Law Commons^™

Truth Vs. Justice: Promoting The Rule Of Law In Post-Apartheid South Africa., Cassandra Fox Charles

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Strict adherence to the rule of law provides the strongest protections against gross human rights violations. The aftermath of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, TRC, demonstrates how few protections exist without the rule of law. By exchanging truth for justice, the Commission harmed, and continues to harm, the true victims of apartheid and failed to achieve the national unity and reconciliation promised. Truthful confessions based on voluntary disclosure cannot equalize the overarching systematic disparities required for reconciliation to take root and grow. Instead of amnesty in exchange for voluntary disclosure, South Africa should follow the traditional notions of justice …