TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE: A CONCEPT WITH VARIOUS FACETS

Abstract

Transitional justice is a relatively new concept, especially in academic terms; its
theoretical, research and practical fundaments are still being in a phase of embedment
but also they are object of various controversies. This article tries to shed more light on
the paradigm of transitional justice in the context of the concepts around which it has
been build – and in return, which determine its essence, such as transition, law and
justice and peacebuilding in the conflict’s aftermath or the end of the authoritarian regimes.
Bearing in mind the historic and political context in which the concept appeared
at first, this research focuses on the etymology, the notion’s evolution, the meaning and
dilemmas in implementing its key mechanisms. The article makes a critical assessment
of the expectations from the transitional justice, which are quite often unrealistic, while
it also emphasizes the fact that its mechanisms disregard the root causes and rather pay
attention to the ‘cure’ of the consequences of internal conflicts and authoritarian regimes.
The key hypothesis is that today’s notion of transitional justice is a brainchild of
the liberal paradigm: its utility is seen in promotion of liberal political and economic
ideology of liberalism rather than in providing societal conditions for durable positive
peace.