ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how local norms and practices are used for transitional justice. It presents a brief historical overview of the thinking and practice of local transitional justice. The chapter looks at the aims, controversies, and positions around the use of local justice – topics also highlighted in the case studies of Rwanda and Uganda. Several concepts are helpful for understanding local transitional justice: the local, legal pluralism, customary law, and everyday justice. States attempt to regulate customary law in one of three ways: abolition, recognition, or incorporation. Transitional justice is slowly becoming more responsive to what victims and their communities actually want – which also means taking their cultural values, informal institutions, and every day practices seriously. Local justice offers several possible advantages as transitional justice. First, it usually has greater capacity and legitimacy than national justice systems and internationalised mechanisms. Second, it can be more responsive to local needs.
