TRUTH COMMISSIONS

DISTRACTION TOOL OR KEY TO DEMOCRATIZATION AND RECONCILIATION?

Abstract

In the last 30 years, the concept of transitional justice has been experiencing greater use and
popularity. Facing the problematic past is inevitable when a country's past is full of major and
massive human rights violations, no matter whether they come from a repressive regime or a
violent conflict. In this regard, one of the most widely used and at the same time, one of the most
popular mechanisms of transitional justice are the truth commissions. Entering transitional
justice practice modestly during the 80-s of XX - century, today the truth commissions represent
one of the most popular mechanisms for dealing with problematic past. In the last 25 years, the
world has witnessed the existence of more than 30 truth commissions. The experience with all of
them shows us that every truth commission is unique in terms of its powers, mandate, and
structure. However, regardless of the non-existence of a fixed model of a truth commission, for
many authors, there is a consensus on their role in the process of facing the problematic past. The
truth commissions, regardless of their structure, power and mandate, are a mechanism that
investigates, establishes and publicly acknowledges the truth, assists in the moral condemnation
of committed crimes, meets the needs of victims, assists in the reconciliation process and offers a
platform for political and institutional reforms, which has a positive effect on the process of
facing the problematic past. The subject of this paper will be an analysis of the functioning and
significance of the truth commissions. The paper attempts to show that truth commissions are a
mechanism that contributes to the process of facing the problematic past and affects democratic
consolidation and reconciliation in one country. The main methods that are used are the method
of analysis, the historical, normative, and political method. The overall conclusion is that the
truth commissions are only one of the mechanisms of transitional justice from which one cannot
expect to complete the whole process of facing the problematic past, but they constitute a
mechanism which has great meaning on the road towards democratic consolidation and the
process of reconciliation.