Ethical Justice As A Prerequisite For Sustainable Peace
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29284/63x5cq03Keywords:
Ethical Justice; Sustainable Peace; Peacebuilding; Human Rights; Accountability; Reconciliation,Abstract
It is a long-standing maxim of jurisprudence that peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of justice. That being said, the international community too often settles for negative peace—a fragile silence of guns that leaves systemic rot untouched. This paper contends that without Ethical Justice, a peace treaty is little more than a stay of execution for the next conflict. While political realism often treats justice as a negotiable concession, this study argues it is a non-negotiable legal and moral pillar. We must look beyond mere legalism to a framework that honors human dignity and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). For instance, when accountability is sidelined—as seen in the history of amnesties that fail to address Article 7 of the Rome Statute regarding crimes against humanity—the result is almost invariably a relapse into violence. Statistical trends in post-conflict states suggest that agreements neglecting victim-centered reparations have a significantly higher rate of failure within five years. This paper examines these failures from the perspective of Transitional Justice, arguing that inclusive governance is not just a good idea, but a structural requirement for social cohesion. By analyzing the problems between state sovereignty and the universal protection of human rights, the study concludes that a peace built on impunity is a house built on sand. We must prioritize the moral imperative of justice to ensure that reconciliation is more than a slogan, but a lived reality.
References
1. Anthony, C. (2016). In the Case of the Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo: Cementing Sexual Violence and Command Responsibility Within International Criminal Law. Tul. J. Int’l & Comp. L., 25, 403. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/tulicl25§ion=18
2. Barber, R. (2023). Reflections on the three pillars of the responsibility to protect, and a possible alternative approach. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 77(4), 415–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2023.2241835
3. Bishop-Burney, U. S. (2017). Prosecutor v. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi. American Journal of International Law, 111(1), 126–132. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/prosecutor-v-ahmad-al-faqi-al-mahdi/D4A053F3EB3BEE556D47FF2D64979290
4. Bloomfield, A. (2016). Resisting the responsibility to protect. In Norm antipreneurs and the politics of resistance to global normative change (pp. 34–52). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315707341-8/resisting-responsibility-protect-alan-bloomfield
5. Cobban, H. (2015). Amnesty after atrocity?: Healing nations after genocide and war crimes. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315635996/amnesty-atrocity-helena-cobban
6. Cohen, S. (2013). States of denial: Knowing about atrocities and suffering. John Wiley & Sons. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=wUWaAAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT10&dq=Denial+is+a+tool+that+criminals+employ+to+remain+in+power.&ots=EKOdr0NNjL&sig=PIe550JgchzbOHP7_tavsa40X-4
7. Cüre, F. (2025). Adapting Responsibility to Protect (r2p) for a Multipolar World: Sovereignty, Intervention, and Veto Power. Global Responsibility to Protect, 1(aop), 1–25. https://brill.com/view/journals/gr2p/aop/article-10.1163-1875984X-20240031/article-10.1163-1875984X-20240031.xml
8. De Wet, E. (2004). The prohibition of torture as an international norm of jus cogens and its implications for national and customary law. European Journal of International Law, 15(1), 97–121. https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article-abstract/15/1/97/418241
9. Dorling, D. (2015). Injustice: Why social inequality still persists. Policy Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0vyqCQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=When+people+feel+like+the+system+is+unfair,+sooner+or+later,+they+will+try+to+tear+it+down.+&ots=Rscdx95MNA&sig=t1kAIUOcxbtwPGBKk1Af386DFyk
10. Gallagher, A. (2015). The promise of pillar II: Analysing international assistance under the Responsibility to Protect. International Affairs, 91(6), 1259–1275. https://academic.oup.com/ia/article-abstract/91/6/1259/2326976
