ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book traces the origins and nature of the right to the truth from different sources outlining the plurality of its meaning within transitional justice. It focuses on why a right to the truth is needed: victims of atrocity suffer from not knowing the truth about certain types of gross human rights abuse. The book also traces the origins of the right to the truth in the context of transitional justice from international humanitarian law to expression and references in international human rights law. It examines the legal status and content of the right to the truth and also focuses on the presence of the right in the context of human rights courts, specially the practice of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights.
