Justice without truth seems like a half sentiment, perhaps in the world of politics truth can only be relative, since the whole of it will only reveal the degree to which inhumanity and senseless violence exist. Perhaps the real question is: why for the past century of modern politics have we accepted and designated to half-truths? Even though the ideal concept of truth and justice existing only together seems far-fetched, but in a world wrecked with turbulence and seeking revolution it is necessary to reclaim the ancient philosophical concepts of only determining justice based on the entire truth.
A period of time is required after war to decide the necessary procedure for people to have justice because it is the government’s legal obligation. After studying the cases of Chile and South Africa, it is clear that they are two cases worth studying side by side in terms of the relationship between truth and justice in modern politics, as well as in relation to victims in modern age.
Of course there is a challenge in implementing justice. Whether it’s a corrupt justice system, a fragile peace transition, large numbers of perpetrators or victims, and legal impediments such as amnesty laws. People can get justice through fair trials, truth seeking and fact finding, reparations, institutional reform, or memorialization. These mechanisms can be implemented by the national government, United Nations, international organizations or civil society. In order for these mechanisms to be successful they must be victim- centric, pragmatic, empowering, and work in the path of rebuilding trust relationships. Also, to emphasize the balance and for choosing the best strategy for justice, it is necessary to:
“Determine which elements of truth, justic...
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...onal human rights law and international humanitarian law, as well as the development within international criminal law needed to enforce IHRL and IHL and the international criminal law itself, and criminal law traditionally imposes obligation on individuals, and duties on states to sanction violations committed by individuals.
If there was no punishment for perpetrators then it means it will happen again, and if there is no justice then it means there will be no respect. In my opinion, the choice is not one or the other, justice vs. truth is a wrong concept because both complete each other and there cannot be justice without truth because truth is a way of getting justice and truth could a compensation for many victims. So truth is one step to justice, but it is not the only step it has to be followed by fair trials and other procedures for justice to be complete.
Carcasses attract scavengers. The Guilty Party by O. Henry showcases the untimely death of a girl of twelve, Liz. Above Chrystie Street on the east side, a strange bird stalks the children of the playground. Although people say it’s a stork, locals call it a vulture. In this case, Liz is the carcass that the vulture sets its eyes on.
September 11th, 2001. An organization denoted as terrorists by the United States, Al-Qaeda, attacked the U.S on our own soil. In his “Letter to the American People”, the leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, takes a defensive stance regarding the attack, giving his justifications of why the attack on the U.S was warranted and acceptable in the terms of Just War Theory, citing examples of the Right to Self-Defense and reasons why he was justified in targeting American civilians. Just War Theory is comprised of ideas of values to determine when acts of aggression are morally justified or not, and it is primarily split into two categories, Jus Ad Bellum (Justice of War) and Jus In Bello (Justice in War) (Walzer 21). In this essay, I will be arguing against Bin Laden’s claims of the justification of Al-Qaeda’s attack, using the failure of Bin Laden’s attack to meet the requirements for a just war in terms of Jus Ad Bellum and Jus In Bello.
For many victims of violence, human rights advocates and many others affected by human rights violations, amnesties represent the basest of pragmatic accommodations with former despots, murderers, and torturers. At first thought, amnesties do not give the impression of working at the victim’s favor but for the benefit of political leaders, elites and the perpetrators themselves. When societies accept amnesty, victims assume a position of forgetting the past actions of military and political power for the concept of forgiveness. Rights such as truth and justice are sacrificed for political stability. Where amnesties deny victims their rights to truth, justice, and reparations, they can potentially aggravate the victims’ suffering by shrouding the impunity cast by a blanket amnesty and denying victims full recognition of their suffering. The choice for transitional governments addressing past crimes is often framed in a false dichotomy: peace verses justice. This however, is not the case.
Argentina and Chile experienced similar periods of extreme human rights violations. The response of the international human rights regime to the crimes against humanity, and the pressure placed on these count...
