F1HH 5185 - Transitional Justice: Foundations and Contemporary Challenges

This seminar introduces students to the field of Transitional Justice from a Human Rights perspective. It explores how societies respond to periods of conflict, repression, or authoritarian rule through judicial and non-judicial mechanisms. The course examines the foundations, goals, and main debates of transitional justice through comparative case studies, with particular attention to victims, accountability, and guarantees of non-repetition. It is designed for students from different backgrounds and does not require prior legal training.

The course follows a flipped classroom model using the Moodle platform. Students will have access to educational materials such as academic readings, case-study materials, and selected digital resources to support their preparation before class. These may include self-learning materials from the Council of Europe (CoE) HELP course on Transitional Justice.

The course is taught predominantly through in-class sessions, with occasional virtual meetings when needed. Classes are designed as interactive spaces to discuss course materials and engage with the main debates in the field. The instructor introduces key concepts and leads activities aimed at strengthening students’ understanding of Transitional Justice.

Learning Outcomes :

• Understand the foundations, evolution, objectives, and main debates of Transitional Justice from a Human Rights perspective.
• Assess the main mechanisms that underpin a comprehensive approach to Transitional Justice, built around the core pillars of truth, justice, reparations, memorialization, and guarantees of non-repetition.
• Analyse and compare how Transitional Justice mechanisms are applied in different contexts, with attention to political, social, economic, and institutional factors.
• Critically assess the possibilities and limits of Transitional Justice as a framework for addressing past violence, repression, and large-scale Human Rights abuse.

Professional Skills:

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• Identify and distinguish the main judicial and non-judicial mechanisms used in Transitional Justice processes.
• Analyse transitional contexts and assess how different political, social, economic, and institutional factors shape justice responses.
• Compare Transitional Justice experiences across different regions and stages, and evaluate their strengths, limits, and practical implications.
• Assess the role of victims and affected communities, and the responsibilities of public institutions, in advancing truth, justice, reparations, memorialization, and guarantees of non-repetition, with attention to trauma-informed, gender-sensitive, and intersectional approaches.
• Develop concise policy-oriented written and oral analysis of key Transitional Justice debates, case studies, and policy choices.

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The professor will provide individual written feedback on the short individual response paper and collective feedback on the Working Group Assignment. Additional feedback will be delivered during class discussions, particularly in relation to students’ engagement with key debates and case studies discussed in class.

To validate the course, the student is expected to pass the following assignments:

• Completion of the CoE HELP self-learning course on Transitional Justice, evidenced by submission of the certificate of accomplishment: Pass/Fail. This requirement will be considered part of in-class participation and preparation for class
• In-class participation and preparation 10%
• Short individual response paper 40%
• Working Group Assignment, including an in-class debate 50%

The total workload for this course is 150 hours, distributed over 15 weeks as follows:

• In-Class Presence: 24 hours of in-person lectures
• Reading and Class Preparation: Approximately 60 hours per semester (an average of 5 hours per session)
• Individual Assessments – Research and Writing: 30 hours per semester
• Group Work – Research and Preparation: 36 hours per semester