Abstract
As new conflicts emerge, transitional justice practitioners are finding it increasingly imperative to incorporate the concepts of asset recovery into transitional justice processes and mechanisms. However, for its success, the pillar of transitional justice relating to international asset recovery needs strengthening. Yet a granular understanding of this dimension remains a critical blind spot in the transitional justice and human rights conversation. This paper brings the dynamics of asset recovery as an emerging aspect of human rights law to the fore. In terms of methodology this paper relies on Sharp’s critically motivated problem-solving theory. The paper suggests that for transitional justice to be holistic it should include asset recovery in its accountability mechanisms. Hopefully, it humbly contributes a new angle toward the understanding of what transitional justice can and could become.
References
Legal Documents ICC. Prosecutor v. Kenyatta. Decision on the implementation of the request to freeze assets, ICC-01/09-02/11-931, T.Ch. V(b), 8 July 2014 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Rome, 17 July 1998, UNTS vol. 2187, p. 3, Art. 77(2)(b). United Nations Convention against Corruption. New York, 31 October 2003, UNTS vol. 2349, p. 41., art. 37(1). Tunisia. Decree Law 2011-7. Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property. Paris, 14 November 1970, UNTS 823, p. 231. Books and book chapters Adam, Rita. “Innovation in Asset Recovery: The Swiss Perspective.” in The World Bank Legal Review: Legal Innovation and Empowerment for Development, vol. 4, edited by Hassane Cisse, et. al., 253-264. Washongton D.C: The World Bank, 2013. Bertier, Michael Fernandez. “The History of Confiscation Laws: From the Book of Exodus to the War on White-Collar Crime.” in Chasing Criminal Money: Challenges and Perspectives on Asset Recovery in the EU, edited by Katalin Ligeti Michele Simonato, 53-74, Hart Publishing, 2017. Brun, Jean-Pierre, et. al. Asset Recovery Handbook: A Guide for Practitioners. Washington D.C: The World Bank, 2011. Elster, Jon Retribution and Reparation in the Transition to Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. González, Eduardo and Howard Varney, eds. Truth Seeking Elements of Creating an Effective Truth Commission. ICTJ, 2013 González, Eduardo. Elena Naughton, and Félix Reátegui, Challenging the Conventional Can Truth Commissions Strengthen Peace Processes? International Center for Transitional Justice and and the Kofi Annan Foundation, 2014. Greenberg, Theodore S. et. Al. A Good Practice Guide for Non-conviction-based Asset Forfeiture. Washington D. C: The World Bank, 2009. Hayner, Priscilla B. Unspeakable Truths: Transitional Justice and the Challenge of Truth Commissions, 2nd Ed. New York: Routledge, 2010. Ivory, Radha. Corruption, Asset Recovery, and the Protection of Property in Public International Law: The Human Rights of Bad Guys. Cambridge: CUP, 2014. Kritz, Neil, eds. Transitional Justice: How Emerging Democracies Reckon with Former Regimes, vol. I. Washington D. C: US Insitute of Peace Press, 1995. McAuliffe, Padraig. Transformative Transitional Justice and the Malleability of Post-Conflict States. Edward Elgar, 2017. Office of The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Rule-Of-Law Tools for Post Conflict States National Consultations On Transitional Justice. New York and Geneva: OHCHR, 2009. Peleg, IIan and Jonathan Mendilow. “Corruption and the Arab Spring Comparing the Pre and Post Spring Situation.” in Corruption in the Contemporary World: Theory, Practice, and Hotspots edited by Jonathan Mendilow and Ilan Peleg. Lexington Books, 2014. Roht-Arriaza, Naomi. “Truth, Justice and Multiple Institutions.” in Transitional Justice in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Naomi Roht-Arriaza and J. Mariezcurrena. Cambridge: CUP, 2006. Stan and Nedelsky, eds. Encyclopedia of Transitional Justice, vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 2013. UNODC. “Tool #34: Amnesty, Immunity and Mitigation of Punishment,” UN Anti-Corruption Toolkit (UNDOC, 2004). Valji, N. “Tensions between peace and justice in transitional contexts.” in Rights-Based Approaches and Humanitarian Interventions In Conflict Situations, 27-37, InterAgency Group on Rights, 2009. World Bank