Exceptional instruments in normalized contexts

Abstract

Transitional justice proposes exceptional tools so as to deal with non-ordinary periods, such as transitions to democracy and transitions to peace. These instruments, among which Truth and Reconciliation Commissions are the best known, are booming, and have a specific echo in the Basque Autonomous Community, at the crossroads between exceptionality and normality. This article aims at underlining the specificity of this territory, where the complexity of the transitions to democracy and peace builds a unique panorama of victims. This contexts gives birth to a progressive and pragmatic aplication of the exceptional instruments of transitional justice in a normalized and democratized context, and implies legal innovations, adapted to specific challenges.

Keywords

• transitional justice
• exceptionality
• Basque Autonomous Community
• Spain