The Conceptual Foundations of Transitional Justice

by Colleen Murphy

Many countries have attempted to transition to democracy following conflict or repression, but the basic meaning of transitional justice remains hotly contested. In this book, Colleen Murphy analyses transitional justice - showing how it is distinguished from retributive, corrective, and distributive justice - and outlines the ethical standards which societies attempting to democratize should follow. She argues that transitional justice involves the just pursuit of societal transformation. Such transformation requires political reconciliation, which in turn has a complex set of institutional and interpersonal requirements including the rule of law. She shows how societal transformation is also influenced by the moral claims of victims and the demands of perpetrators, and how justice processes can fail to be just by failing to foster this transformation or by not treating victims and perpetrators fairly. Her book will be accessible and enlightening for philosophers, political and social scientists, policy analysts, and legal and human rights scholars and activists.

Genres: Philosophy, Law

227 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 19, 2017

Reviews

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A commendable attempt to provide a unified theory of transitional justice, but those new to this field would be better served to start with a more 'orthodox' introduction (I would recommend Olivera Simic's edited volume An Introduction to Transitional Justice) which better acknowledges the diversity of approaches, historical and present. This is because Murphy's central argument for transitional justice as social transformation is extremely controversial (even if she gives scant hint this is so in the book), and, in my opinion, asks of transitional justice much more than what it could realistically deliver.