The evolution of Transitional Justice: From post-authoritarian settings to established democracies

Join us for an insightful seminar presented by Caitlin Reiger, CEO of the Human Rights Law Centre and esteemed human rights lawyer, as she discusses the adaptation of transitional justice processes. This talk will explore key issues in this trend, with a focus on Australia’s first formal truth-telling body, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, currently underway in Victoria.

Governments, civil society and international law have increasingly recognised that a comprehensive response to the ongoing legacy of mass atrocities is both necessary for peaceful and healthy democracies and essential to restoring the dignity and rights of those most affected. The range of processes often collectively described as “transitional justice” include criminal accountability, truth-seeking, reparations, and reforms to institutions implicated in past violations. While necessarily tailored to each specific context, the adaptation of transitional justice processes has spread from post-authoritarian and more recent post-conflict settings to the long unaddressed legacies of colonization in established democracies, from Scandinavia, to US/Canada and Australia. This session will explore key issues in this trend, with a focus on Australia’s first formal truth-telling body, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, currently underway in Victoria.

About the Speaker:

Caitlin Reiger is CEO of the Human Rights Law Centre and a human rights lawyer. She has spent the past 25 years working globally on human rights legal protections, transitional justice processes, international criminal law, and justice system reform. Since returning to Australia in 2020, Caitlin supported the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria in the design and establishment of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, before serving as the Commission’s first Director of Strategic Policy and Research.

Caitlin’s work has included the interplay between truth-telling, reparations, criminal justice and institutional reform efforts, including in Timor Leste, Sierra Leone, Cambodia and Colombia. She headed the European Union’s flagship access to justice programme in Myanmar, MyJustice, which used arts, culture and social media platforms to improve public awareness of fundamental rights, and supported recognition of traditional/informal justice systems as part of peace negotiations.

The Human Rights Law Centre is a national specialist community legal centre and Australia’s leading civil society voice on human rights. It uses strategic legal action, policy engagement and public advocacy to promote and protect human rights, and promote a fairer and more equal Australia. Further information about the Centre’s work is available here.

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