The Role of Courts in Transitional Justice: Voices from Latin America and Spain

Bringing together a group of outstanding judges, scholars and experts with first-hand experience in the field of transitional justice in Latin America and Spain, this book offers an insider’s perspective on the enhanced role of courts in prosecuting serious human rights violations and grave crimes, such as genocide and war crimes, committed in the context of a prior repressive regime or current conflict. The book also draws attention to the ways in which regional and international courts have come to contribute to the initiation of national judicial processes. All the contributions evince that the duty to investigate and prosecute grave crimes can no longer simply be brushed to the side in societies undergoing transitions. The Role of Courts in Transitional Justice is essential reading for practitioners, policy-makers and scholars engaged in the transitional justice processes or interested in judicial and legal perspectives on the role of courts, obstacles faced, and how they may be overcome. It is unique in its ambition to offer a comprehensive and systematic account of the Latin American and Spanish experience and in bringing the insights of renowned judges and experts in the field to the forefront of the discussion.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements, Authors’ Biographies, 1. Introduction Jessica Almqvist & Carlos Espósito, 2. Recollections of the International Adjudication of Cases of Massacres: Its Relevance for Transitional Justice and Beyond Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade, 3. The Progressive Development of the International Law of Transitional Justice: The Role of the Inter-American System Felipe Gonzalez Morales, 4. The Possibility of Criminal Justice: The Argentinean Experience Ricardo Gil Lavedra, 5. Chilean Transitional Justice and the Legacy of the De Facto Regime Roberto Garretón, 6. Spain as an Example of Total Oblivion with Partial Rehabilitation Alicia Gil Gil, 7. The Challenges posed to the Recent Investigation of Crimes Committed during the Spanish Civil War and Francoism Javier Chinchón Álvarez, 8. Responding to Human Rights Violations Committed During the Internal Armed Conflict in Peru: The Limits and Advances of Peruvian Criminal Justice Yvan Montoya Vivanco, 9. Many Roads to Justice: Transnational Prosecutions and International Support for Criminal Investigations in Post-Conflict Guatemala Naomi Roht-Arriaza & Almudena Bernabeu,10. The Criminal Investigation and Its Relationship to Jurisdiction, Extradition, Cooperation and Criminal Policy Susan Kemp, 11. Colombia as a Sui Generis Case Alejandro Aponte, 12. Restoring Civic Confidence through Transitional Justice Paul Seils, 13. The International Criminal Court: Possible Contributions of the Rome Statute to Judicial Processes in Transitional Societies Elizabeth Odio Benito, 14. Conclusion Carlos Espósito & Jessica Almqvist

About the Author :
Jessica Almqvist is a Lecturer in Public International Law at the University Autonóma of Madrid, specializing in international law of human rights and criminal justice. She has published Human Rights, Culture and the Rule of Law and Justicia Transicional en Iberoamérica (co-edited with Carlos Espósito). Carlos Esposito is a Professor of Public International Law at the University Autónoma of Madrid. He has published widely, including the books, Inmunidad del Estado y derechos humanos (2007) and La jurisdicción consultiva de la Corte Internacional de Justicia (1996).