Legal Decisions, Affective Justice and 'Moving On'?
Keywords:
Affective justice, law and aesthetics, Justicia afectiva, derecho y estéticaAbstract
Our paper argues that a move away from the linear approach adopted in transitional justice scholarship is required to the question of ‘moving on’, understood as the way in which a post-dictatorial or a post-conflict regime addresses the past injustices of the predecessor regime. We consider this question in relation to two case studies: post-dictatorial Albania and post-conflict Sierra Leone. Both examples point to important factors that underpin the meanings of ‘moving on’ and of justice, when analysed through a law and aesthetics lens. It has long been established that legal scholarship that makes use of works of art aids and clarifies the points that it wants to make. We examine the power of certain art forms, namely the way in which space ‘speaks’ and the narratives found in an image in the Albanian context, and the use of film to provide a deeper appreciation of the conflict in the Sierra Leonean context. Different aesthetic practices have been used as a way to respond to historical injustice and mass atrocity, also when partial justice (through the law) has been achieved. Our article argues that law’s limitations can be understood through the process of unravelling the pieces of the puzzle that make up affective justice. Artistic representation allows for a more complex narration than law’s linear demands.
Este artículo defiende que para poder “avanzar”, es necesario un alejamiento del enfoque lineal adoptado por los académicos expertos en justicia transicional, entendida ésta como la forma en la que un régimen aborda, después de una dictadura o un conflicto, injusticias perpetradas durante el régimen anterior. Se considera esta cuestión en relación con dos estudios de caso: Albania después de una dictadura, y Sierra Leona después de un conflicto. Ambos ejemplos apuntan factores importantes que sustentan los significados de “avanzar” y de justicia, cuando se analizan a través de la lente del derecho y la estética. Desde hace mucho se ha aceptado que usar obras de arte ayuda a académicos juristas a aclarar las ideas que quiere transmitir. Se examina el poder de ciertas formas de arte, es decir, cómo "habla" el espacio y las narrativas encontradas en una imagen en el contexto albanés, y en el contexto de Sierra Leona, el uso del cine para proporcionar una apreciación más profunda del conflicto. Se han utilizado diferentes prácticas estéticas como forma de responder a injusticias históricas y atrocidades masivas, incluso cuando se ha logrado una justicia parcial (a través del derecho). Este artículo defiende que las limitaciones del derecho se pueden entender a través del proceso de resolver las piezas del rompecabezas que confirman la justicia afectiva. La representación artística nos permite una narración más compleja que las reivindicaciones lineales del derecho.
DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2977204
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