Transitional justice mechanisms and processes: international experience for restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and national security

O. V.  Cherviakova

doi:10.32631/pb.2023.3.11

O. V. Cherviakova Military Law Institute Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8144-1195

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32631/pb.2023.3.11

Keywords: security, transitional justice, responsibility, armed conflict, international law.

Abstract

The mechanisms and processes used in post-conflict countries that contributed to the restoration and ensuring of sustainable peace after the end of armed conflict or active hostilities are analysed. Among the elements of transitional justice, the author identifies those whose implementation is appropriate and possible before the end of the active phase of the conflict in Ukraine: bringing to individual responsibility, recording, documenting and collecting evidence of crimes allegedly committed on the territory of Ukraine (including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression), cooperation with the International Criminal Court on international crimes, determining the procedure for bringing the top military and political leadership of the russian federation to justice (tribunal); establishing the circumstances of the conflict and recording them, which is especially important in the context of information and psychological operations and other methods of hybrid warfare used by the Russian Federation. With regard to reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence of the conflict, it is already advisable to discuss both issues, develop strategies for compensating Ukraine for losses and act during and after the de-occupation of the territories.

It has been also noted that the issue of exemption from liability and punishment may be raised during negotiations on the terms of ending the conflict, as well as the issue of mitigation of punishment in case of guilt and cooperation in establishing the truth. In this aspect, the experience of Colombia has been analysed with a reservation regarding the individualisation of the concept of transitional justice, taking into account specific circumstances. In particular, it has been determined that for Ukraine, the experience of transitional justice in Colombia can be taken into account when addressing a number of issues of amnesty, organisation of work of truth commissions and others, with an understanding of the different nature of the conflict in Colombia, which is purely internal (non-international armed conflict).

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

O. V. Cherviakova, Military Law Institute Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University

Candidate of Law, Associate Professor.
Department of Military Law.

References

Beresford, A., & Wand, D. (2020). Understanding bricolage in norm development: South Africa, the International Criminal Court, and the contested politics of transitional justice. Review of International Studies, 46(4), 534–554. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0260210520000224.

Carolan, G. (2020). Transition Without Transformation: The Legacy of Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 14(2), 340–359. https://doi.org/-10.1093/ijtj/ijaa010.

Cherviakova, O. V. (2020a). Responsibility for war crimes: through transitional justice to sustainable. Problems of Legality, 150, 161–172. https://doi.org/10.21564/2414-990x.150.208602.

Cherviakova, O. V. (2020b). Responsibility for war crimes: mechanisms and processes of recovery of Ukraine’s sovereignty and security. Forum of Law, 2(61), 150–162. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3883835.

Cherviakova, О., & Mekheda, V. (2021). Violations of the laws or customs of war under military law: comparative analysis of international and internal legislation of Ukraine. Problems of Legality, 152, 8–18. https://doi.org/10.21564/2414-990X.152.223328.

Clark, J.-N. (2020a). Body Memories as a Neglected Legacy of Human Rights Abuses: Exploring Their Significance for Transitional Justice. Social & Legal Studies, 30(5), 768–789. https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663920962556.

Clark, J.-N. (2020b). Storytelling, resilience and transitional justice: Reversing narrative social bulimia. Theoretical Criminology, 26(3), 456–474. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480620933230.

Cronin-Furman, K., & Krystalli, R. (2020). The things they carry: Victims’ documentation of forced disappearance in Colombia and Sri Lanka. European Journal of International Relations, 28(1), 79–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066120946479.

Cvikic, S. (2019). Deconstruction of ‘scientifically based injustices’: About post-war traumatized populations of ‘spoilers’ in Croatia. Sociologija, 61, 697–717. https://doi.org/10.2298/SOC19S1697C.

Giraldo, M. L., & Tobón, D. J. (2020). Personal archives and transitional justice in Colombia: the Fonds of Fabiola Lalinde and Mario Agudelo. The International Journal of Human Rights, 1(21), 529–549. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2020.1811691.

Guerrero, F., & Aristizabal, L.-L. (2020). Images and Memory: Religiosity and Sacrifice – The Cases of Tierralta, Trujillo and Arenillo in Colombia. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 14(1), 35–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijz030.

Jazairi, R. (2015). Transitional Justice in Syria: The Role and Contribution of Syrian Refugees and Displaced Persons. Middle East Law and Governance, 7, 336–359. https://doi.org/10.1163/18763375-00703002.

Menzel, A. (2020). The pressures of getting it right: Expertise and victims’ voices in the work of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). International Journal of Transitional Justice, 14(2), 300–319. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijaa011.

Muñoz, M. G., & Serralvo, J. (2019). International humanitarian law in Colombia: Going a step beyond. International Review of the Red Cross, 101(912), 1117–1147. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1816383120000181.

Murphy, C. (2020). Religion & Transitional Justice. Daedalus, 149(3), 185–200. https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01811.