Harmonizing Customary Justice with the International Rule of Law? Lessons from Post-Conflict Sierra Leone

Transitional justice (TJ) in Sierra Leone is commonly associated with two internationalized formal institutions — the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). While the SCSL was mandated to hold criminally accountable those bearing greatest responsibility for atrocities committed during the country’s brutal civil war (1999–2002), the TRC was established to foster restorative justice and reconciliation. But in addition to these specific mandates, both institutions were expected to demonstrate rule-of-law norms that would subsequently be replicated in the domestic justice system. For the Court, it was anticipated that the successful trial and conviction of perpetrators would restore confidence and trust in the judicial system, and ultimately stimulate respect for the rule of law among the local population. Although a non-judicial body, the TRC, as a state-mandated legal mechanism, was also expected to undertake a kind of positive social engineering in the post-war context. Whether there is a direct correlation between these long-term goals of justice reform and the legacy of the two concurrent TJ mechanisms remains in dispute. Particularly important is the question of why the Court became disconnected from the national justice system, despite its purported hybridity and close physical proximity to the war-torn society.