Memorial Justice? Lessons from Colombia on How Memorialization Can Serve Justice in Transitional Contexts

Abstract

The first Restorative Sanctions (Sanciones Propias) proposed by the Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace - globally acknowledged for its innovative sanctioning model - include memorial initiatives that should serve to punish the perpetrators of massive human rights violations and contribute to restoring the damages caused during the armed conflict. While in previous transitional processes, memory had a role as a complement, an alternative or a means to achieve justice in the future, through the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, memory could play a role as judicial punishment for those most responsible for massive atrocities. This article explores the gap opened up by this new dimension for memory through a transdisciplinary qualitative case study. It examines how and whether memorialization can serve the interests of justice.