and OECD. Tracking Anti-corruption and Asset Recovery Commitments: A Progress Report and Recommendations for Action. OECD and The World Bank, 2011. Zalaquett, José “Balancing Ethical Imperatives and Political Constraints: The Dilemma of New Democracies Confronting Past Human Rights Violations.” in Transitional Justice in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Naomi Roht-Arriaza and J. Mariezcurrena. Cambridge: CUP, 2006. Journals and periodicals Andrieu, Kora “Dealing with a “New” Grievance: Should Anticorruption be part of the Transitional Justice Agenda?” Journal of Human Rights 11, no .4 (2012): 537-557. Balasco, Lauren Marie “Locating Transformative Justice: Prism or Schism in Transitional Justice?” International Journal of Transitional Justice 12, no. 2 (2018): 368–378. Carranza, Ruben. “Plunder and Pain: Should Transitional Justice Engage with Corruption and Economic Crimes?” International Journal of Transitional Justice 2, no. 3 (2008): 310-330. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijn023. Gready, P. & S. Robins, “From transitional to transformative justice: A new agenda for practice.” International Journal of Transitional Justice 8 (1) (2014): 339–61. 10.1093/ijtj/iju013. Huyse, Lucy. “Justice after Transition.” Law and Social Inquiry 51 (1995): 51-78. Larson, Erik and Max Matthews. “The Use of Asset Recovery in War Crimes Cases.” Sarajevo International and Comparative Law Review 1, no. 1 (2012): 18-26. Naftali, Patricia. “Crafting a “Right to Truth” in International Law: Converging Mobilizations, Diverging Agendas?” Penal Field (2016): 3. Naqvi, Yasmin. “The Right to the Truth in International Law: Fact or Fiction?” International Review of the Red Cross 88 (2006): 245-273. Nye, J. S. “Corruption and Political Development: A Cost-Benefit Analysis.” The American Political Science Review 61, no. 2 (1967): 417-427. doi:10.2307/1953254. Olsen, Tricia D. “Transitional Justice in the World, 1970-2007: Insights from a New Dataset.” Journal of Peace Research 47, no. 6 (2010): 803-809. Olsen, Tricia D., Leigh A. Payne, and Andrew G. Reiter, “At What Cost? The Political Economy of Transitional Justice” Taiwan Journal of Democracy 6, no. 1 (July, 2010): 165-184. Sharp, Dustin N. “What Would Satisfy Us? Taking Stock of Critical Approaches to Transitional Justice.” International Journal of Trasitional Justice 13, no. 3 (2019): 570-589. Triponel, A. and S. Pearson. “What do you think should happen? Public participation in transitional justice,” Pace International Law Review 22, no. 1 (2010): 103–44. Websites CIFAR. “Is Tunisia reconciliating with the corrupt?” CIFAR, 22 September 2017. https://cifar.eu/tunisia-reconciliating-corrupt/ de Greiff, Pablo. “Thinking Big About Transitional Justice.” Arbeitsgemeinschaft Frieden und Entwicklung September, 27, 2018, https://www.frient.de/news/details/thinking-big-about-transitional-justice. Guellali, Amna. “The Law That Could be the Final Blow to Tunisia’s Transition.” Human Rights Watch, May 23, 2017. https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/05/23/law-could-be-final-blow-tunisias-transition. ICTJ. “Three Years After Revolution, Tunisia Seek Justice Through Collective Reparation and Development.” ICTJ, December 18, 2013. https://www.ictj.org/news/tunisia-collective-reparation-and-development Lasslett, Kristian. “Victims of corruption: Applied principles for asset recovery.” State Crime, May 15, 2017 International State Crime Initiative. http://statecrime.org/state-crime-research/victims-of-corruption-applied-principles-for-asset-recovery/ Lohaus, Mathis. “Asset “recovery and illicit financial flows from a developmental perspective: Concepts, scope, and potential.” Accessed 29 December 2019, https://www.u4.no/publications/asset-recovery-and-illicit-financial-flows-from-a-developmental-perspective-concepts-scope-and-potential. Mistry, Hemi. “Transitional Justice and the Arab Spring,” Chatham House, International Law and Middle East Programme 1 February 2012, https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/International%20Law/010212summary.pdf Public Eye. “A new report exposes the difficulties of the Mubarak asset recovery.” Public Eye, 25 October 2017, https://www.publiceye.ch/en/news/detail/a-new-report-exposes-the-difficulties-of-the-mubarak-asset-recovery. Transparency