Truth v. justice : the morality of truth commissions
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Truth v. justice : the morality of truth commissions
（The University Center for Human Values series）
Princeton University Press, c2000
- : cloth
Available at 4 libraries
-
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies Library (GRIPS Library)
: cloth316.8||R7400441711
-
Library, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization図
: clothFSSA||342.7||T214162689
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The truth commission is an increasingly common fixture of newly democratic states with repressive or strife-ridden pasts. From South Africa to Haiti, truth commissions are at work with varying degrees of support and success. To many, they are the best - or only - way to achieve a full accounting of crimes committed against fellow citizens and to prevent future conflict. Others question whether a restorative justice that sets the guilty free, that cleanses society by words alone, can deter future abuses and allow victims and their families to heal. Here, leading philosophers, lawyers, social scientists, and activists representing several perspectives look at the process of truth commissioning in general and in post-apartheid South Africa. They ask whether the truth commission, as a method of seeking justice after conflict, is fair, moral, and effective in bringing about reconciliation. The authors weigh the virtues and failings of truth commissions, especially the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in their attempt to provide restorative rather than retributive justice.
They examine, among other issues, the use of reparations as social policy and the granting of amnesty in exchange for testimony. Most of the contributors praise South Africa's decision to trade due process for the kinds of truth that permit closure. But they are skeptical that such revelations produce reconciliation, particularly in societies that remain divided after a compromise peace with no single victor, as in El Salvador. Ultimately, though, they find the truth commission to be a worthy if imperfect instrument for societies seeking to say "never again" with confidence. At a time when truth commissions have been proposed for Bosnia, Kosovo, Cyprus, East Timor, Cambodia, Nigeria, Palestine, and elsewhere, the authors' conclusion that restorative justice provides positive gains could not be more important. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Amy Gutmann, Rajeev Bhargava, Elizabeth Kiss, David A. Crocker, Andre du Toit, Alex Boraine, Dumisa Ntsebeza, Lisa Kois, Ronald C. Slye, Kent Greenawalt, Sanford Levinson, Martha Minow, Charles S. Maier, Charles Villa-Vicencio, and Wilhelm Verwoerd.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii I. Truth Commissions and the Provision of Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation by Robert I. Rotbtrg 3 II. The Moral Foundations of Truth Commissions by Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson 22 III. Restoring Decency to Barbaric Societies by Rajeev Bhargava 45 IV Moral Ambition Within and Beyond Political Constraints: Reflections on Restorative Justice by Elizabeth Kiss 68 V Truth Commissions, Transitional Justice, and Civil Society by David A Crockcr 99 VI. The Moral Foundations of the South African TRC: Truth as Acknowledgment and Justice as Recognition by Andre du Toit 122 VII. Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa: The Third Way by Alex Boraine 141 VIII. The Uses of Truth Commissions: Lessons for the World by Dumisa B. Ntsebexa 158 IX. Amnesty, Truth, and Reconciliation: Reflections on the South African Amnesty Process by Ronald C. Slye 170 X. Amnesty's Justice by Kent Greenawalt 189 XI. Trials, Commissions, and Investigating Committees: The Elusive Search for Norms of Due Process by Sanford Levinson 211 XII. The Hope for Healing: What Can Truth Commissions Do? by Martha Minow 235 XIII. Doing History, Doing Justice: The Narrative of the Historian and of the Truth Commission by Charles S. Mater 261 XIV Constructing a Report: Writing Up the "Truth" by Charles Villa-Yicencio and Wilhelm Yerwoerd 279 The Contributors 295 Index 299
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