Mitchell Institute Deputy Director, Professor Louise Mallinder, and Mitchell Institute Fellow: Legacy, Professor Anna Bryson have published a co-authored article entitled Reconciliation in International Human Rights Law: Perceptions, Principles and Practice.  The article was published in part 1 of a two-part special issue of the European Human Rights Law Review on Human Rights in Northern Ireland.  The issue also includes a contribution from Mitchell Institute Fellow: Legacy, Professor Brice Dickson, and PhD researcher affiliated to the Institute, Anurag Deb.

Bryson and Mallinder’s article examines the relationship between reconciliation and international human rights law by analysing the case law and reports of international courts and human rights treaty bodies in light of multidisciplinary theory on reconciliation.  It establishes that human rights institutions see reconciliation as a complex objective that should entail: the restoration of horizontal and vertical relationships; inclusivity in the design and implementation of measures to deal with the past; independent investigations and acknowledgement of past harms; and meaningful efforts to understand and address the root causes of conflict.

Having established this theoretical and legal framework for the advancement of “thicker” reconciliation, the article critically examines the work of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) in Northern Ireland.  It argues that challenges arising from its controversial origins as well as limitations in its remit and power substantially curb its ability to advance human-rights based reconciliation.

Read the article here. 

 

Professor Louise Mallinder

Professor Mallinder is the Deputy Director and Theme Lead for Legacy at the Mitchell Institute.  Louise is also Professor of Law at the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast.  Her research interests relate to the fields of international human rights law, international criminal law, and law and politics in political transitions.

 

Professor Anna Bryson

Professor Bryson's research has developed at the intersection of socio-legal studies, transitional justice and oral history.  In recent years she has worked on a number of local and international research projects relating to the role of lawyers as transitional actors, dealing with the past in Northern Ireland, the role of apologies in mitigating past harms, and the impact of Brexit on the peace process in Northern Ireland.  Professor Bryson has a particular interest in the contribution of oral history to transitional justice approaches to dealing with a conflicted past.