TY - JOUR
T1 - Twenty Years after
T2 - Statute of Limitations and the Asymmetric Burdens of Justice in Northern Ireland and Post-war Germany
AU - Chung, C K Martin
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee, Hong Kong [grant number 22612318].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Hansard Society; all rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - In 2018, that is 20 years after the conclusion of the Belfast Agreement ending the 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland known as the ‘Troubles’, the UK Government started a consultation on dealing with its legacy. The House of Commons Defence Committee proposes the enactment of a statute of limitations to shield veterans from further investigations into Troubles-related crimes. It would represent a ‘balanced’ approach to justice, as some paramilitary combatants had also received de facto amnesty through various schemes. This article argues that given the involvement of the British state in the historical conflict, a ‘balanced’ approach to dealing with the past is inadequate. Drawing on parallel parliamentary debates in Germany that began around 1965, that is also 20 years after the end of conflict, the article makes the case that an asymmetric approach is both promising and necessary for the reconciliation process to move forward.
AB - In 2018, that is 20 years after the conclusion of the Belfast Agreement ending the 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland known as the ‘Troubles’, the UK Government started a consultation on dealing with its legacy. The House of Commons Defence Committee proposes the enactment of a statute of limitations to shield veterans from further investigations into Troubles-related crimes. It would represent a ‘balanced’ approach to justice, as some paramilitary combatants had also received de facto amnesty through various schemes. This article argues that given the involvement of the British state in the historical conflict, a ‘balanced’ approach to dealing with the past is inadequate. Drawing on parallel parliamentary debates in Germany that began around 1965, that is also 20 years after the end of conflict, the article makes the case that an asymmetric approach is both promising and necessary for the reconciliation process to move forward.
KW - Northern Ireland
KW - Vergangenheitsbewältigung
KW - amnesty
KW - statute of limitations
KW - transitional justice
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116446124&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/pa/gsaa055
DO - 10.1093/pa/gsaa055
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0031-2290
VL - 74
SP - 979
EP - 1004
JO - Parliamentary Affairs
JF - Parliamentary Affairs
IS - 4
ER -
