Publications
Publication details
Sweeney, James A. (2012). Transitional Criminal Justice at the ECHR: Implications for the Universality of Human Rights. Baltic Yearbook of International Law- Publication type: Journal papers: academic
- ISSN/ISBN: 1569-6456, 2211-5897
- View online: Online version
Author(s) from Durham
Abstract
Successor trials are emblematic of democratic transition. To the extent that they may disrupt the rule of law due to an appearance of retroactivity, their justification is rooted in the application of distinctive “transitional” justice and, often, an appeal to pre-existing international norms. Successor trials are amongst several policies that are typically pursued in periods of transition, and which raise difficult questions from a human rights perspective. This paper examines the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in relation to successor trials and other transitional policies, such as lustration, in order to identify the complex interaction of domestic transitional policies and international human rights supervision, with the aim of assessing the impact of the European Court’s approach upon the universality of human rights.
Notes
This article derives from a paper given at the 4th European Society of International Law Research Forum in Estonia, 26-28 May 2011.