Anna Myriam Roccatello: «Transitional justice is not different than the general concept of justice. The principles are the same»

Does the meaning of «transitional justice» may suggest that it is something temporary, that after it’s been delivered, some changes may come. What is the real situation and how solid transitional justice is?

Anna Myriam Roccatello, Deputy Executive Director and director of programs of the International Centre for Transitional Justice gives an answer to this question due to conversation with the host Andriy Kulykov at English-speaking podkast Ukraine Calling on Hromadske Radio.

«Transitional justice is not different than the general concept of justice. The principles are the same. What changes in the realm of application of transitional justice are specific circumstances that make the usual processes and institutions of rule of law inadequate, insufficient to address the justice needs of those specific circumstances, which are the context of particularly violent political turmoil and in that same category, of course, open conflict.

It is temporary in the sense that the processes that transitional justice as a discipline has developed over the years to address these very specific circumstances are not lasting forever, and therefore, the ultimate goal of transitional justice is to provide responses that, with the length of time, create an environment, a political, social, and institutional environment, so that the rule of law principles and institutions are able and effective to operate again».

You may read the full conversation here: Transitional justice: to help victims and to rebuild society or just to punish murderers? Anna Myriam Roccatello