Restorative Justice in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia

• In Event: Transitional Justice, Conflict, and Transformation

Abstract

In 2016, Colombia signed a historic Peace Agreement to end six decades of armed conflict between the State and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP). One of the pillars of the agreement was the creation of a transitional justice system, including the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (SJP), a court responsible for prosecuting crimes committed during the conflict. The agreement mandates that all institutions, including the SJP, operate under a restorative justice approach. However, integrating restorative and transitional justice models has posed significant theoretical and practical challenges.
This doctoral research examines these challenges by studying victim participation in the SJP, its effects, and perceptions regarding truth, justice, and reparation from a restorative justice perspective. The methodology is based on three main sources: (i) academic literature on restorative justice, transitional justice, and victimology; (ii) national and international legal instruments; and (iii) fieldwork through semi-structured interviews with victims and other key stakeholders.
Three central questions guide this research:
1. What forms of victim participation occur in the SJP, and to what extent do they contribute to the fulfillment of their rights?
2. How does collective judicial representation impact the satisfaction of victims' rights, considering its advantages (identifying structural harms) and disadvantages (possible exclusion of marginalized groups)?
3. To what extent does participation in the SJP promote transformative justice beyond restoration?
By addressing these questions, this research aims to contribute to academic and policy discussions on the intersection of restorative and transitional justice in post-conflict societies.

Author

• Silvana Avendaño, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia)