Transitional Justice - Post-Post-Soviet Space and Beyond

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved

Course Description Version:1.00

Study Course Accepted:08.03.2024 08:46:23

Study Course Information
Course Code:		SZF_061			LQF level:		Level 7
Credit Points:		4.00			ECTS:		6.00
Branch of Science:		Politics; International Politics			Target Audience:		Political Science
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:		Arta Snipe
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:		Faculty of Social Sciences
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:		Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szfrsu[pnkts]lv
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		8	Lecture Length (academic hours)			2	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		16
Classes (count)		15	Class Length (academic hours)			2	Total Contact Hours of Classes		30
Total Contact Hours									46
Part-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		8	Lecture Length (academic hours)			2	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		16
Classes (count)		15	Class Length (academic hours)			2	Total Contact Hours of Classes		30
Total Contact Hours									46
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
General knowledge of the political processes in the world in the 20th – 21st century.
Objective:
To provide general knowledge in the field of transitional justice: its aims, mechanisms, application; to develop the skills to analyze transitional justice processes, drawing on insights from historical experiences and current cases.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.	Topic				Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	What is transitional justice? Emergence of transitional justice as a branch of science				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
2	Goals, means, approach of transitional justice				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
3	Historical stages of transitional justice				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
4	Overview of regions and processes. Levels and institutions involved				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
5	Actors and their roles				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
6	Trials and amnesties				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
7	Trials and amnesties. Tribunals and courts				Classes		1.00	auditorium
8	Truth Commissions				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
9	Truth Commissions.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
10	Reparations and compensation programmes. Institutional reforms. Vetting. Other mechanisms				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
11	Individual consultations				Classes		1.00	auditorium
12	Presentations of case studies: Argentina & Chile. Comparison analysis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
13	Discussion “Judge or forgive?” based on required readings.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
14	Presentations of case studies: South Africa & Rwanda. Comparison analysis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
15	Presentations of case studies: Poland & Germany. Comparison analysis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
16	Presentations of case studies: Czech Republic & Slovakia. Comparison analysis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
17	Paper presentations: Does TJ work?				Classes		1.00	auditorium
18	Presentations of case studies: The Baltic States. Comparison analysis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
19	Presentations of case studies: Latvia & Moldova.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
20	Paper presentations: focus on former Soviet Union.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
21	Paper presentations: What can money buy?				Classes		1.00	auditorium
22	Paper presentations: Memory laws and memory politics.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
23	Exam				Classes		1.00	auditorium
Topic Layout (Part-Time)
No.	Topic				Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	What is transitional justice? Emergence of transitional justice as a branch of science				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
2	Goals, means, approach of transitional justice				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
3	Historical stages of transitional justice				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
4	Overview of regions and processes. Levels and institutions involved				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
5	Actors and their roles				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
6	Trials and amnesties				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
7	Trials and amnesties. Tribunals and courts				Classes		1.00	auditorium
8	Truth Commissions				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
9	Truth Commissions.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
10	Reparations and compensation programmes. Institutional reforms. Vetting. Other mechanisms				Lectures		1.00	auditorium
11	Individual consultations				Classes		1.00	auditorium
12	Presentations of case studies: Argentina & Chile. Comparison analysis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
13	Discussion “Judge or forgive?” based on required readings.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
14	Presentations of case studies: South Africa & Rwanda. Comparison analysis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
15	Presentations of case studies: Poland & Germany. Comparison analysis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
16	Presentations of case studies: Czech Republic & Slovakia. Comparison analysis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
17	Paper presentations: Does TJ work?				Classes		1.00	auditorium
18	Presentations of case studies: The Baltic States. Comparison analysis.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
19	Presentations of case studies: Latvia & Moldova.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
20	Paper presentations: focus on former Soviet Union.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
21	Paper presentations: What can money buy?				Classes		1.00	auditorium
22	Paper presentations: Memory laws and memory politics.				Classes		1.00	auditorium
23	Exam				Classes		1.00	auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
During the module students will prepare for the seminars, read literature and prepare a presentation. The aim of seminars is to develop students' ability to argue and present their opinion in a consistent and logical manner; to promote activity; to test students’ knowledge of the topic and materials in question. The aim of the presentation is to develop the ability to identify the key issue of the topic; to identify and evaluate alternative arguments and views; to offer an opinion, explaining and arguing why this particular opinion is better than any other. The report should compare all possible alternatives, considering all their strengths and weaknesses. Another goal is to develop skills to independently study the situation and the problem, give it an assessment and be able to find solutions. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.
Assessment Criteria:
Attendance and activity during lectures – 20%. Activity and preparedness during seminars – 30%. Case study presentation – 25%. Final exam – 25%.
Final Examination (Full-Time):		Exam (Written)
Final Examination (Part-Time):		Exam (Written)
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:		Using the in-depth knowledge gained in the course about the transitional justice and its specifics in the post-post-Soviet space, students will compare different mechanisms of transition of rule of law, analyze the rationale and results of their choice. Based on the analysis of the literature on the experience of historical and existing transition processes, students will describe the processes of transitional justice and their impact on current legal dilemmas, for example, in matters of shared ownership.
Skills:		Students will choose scientific literature appropriate for the individual work. Students will critically evaluate the ideas expressed in the scientific literature and discuss the interpretation of these ideas in the presentations for colleagues. By developing research work, students will compare and analyze the mechanisms of transition of rule of law chosen by different countries.
Competencies:		By analyzing interdisciplinary literature and developing research work, students will integrate the knowledge and methods of different fields (political, legal sciences, history), therefore strengthening interdisciplinary research competencies. Contrasting the experiences of different countries and the chosen models, students will demonstrate an understanding of comparative policy methods in practice.
Bibliography
No.	Reference
Required Reading
1	Visa literatūra ir angļu valodā un piemērota gan latviešu, gan angļu plūsmas studentiem
2	Horne, et al. Transitional Justice and the Former Soviet Union: Reviewing the Past, Looking toward the Future / Edited by Cynthia M. Horne, Lavinia Stan. 2018.
3	Lavinia Stan. Transitional Justice in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: Reckoning with the Communist Past / Edited by Lavinia Stan. Routledge, 2009.
4	Post-Communist Transitional Justice/ Ed. by Lavinia Stan, Nadra Nedelsky. Cambridge University press, 2015.
5	An introduction to Transitional Justice. 2nd ed./ Ed. by Olivera Simič. Routledge, 2021.
6	Other readings are given under each lecture topic. Most materials are available online (RSU or National Library of Latvia access, Google books, or free online access).
Additional Reading
1	Readings on case studies and required reading for seminars are given under each seminar topic (RSU or National Library of Latvia access).
Other Information Sources
1	International Center for Transitional Justice webpage.
2	Transitional Justice Research Collaborative website.
3	The UN High Commissioner of Refugees homepage: Country reports.
4	International Military Tribunal At Nuremberg.
5	International Criminal Court.
6	United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
7	International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
8	The International Journal of Transitional Justice.
9	Global Policy Forum. International Criminal Tribunals and Special Courts.