International. “Just One House Recovered by UK From Arab Spring States.” Transparency International, 24 November 2016. https://www.transparency.org.uk/press-releases/just-one-house-recovered-by-uk-from-arab-spring-states/. Transparency International. “Transparency International and MENA Chapters Lament Lack Of Progress On Asset Recovery In Arab World.” Transparency International 15 December 2015. https://www.transparency.org/news/pressrelease/transparency_international_and_mena_chapters_lament_lack_of_progress_on_ass. Others Allen, T. and A. Macdonald. “Post-conflict traditional justice: A critical overview.” LSE JSRP Paper no. 3 (2013). Available at http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/56357/1/JSRP_Paper3_Postconflict_traditional_justice_Allen_Macdonald_2013.pdf. Chene, Marie. “The use of amnesties for corruption offences.” U4 Helpdesk Answer 2019: 16, https://www.u4.no/publications/the-use-of-amnesties-for-corruption-offences.pdf FATF. Specific Risk Factors in Laundering the Proceeds of Corruption: Assistance to Reporting Institutions. FATF/OECD, June 2012. Available at http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Specific%20Risk%20Factors%20in%20the%20Laundering%20of%20Proceeds%20of%20Corruption.pdf Freedom House. “Combating Impunity: Transitional Justice and Anti-Corruption: Conclusions from Practitioners’ Dialogues on Transitional Justice,” Freedom House, 2014, https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/Combating%20Impunity%20-%20Transitional%20Justice%20and%20Anti-Corruption.pdf. Human Rights Council. Comprehensive Study on The Negative Impact of the Non-repatriation of Funds of Illicit Origin to the Countries of Origin on the Enjoyment of Human Rights, in Particular Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, A/HRC/19/42. Human Rights Council. Report Of The Special Rapporteur On The Promotion Of Truth, Justice, Reparation And Guarantees Of Non-Recurrence, Pablo de Greiff. A/HRC/30/42 . ICTJ. “On Solid Ground: Building Sustainable Peace and Development After Massive Human Rights Violations.” Working Group on Transitional Justice, ICTJ, May, 2019. International Center for Transitional Justice. “What is Transitional Justice?” ICTJ Fact Sheet, 2009. https://www.ictj.org/sites/default/files/ICTJ-Global-Transitional-Justice-2009-English.pdf. International Criminal Court. “Financial Investigations and Recovery of Assets.” https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/other/Freezing_Assets_Eng_Web.pdf. Membrez, François and Matthieu Hösli. “How To Return Stolen Assets: The Swiss Policy Pathway.” Centre for Civil and Political Rights, Working Paper (2020). Pfister, Mike. “Recovering Assets In Support Of The SDGs From Soft To Hard Assets For Development.” Basel Institute on Governance Working Paper no. 29 (2019). Available at https://www.baselgovernance.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/WP29_AssetRecovery_SDGs.pdf Public Eye. “Failed Recovery: How Switzerland Released the Funds of A Famous Egyptian Crony.” Public Eye, October 2017. https://www.publiceye.ch/fileadmin/doc/Finanzplatz/2017_PublicEye_Failed_Recovery_Report.pdf UNODC. “Documents of the Human Rights Council on the issue of the negative impact of the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin to the countries of origin on the enjoyment of human rights, and the importance of improving international cooperation.” UNODC Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Asset Recovery, 11th intersessional meeting, Vienna, 24-25 August 2017, CAC/COSP/WG.2/2017/CRP.2. Jack Smith, Mark Pieth and Guillermo Jorge,”The Recovery Of Stolen Assets: A Fundamental Principle Of The UN Convention Against Corruption,” U4Brief, Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) – U4 (2) (2007). Paul Gready and Simon Robins, “From Transitional to Transformative Justice: A New Agenda for Practice,” The University of York Center for Applied Human Rights, Briefing Note TFJ-01, June 2014;
Recommended Citation
Maguchu, Prosper
(2020)
"Borders and Boundaries: Importing Asset Recovery "Duty Free" in Transitional Justice Processes,"
Indonesian Journal of International Law: Vol. 17:
No.
2, Article 7.
DOI: 10.17304/ijil.vol17.2.784
Available at:
https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/ijil/vol17/iss2/7