IL FATTORE RELIGIOSO NELLA GIUSTIZIA DI TRANSIZIONE

The dynamics of transitional justice have been shifting, in the past decade, from democratization towards a more reconciliation/truth approach. Many scholars have underlined a connection between the concept of reconciliation and that of Christian forgiveness. Some case studies do indicate that there may be a strong link between these two concepts (South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is probably the most well known example). Nonetheless a number of more recent analysis, such as those dealing with Timor East and the Moroccan IER (Instance Equité et Réconciliation) seem to indicate that reconciliation is neither solely linked with Christian forgiveness nor is a solely religious concept. On the one hand the Timor East experience demonstrates that reconciliation is well known as a process even within other religious experiences and is, often, the outcome of a restitution/compensation process, properly ritualized to guarantee a local acknowledgment .On the other hand the Moroccan experience shows that reconciliation can have a more universal value, without any religious aspects. Furthermore reconciliation is a goal that can be achieved through a well structured legal and social reform and through acknowledgment of the past and compensation for victims. These different experiences may indicate that reconciliation, within transitional justice, may be very different from forgiveness, given the intensity and the high number of individuals involved; therefore defining the reconciliation process as a long term goal of a transitional society which can be obtained through a well defined political and juridical, or quasi juridical, plan and which aim is to guarantee a peaceful coexistence within society more than a personal and interior process like forgiveness. Certainly what we are witnessing today is a broad de-secularization of the transitional justice phenomena due to the increasing number of societies which choose local and traditional rituals/values to achieve reconciliation. Part I of this work concentrates on giving a definition of transitional justice, and its evolution, particularly engaging the issues arisen with the application of new instruments such as truth commissions. Part II concentrates on the religious elements of the Community Reconciliation Process (CRP), and how the traditional values influenced the out come: the importance given to the lisan, a traditional religion, which was the basis for the creation of the CRP and the meta-legal basis for the rituals implemented during the hearings. Furthermore it studies the South African experience, from the perspective of religious faith and religious actors, taking into consideration the role played in the creation and works of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: from the concept of Ubuntu, which played a role in the provisional constitution and therefore in the creation of the Commission; to the importance of forgiveness, constantly indicated as the principal instrument by the president of the commission Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Part III deals with the Moroccan commission (IER) is taken in exam, as a third secular process towards reconciliation: the focus of the commission on human rights and reparation as only mean to obtain reconciliation and social stability. The final part, the conclusions, tries to identify if forgiveness is a universal concept or has a different meaning for different religions. If so, can there be a general instrument for transitional justice which focuses on forgiveness or, maybe, can religions, through their own definition of such concept, influence a transition towards those mechanism of reconciliation best suited for the local traditions.