Mother and baby homes: What is ‘transitional justice’?

Transitional justice aims to address large-scale past human rights abuses though judicial and non-judicial measures.

It was first developed with the establishment of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg after the Second World War and the trials of Japanese soldiers at the Tokyo Tribunal.

However, it can include criminal prosecutions, truth commissions, reparations programmes, and various kinds of institutional reforms as well as criminal prosecutions. Transitional justice attempts to confront impunity; seek effective redress; and prevent any recurrence of similar violations. Truth commissions have often been used as part of the process to allow society learn from the past.