OTJR Edited Collection: ‘Critical Perspectives in Transitional Justice’

OTJR is enormously pleased to announce the release of its first edited collection, ‘Critical Perspectives in Transitional Justice‘ (Intersentia, 2012). The book was made possible thanks to the collective editorial efforts of Phil Clark, Danielle Granville, Briony Jones, Par Engstrom, Julia Paulson, Lydia Kemunto Bosire and Ross Beaton. The collection brings together authors who participated in the OTJR international conference in 2009 including Larry May, Kieran McEvoy, Roberto Gargarella, Antje du Bois-Pedain and Cath Collins along with our specially invited contributors including Carolyn Hoyle and Max Pensky.

OTJR Week 5: Stef Vandeginste on Burundi

This week Oxford Transitional Justice Research (OTJR) continues with its lunchtime discussions and Tuesday seminar. Stef Vandeginste will give a public lecture at 5pm entitled ‘Burundi: Peace, power-sharing and amnesty in disguise. What are the prospects for the a truth and reconciliation commission?’

Stef is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at Universiteit Antwerpen and one of the leading authorities on domestic justice processes in Burundi. He has just returned from Burundi where he contributed to the work of the Government’s “Technical Committee in charge of preparing for the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms”. This committee submitted its report to the Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza on 19 October 2011. The report includes a draft bill on the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Burundi, to be tabled in parliament in the coming months, some eleven years after the signature of the Arusha peace agreement which first announced the establishment of a TRC. An abstract of Stef’s presentation is included below and it promises to be a fascinating discussion.

ABSTRACT

‘Burundi: Peace, power-sharing and amnesty in disguise. What are the prospects for the a truth and reconciliation commission?’

Eleven years after the signature of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, Burundi is currently preparing for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission. Seemingly in accordance with the contemporary transitional justice paradigm, the situation of Burundi offers interesting insights into the implementation of the paradigm in troubled transition processes. For more than a decade, the stated commitment to truth and justice has, in actual reality, led to an amnesty in disguise. Power-sharing was probably the main explanatory factor for the continued impunity. At the same time, in the specific Burundian context, power-sharing also was the main avenue towards inter-ethnic reconciliation.”

Welcome to OTJR – Michaelmas 2011

Welcome to another year of Oxford Transitional Justice! For our full termcard of events, please see here. We generally have weekly seminars on Tuesdays at 5.00pm in Seminar Room D, Manor Road Building, Oxford.  In first week, we have two events:

1. Monday October 10; Lecture Theatre, Manor Road Building, 1:00-2:30 pm (Co-hosted with the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict)Book Launch: State Control over Private Military & Security Companies in Armed ConflictDr. Hannah Tonkin, Lawyer at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
2. Tuesday October 11   (5pm Lecture Theatre, Manor Road Building)The Politics of International Criminal LawCourtenay Griffiths, Queen’s Counsel (Joint-head of Garden Court Chambers), Defence Lawyer for Charles Taylor

On this blog you will find a growing number of our Working Paper Series, as well as news about upcoming events. More general information about OTJR is available here, and podcasts of previous lectures are available here.