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Index
Cover
Endorsement
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
List of tables and figures
List of Contributors
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Chapter 1 Introduction: The accountability challenge
New patterns of transitional justice
Explaining variations in shifts from impunity towards accountability for past human rights violations
Why focus on Latin America?
Contextualising Latin American TJ development
Political developments
Judicial reform
Normative development
The inter-American system of human rights protection
The Inter-American Commission and Court
The contribution of the regional human rights system to transitional justice
Country studies: selection and grouping
The special case of Colombia
Methods and data collection
Closing remarks
Notes
References
Chapter 2 Analytical framework
Transitional justice and impact assessment: a critical review
Scope of this study
Four TJMs, many forms
Truth-telling, including truth commissions
Trials
Amnesty
Reparations
Accountability and impunity as ideal types
The impunity–accountability spectrum: a qualitative approach for assessing accountability
Basic premise: the presence of TJMs in a country matters for accountability
Hypotheses: the combination, timing and sequencing, and quality of TJMs matter for accountability
H1: the combination of TJMs matters for accountability
H2: the timing and sequencing of TJMs matters for accountability
H3: the quality of TJMs matters for accountability
Documenting and assessing TJM trajectories
Conclusions
Notes
References
Chapter 3 Argentina: Regional protagonist of transitional justice
Authoritarian rule, regime collapse, and transition to democracy
State and civil society responses during and after repression
Truth-finding
National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP)
Forensic anthropology and genetics
Individual revelations: Scilingo and the death flights
Trials as producers of truth: the value of testimonies
Unified Register of Victims of State Terrorism
Reparations
Economic reparations and the restitution of rights
Symbolic reparations
Amnesties
Judicial and political challenges to amnesty
Strategic litigation against amnesty: the Simón case
The definitive annulment of amnesty
Trials
Phase 1: going after the juntas in national courts (1985–1986)
Phase 2: child abduction and truth trials in domestic courts; criminal trials in third-country courts (1987–2000)
Phase 3: large-scale trials in domestic courts (2001 to present)
The criminal justice system
Challenges in the third phase of trials
Measures to improve trials
Opponents of criminal accountability
Current status of trials
Conclusions
Notes
References
Chapter 4 Uruguay: Halfway towards accountability
Amnesties: two decades of impunity for human rights violations
The Expiry Law and state-sanctioned impunity
Challenges to the Expiry Law
Trials: advancing criminal accountability through the courts
Exploiting loopholes in the Expiry Law
Recent legal developments
Drivers of change and remaining obstacles to criminal accountability
Truth-finding: multiple, complementary attempts
Parliamentary and civil society inquiries into past human rights violations
Civil court cases seeking truth
The Comisión para la Paz
Further advances
Material and symbolic reparations
Conclusions
Notes
References
Chapter 5 Brazil: The tortuous path to truth and justice
Authoritarian rule and the transition to democracy
Elite-controlled political transition
Amnesty
Trials
Lack of criminal accountability in domestic courts
Turning to the inter-American system
Non-applicability of amnesty to ‘continuous crimes’
Reparations
Law of the Disappeared
Acknowledging survivors
Activating survivor reparations: the Amnesty Commission
Truth-finding
Early attempts at truth-finding: civil society groups and churches take the lead
The Special Commission on the Dead and Disappeared for Political Reasons
Late truth: a state-sponsored truth commission
Conclusions
Notes
References
Chapter 6 Chile: Incremental truth, late justice
The Pinochet regime
Truth recovery: truth without judicial consequences
Reparations measures: addressing irreparable harm
Self-amnesty: the war of attrition against impunity
Judicial accountability for past crimes: justice for all?
Proportionality of sentencing: ‘half prescription’, prison conditions, and early release
Judicial treatment of civil claims
Conclusions
Notes
References
Chapter 7 Paraguay: Accountability in the shadow of Stroessner
The Stroessner regime
Transition, after a fashion
The Terror Archive
Trials: the search for criminal justice for Stroessner-era crimes
Drivers of, and obstacles to, criminal prosecution
Truth-telling: Paraguay’s Truth and Justice Commission
Reparations
Material reparations
Symbolic reparations
Conclusions
Notes
References
Chapter 8 El Salvador: The difficult fight against impunity
The peace process and initial steps towards accountability
Truth-finding
Achievements and limitations of the truth commission
The Ad Hoc Commission
Amnesty
Challenging and defending the amnesty law
Justice seeking
Judicial reform
Trials and civil claims in domestic courts
Role of the inter-American human rights system
Cases in Spanish domestic courts
Reparations
Conclusions
Notes
References
Chapter 9 Guatemala: Truth and memory on trial
The political negotiation of peace, and what came out of it
Truth: the struggles for historical memory
The shadow of amnesty
Trials: strategic litigation or doing what is possible?
The Ríos Montt case
Reparations
Conclusions: accountability against all odds
Notes
References
Chapter 10 Peru: Beyond paradigmatic cases
Understanding the Peruvian case
A truth waiting to be told: the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Amnesties
Human rights prosecutions in Peru: changes and continuities
Judicial processes against alleged guerrilla members before the transition
Criminal accountability after the transition
The Fujimori trials
Half-full or half-empty: victims’ reparations in Peru
Conclusions
Notes
References
Chapter 11 Colombia: Transitional justice before transition
Background to the transitional justice process
Criminal accountability in Colombia: amnesties and trials as a two-pronged strategy
Truth-finding efforts: the ‘broken mirror’ approach
Legal developments around truth and memory
Historical and judicial truths
Victims’ reparations
The Victims’ Law: strengthening victims’ rights
Conclusions
Notes
References
Chapter 12 Conclusions: The uneven road towards accountability in Latin America
Main cross-country findings
Combinations, timing, and sequencing of TJMs
Quality of TJMs implemented and accountability levels
Cross-country comparisons of accountability achievements in 2014
Accountability changes across countries over time
The truth-finding dimension of accountability
The trials dimension of accountability
The amnesty dimension of accountability
The reparations dimension of accountability
Overall accountability trends
Political and institutional factors shaping the accountability trajectories
Concluding remarks
Notes
References
Appendix 1: Impunity and accountability factors
Appendix 2: Guiding questions and evaluation of specific TJMs
Index
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