Rwanda's Gacaca Courts:Stakeholder Perceptions of Restorative Justice after Genocide

• In Event: International Courts, Prisons, and Restorative Justice

Abstract

This paper presents dissertation research findings of local Rwandan stakeholder views on the consequences of participation in the genocide courts known as gacaca. This research was undertaken to investigate the Rwandan government’s claim that that the gacaca court system was successful in blending restorative and punitive measures that allowed survivors and perpetrators to mutually and peacefully exist in the same society while also fostering faith in the legal institutions that had become viewed as illegitimate before and after the conflict. In total, 80 In-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with victims, perpetrators, and judges to assess how procedural practices of the genocide courts were perceived and how these practices impacted viewpoints on legal legitimacy, reconciliation, and post-conflict security. The limits of restorative justice in post-conflict settings will also be discussed.

Author

• Jordan Jon Nowotny, Governors State University