ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that 'law as justice' keeps transitional justice trapped within an oppositional logic. It provides a brief overview of key claims in respect to the relationship between law and justice in transition. The chapter outlines the emergence of a new normative concept of the right to truth that underpins a range of transitional justice mechanisms. It highlights the connection made in law and policy between institutional mechanisms for dealing with the past and justice, and demonstrates the reliance placed on law as a means of achieving justice. The chapter examines the dominance of law in framing the debate over dealing with the past, suggesting that the debate remains trapped within an oppositional structure. The institution of a common definition of justice is significant not only in terms of international law, but also because of the influence that international norms exert on domestic transitions.
