The Right To The Truth In International Law: Victims' Rights In Human Rights And International Criminal Law (human Rights And International Law)

Présentation de l'éditeur : "The United Nations has established a right to the truth to be enjoyed by victims of gross violations of human rights. The origins of the right stem from the need to provide victims and relatives of the missing with a right to know what happened. It encompasses the verification and full public disclosure of the facts associated with the crimes from which they or their relatives suffered. The importance of the right to the truth is based on the belief that, by disclosing the truth, the suffering of victims is alleviated. This book analyses the emergence of this right, as a response to an understanding of the needs of victims, through to its development and application in two particular legal contexts: international human rights law and international criminal justice. The book examines in detail the application of the right through the case law and jurisprudence of international tribunals in the human rights and also the criminal justice context, as well as looking at its place in transitional justice. The theoretical foundations of the right to the truth are considered as well as the various objectives appropriate for different truth-seeking mechanisms. The book then goes on to discuss to what extent it can be understood, constructed and applied as a hard, legally enforceable right with correlating duties on various people and institutions including state agencies, prosecutors and judges." Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Dedication Contents Detailed contents Table of legislation and official materials Table of cases Introduction A firm basis for a right – but whose right? The right to the truth as independent? Philosophical considerations: the arrogance of enlightenment versus relativism Right conceptualisation: duties independent of a right 1 The need for truth Introduction Victims’ need for truth Society’s need for truth Truth as a precondition? A universal right Universal but not homogeneous The truth – but not at all cost A question of method, selection and scope Categories of abuse as grounds for the right Enforced disappearances and the missing Torture and inhuman treatment Extrajudicial executions Categorising truth-seeking needs for an interest-based rights conceptualisation Conclusion 2 The emergence of a right to the truth Introduction Extra-legal emergence within transitional justice efforts Legal genealogy Origin in international humanitarian law International human rights law Conclusion 3 Content of the right to the truth Introduction The grounding of the right to the truth Legal status – lex ferenda or lex lata? The content of the right Structural truth Individual truth Narrative truth Archives Obligation of means or ends? The duty over time Authority In what sense a right? Separation argument for an independent right Truth and justice Truth and reparations A working definition Conclusion 4 The public aspect of the right to the truth Introduction The authority for the public aspect of the right to the truth Justification Issues for a legal right Conclusion 5 The right to the truth in different fora Introduction The meaning of truth in context The role of human rights courts The mandate The impartial fact-finders The process Realisation of the right to the truth The role of truth commissions The mandate The impartial fact-finders The process Realisation of the right to the truth International criminal courts The mandate The impartial fact-finders The process Realisation of the right to the truth Conclusion: the right to the truth in these differing contexts 6 The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee Introduction Authority Transitional justice A duty to investigate Nature and quality of the duty The authority of the investigation The quality of the investigation No freestanding right The public aspect of the right to the truth Reparations The Court’s own narrative Victims’ narrative Article 13 United Nations Human Rights Committee The duty to investigate Remedies and the Committee’s own narrative Conclusion: the role of the right to the truth 7 The right to the truth at the European Court of Human Rights Introduction Context The investigative duty on states The duty Standing Relatives in their own name, Article 3 Transitional justice The type of investigation Effectiveness Investigation and Article 13 Victims’ involvement Public aspect Article 10 Reference to the right to the truth Reparation Article 46 and state cooperation An authoritative declaration of what happened The grounds of proof The burden of proof Court’s own inquiry or investigation State cooperation Conclusion: fulfilling the right to the truth 8 Truth commissions and the right to the truth Introduction “An important step in realizing the right to truth” Working towards the public aspect of the right to the truth Working towards the individual aspect of the right to the truth Tensions between individual and public aspects Witness testimony Contribution to public and individual truth Naming names Working towards prosecutions Reparations Truth – costs and benefits? Psychological cost, morality and substantiation Truth and acceptance Conclusion: forward and side-steps 9 International criminal trials Introduction Historical truth Forensic truth Narrative truth Legal truth Conclusion 10 The right to the truth and the International Criminal Court Introduction Calling for the right to the truth Investigations meeting the right to the truth? An effective investigation Reviewing prosecutorial decisions regarding investigations Independent investigation Charges: the selection of offence and modes of offending Delay of procedure and disclosure of evidence Victims to be heard Reparations Can judges focus on the realisation of the right to the truth? Unlocking Article 69(3) for more truth-finding Judgment Judges and state cooperation Conclusion 11 Conclusion Four suggestions Invigoration through association Normative force The public aspect Nuanced authoritative fact-finding and declarations In most expressions of the right to the truth, truth is linked to other rights The separation argument Right to the truth presupposes a legal process But does this legal process satisfy victims? Truth as a meaningful outcome But does this satisfy sub specie humanitatis? Separation and meaning Role of the law Concluding remarks Index Présentation de l'éditeur : "The United Nations has established a right to the truth to be enjoyed by victims of gross violations of human rights. The origins of the right stem from the need to provide victims and relatives of the missing with a right to know what happened. It encompasses the verification and full public disclosure of the facts associated with the crimes from which they or their relatives suffered. The importance of the right to the truth is based on the belief that, by disclosing the truth, the suffering of victims is alleviated. This book analyses the emergence of this right, as a response to an understanding of the needs of victims, through to its development and application in two particular legal contexts: international human rights law and international criminal justice. The book examines in detail the application of the right through the case law and jurisprudence of international tribunals in the human rights and also the criminal justice context, as well as looking at its place in transitional justice. The theoretical foundations of the right to the truth are considered as well as the various objectives appropriate for different truth-seeking mechanisms. The book then goes on to discuss to what extent it can be understood, constructed and applied as a hard, legally enforceable right with correlating duties on various people and institutions including state agencies, prosecutors and judges." This book analyses the emergence, development and application of the 'right to truth' as a response to an understanding of the needs of victims in two legal contexts: international human rights law and international criminal justice.