Law, Reconciliation and Reconstruction of Post-conflict Society

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Yasin Sezer, Prof. Asoc. Dr.

Code
LAW 406
Name
Law, Reconciliation and Reconstruction of Post-conflict Society
Semester
0
Lecture hours
3.00
Seminar hours
1.00
Laborator hours
0.00
Credits
3.50
ECTS
6.00
Description

The course consists of a critical examination of the role of law and lawyers in relation to issues commonly arising in post-conflict societies, and in particular to ways of dealing with a legacy of conflict and human rights violations, including issues of accountability for past human rights abuses, redress for victims, reconciliation, and reconstruction of the legal order

Objectives

The objective of these lectures is to enable participants to better understand the problems posed by three key rules which belong to the foundations on which today’s international legal system is based: the prohibition of the threat or use of force, non-intervention in internal affairs and the peaceful settlement of international disputes. These principles will be discussed against the background of political variables by which they were and still are shaped.

Java
Tema
1
Introduction to the course; History and approaches to transitional justice
2
Transitional justice and peace building
3
Teitel's 'genealogy' of transitional justice
4
Retributive justice after World War II: From Nuremberg to The Hague
5
Truth Commissions, Evaluation and Impact Introduction to Truth Commissions Unsettling Accounts: Argentina and South Africa The Justice Balance: Evaluation and Impact of Transitional Justice
6
The 'battle against impunity' and the 'justice cascade'; domestic and international responses to human rights violations in Latin America after dictatorship
7
Traditional' justice: case study - Rwanda after genocide and/or Mozambique after civil war. 'Restorative' justice and the concept of reconciliation: case study - South Africa after apartheid
8
Mid term
9
Amnesties: 'No peace without justice'?
10
Beyond accountability: constitutional reform in conflict resolution and peace building.
11
Reconstruction and reform of the justice sector in the aftermath of conflict and repression
12
'Steady-state' transitional justice: transitional justice everywhere, all the time
13
Liberia, Transitional Justice and the Diaspora
14
Transformative Justice, Local Ownership and Civil Society Participation
15
Victim Participation and Outreach in Cambodia
16
Final exam
1
An understanding of the principal themes, issues and debates in the field of transitional justice.
2
An understanding of selected legal issues relating to peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction
3
A familiarity with the work of leading scholars and the ability to assess critically the readings assigned in the course.
4
The ability to think independently about the themes explored in the course.
5
The ability to research and write a long essay on a topic covered in the course
6
The ability to identify and compare different approaches to these issues, through the use of case studies.
Quantity Percentage Total percent
Midterms
1 30% 30%
Quizzes
1 10% 10%
Projects
1 10% 10%
Term projects
0 0% 0%
Laboratories
0 0% 0%
Class participation
1 10% 10%
Total term evaluation percent
60%
Final exam percent
40%
Total percent
100%
Quantity Duration (hours) Total (hours)
Course duration (including exam weeks)
16 4 64
Off class study hours
14 4 56
Duties
1 5 5
Midterms
1 10 10
Final exam
1 20 20
Other
0 0 0
Total workLoad
155
Total workload / 25 (hours)
6.20
ECTS
6.00