Transitional Justice Under Fire: Exploring Drivers and Motivations for Pursuing Truth, Justice and Reparations Amidst Civil War in Colombia

Judicial and quasi-judicial measures are often used to address legacies of massive human rights abuses. While much research has examined these as part of transitional justice, such measures have also been taken before any transition occurs. It has been suggested that these ‘during-conflict justice’ measures, including amnesties, trials, reparations and truth commissions, are used deliberately by governments and rebel groups to end the conflict or reach a favorable negotiated settlement. This paper examines this claim based on in-depth research on Colombia. Specifically, it conducts a case study of the 2005 Peace and Justice Law, enacted during a period of high conflict intensity. Notwithstanding, the Law resembled a transitional justice framework, and included measures to provide truth, justice and reparations. For what purposes was this law initiated? And what was the expected impact? This paper examines justice measures in Colombia in the mid-2000s from a conflict studies perspective, seeking to tease out the various motivations behind adopting them. Moreover, the paper further refines the ‘during-conflict justice’-concept, which has yet to be investigated qualitatively. As such, the paper contributes to our understanding of the use of judicial and quasi-judicial measures adopted amidst civil war.