Lessons learned?: The Kosovo Specialist Chambers' lack of logical legitimacy and its implications

The experiences of many transitional justice mechanisms have led to a general consensus on the central importance of local legitimacy and local ownership; this indeed is repeatedly avowed by both the UN and the EU in their prescriptions on effective transitional justice mechanisms. Yet, I argue that...

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Autor principal: Hehir, Aidan 1977- (Autor)
Tipo de documento: Electrónico Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2019
En: Human rights review
Año: 2019, Volumen: 20, Número: 3, Páginas: 267-287
Acceso en línea: Volltext (kostenfrei)
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Sumario:The experiences of many transitional justice mechanisms have led to a general consensus on the central importance of local legitimacy and local ownership; this indeed is repeatedly avowed by both the UN and the EU in their prescriptions on effective transitional justice mechanisms. Yet, I argue that the Kosovo Specialist Chambers was established in the absence of both. The court was not created in response to domestic pressure from within Kosovo; rather, it was the result of external pressure which by definition compromised local ownership and legitimacy. Drawing on the findings from first-hand qualitative research, I demonstrate that the court’s local legitimacy has not improved since its establishment. This lack of legitimacy, I argue, has potentially negative implications as, without popular legitimacy, the court’s proceedings and judgements are unlikely to command sufficient public support to either catalyse the societal changes promised by the court’s external sponsors, or withstand opposition to the court from within the Kosovo Albanian population resulting from any perceived slight against the ‘heroic’ KLA.
Notas:Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 285-287
ISSN:1874-6306
DOI:10.1007/s12142-019-00564-y