This article explores the idea that governments knowingly victimize civilians under war when they feel weakened or defenceless. The article provides two main reasons that states engage in victimization of civilians; desperation or appetite for territorial conquest. The former refers to lowering costs of war on the states part by increasing the enemy’s cost and lowering the enemy’s morale for continuing the battle. The latter refers to a states want for more land to claim, using force and death to get what they want, by subduing or eliminating the enemy. The civilians who are targeted for these purposes are also chosen strategically. Mistreatment of civilians of the enemy occurs when specific values or traditions are seen as barbaric to the
The capital punishment has been cited as a reasonable sentence by those who advocate for retribution. This is essentially when it comes to justice so that people take full responsibility for their individual actions. Studies have proved that the decision to take away life of a person because they committed a certain crime serves to perpetuate the crime in question. It also serves to enhance the progress of organized and violent crime. It has been noted that various flaws in the justice system has led to the wrong conviction of innocent people. On the other hand, the guilty have also been set free, and a plethora of several cases has come up when a critical look at the capital punishment has been undertaken. Killers hardly kill their victims deliberately, but they probably act on anger, passion, or impulsively. In this regard, it is not proper to convict them exclusively without
The rule of law allows for a mutual understanding of common virtues and a defined path to follow. Strong, respected laws foster strong institutions which promote stability and encourage social development. Without a well system of laws, residents endure serious setbacks: “Conflict-affected states—those, by definition, where the rule of law is lacking—count for disproportionately high percentages of the developing world’s poor, uneducated, and infant deaths,” (Goldston P. 1). Communities depend on laws for stability and prosperity. Several key pillars must be established in order for a community to lay the groundwork for a firm respect of its laws, according to the World Justice Project. Accountability must be established and the government, as well as private actors, need to be held accountable under the law. The laws must be clear, publicized, stable, and just; and protect fundamental rights and core human rights. The processes by which the laws are enacted and enforced must be accessible, fair, and efficient. Justice needs to be delivered in a timely manner by competent, ethical, and independent representatives who are accessible and reflect the makeup of the communities they
Every year, innocent people are given prison sentences to crimes they did not commit. Statistics are kept by the Criminal Justice Department on the number of wrongful convictions but according to research, it has been estimated to 5% of the cases tried have resulted in a false conviction. Reasons due to false convictions are misidentification from a witness, false confessions, forensic mistakes, DNA testing, coercion, and more. A number of ideas will be argued as possible solutions to help lower the number of wrongful convictions that are given the innocent people who fall trapped to this system. A study by Barry Scheck [2008] on forensic evidence revealed that not more than 20% of the felony cases involved biological evidence [Scheck, 2008, p.4]. Although the number seems low, the proper handling and testing of biological evidence can offer some hope to an innocent suspect. Other variables that lead to wrongful convictions are false statements and confessions. Which that can be taken from suspects through questionable actions of methods. [Leo, Ofshe, 1998] or that pooled from jailhouse snitched, informants, or cooperators. Many people believe that the use of evidence has been corrupted in the system while others believe that cases where evidence is used are deviations from the typical process. “Eyewitness misidentifications were a factor in over 70% of wrongful convictions.” The knowledge that a free citizen could be unreasonably sentenced to prison or executed by the State is totally opposed the thought of shrewd treatment likely in the United States. DNA is the leading cause to wrongful convictions. If the problem is to be talked and fixed, it must first be understood; not as it is seen, but as it is. It is difficult to express...
Eliminating the death penalty as a method of punishment will only allow criminals to wreak havoc and chaotic in our community without the fear of death. When a person commits a crime, they are disrupting the order in the community. Justice help restore the disruption of that order. The Death penalty restore social order and give the states authority to maximized retribution for the victims. When the state does not have the authority to maximum retribution, the public may put the law in their own hands. Although, execution may be cruel and inhumane, it is nothing compared to the fate of many victims in the hand of the murderers. The purpose of the death penalty is to provide retribution for the victims and their families. However, retribution is not revenge. “Vengeance signifies inflicting harm on the offender out of anger because of what he has done. Retribution is the rationally supported theory that the criminal deserves a punishment fitting the gravity of his crime” (Pojman, 2004).
Does justice exist in America? Yes, justice does exist in America, but for whom is the question real question. In America all citizens should feel equal to one another but that is not the case. Rather than feeling equal to one another, the blacks and whites of the country feel hatred to one another. In American justice is served but it is mainly for whites and not blacks. The word justice is defined as the quality of being fair and reasonable. Unfortunately in America, justice is not always equally served due to racism in the modern society.
Wemmers (1996) highlights that an effective criminal justice system also protects human rights. Victims are gradually being seen as the notable possessors of such rights that lead to reviews in our domestic system and also by international bodies. The protection of said rights, such as in South Africa where less express definitions between ‘victim’ and ‘human’ rights are being made by policy m...
Without the understanding of what really happened in an event or place and time justice is not being sought out and can’t be dealt to those that need it. We all have felt wronged, at one time or another, in one form or another and I feel that is why we all have a common interest in seeking justice.
The rule of law requires compliance by the state with its obligations in International law.
This essay will talk about the meanings of freedom, equality and justice. It will also address that why these ideas are matter, by exploring the context of these meanings. . The word liberalism comes from a Latin word `liber`, which means a class of free men (Heywood, 2012). According to Hoffman and Graham (2015), liberalism became the world`s dominant ideology (Hoffman & Graham, 2015). Liberalism gives priority to `the right` over `the good` (Heywood, 2012). The concept of political freedom is sharply relevant to the concept of civil liberties and human rights. The base of democratic society is that the state has to stand for every citizen`s freedom with any available resource, such as institutional, legal or moral.
The international law is the fundamental basis of sovereignty and equality of all states. It promotes peace, order, and justice to the international society. The effectiveness of the international law is also anchored to the international community whether they will follow or not. It is important that international community has rules and obligation to follow in order to prevent chaos in the society. The development of international law led to the understanding of different policies and sanctions for the states. It deals with conflict of the states to relieve destructive conflict. The international law is agreed upon by the international community but there is no enforcing body unlike in the domestic law. State has been relying to treaties and international agreements for the prevention of war.