, above n 8.

82. Schapp, above n 19.

83. For a critique of ‘community relations’-based concepts of reconciliation in Northern Ireland, McEvoy, Leslie, McEvoy, Kieran and McConnachie, KirstenReconciliation is a Dirty Word: Conflict, Community Relations and Education in Northern Ireland’ (2006) 60 Journal of International Affairs 81. Google Scholar