11. Glanville, L. (2019). Sovereignty and the responsibility to protect: A new history. University of Chicago Press. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.7208/9780226077086/html
12. Gözen Ercan, P. (Ed.). (2022). The Responsibility to Protect Twenty Years On: Rhetoric and Implementation. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90731-0
13. Haenen, I. (2013). Classifying acts as crimes against humanity in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. German Law Journal, 14(7), 796–822. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/german-law-journal/article/classifying-acts-as-crimes-against-humanity-in-the-rome-statute-of-the-international-criminal-court/74276DD4C7395DC03D528A9FA0EF25EA
14. Hellsten, S. K. (2009). Ethics, Rhetoric, and Politics of Post-Conflict Reconstruction: How Can the Concept of Social Contract Help Us in Understanding How to Make Peace Work? In T. Addison & T. Brück (Eds), Making Peace Work (pp. 75–100). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230595194_5
15. Holtman, S. W. (1997). A Kantian approach to prison reform. JRE, 5, 315. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/jaret5§ion=21
16. Katila, A. (2021). Unearthing Ambiguities: Post-Genocide Justice in Raoul Peck’s Sometimes in April and the ICTR case Nahimana et al. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 15(2), 332–350. https://academic.oup.com/ijtj/article-abstract/15/2/332/6292209
17. Kirkwood, S. (2022). A practice framework for restorative justice. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 63, 101688. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178921001427?casa_token=FQF10y3dKBgAAAAA:IcVBWpW5cF1RkTRekxu4StR7Ai0nHBxfbU7dY0SeYJFcva8mSXqY_gaUdl61nqSKySSqBxq382r9
18. Lewis, D. A. (2019). The notion of “protracted armed conflict” in the Rome Statute and the termination of armed conflicts under international law: An analysis of select issues. International Review of the Red Cross, 101(912), 1091–1115. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-review-of-the-red-cross/article/notion-of-protracted-armed-conflict-in-the-rome-statute-and-the-termination-of-armed-conflicts-under-international-law-an-analysis-of-select-issues/8680B3C5FB13A02AD85BE58ADB74A51E
19. Milanović, M. (2011). Is the Rome Statute binding on individuals?(And why we should care). Journal of International Criminal Justice, 9(1), 25–52. https://academic.oup.com/jicj/article-abstract/9/1/25/911042
20. Murphy, C. (2005). Lon Fuller and the moral value of the rule of law. Law & Phil., 24, 239. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/lwphil24§ion=10
21. Naqvi, Y. (2003). Amnesty for war crimes: Defining the limits of international recognition. International Review of the Red Cross, 85(851), 583–626. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-review-of-the-red-cross/article/amnesty-for-war-crimes-defining-the-limits-of-international-recognition/D8618E00C1DD7EE090B76F2B182A3891
22. Opini, J. O. (2017). The Role Of ICC In Maintaining Justice [PhD Thesis, University of Nairobi]. https://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/101410
23. Osmo, C. (2021). Mobilization and Judicial Recognition of the Right to the Truth: The Inter-American Human Rights System and Brazil. In C. Paixão & M. Meccarelli (Eds), Comparing Transitions to Democracy. Law and Justice in South America and Europe (Vol. 18, pp. 137–161). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67502-8_8
24. Pikis, G. (2010). The Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court. Analysis of the Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the Regulations of the Court and Supplementary Instruments. Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden. https://brill.com/downloadpdf/display/title/18732.pdf
25. Prosecutor, V. A. (1998). Furundzija. Case№ IT-95-17/1-T. 10 December.
26. Sitanggang, C. E. P., Putri, J. K., Setyabudi, A. H., & Alfiana, S. A. (2024). Restitutio in Integrum in Criminal Regulation of Restitution for the Victims of Criminal Acts. Journal of Law, Politic and Humanities, 5(1), 179–191. https://dinastires.org/JLPH/article/view/829
27. Southey, S. (2025). Beyond Enforcement: How the Inter-American System of Human Rights Shapes Reparations. Safia K. Southey, Justice Beyond Rulings: How the Inter-American System Shapes Reparations, COLUM. HUM. RTS. L. REV.(Forethecoming, 2026). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5199588
28. Thakur, R. (2016). Responsibility to protect and sovereignty. Routledge. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lQTPCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=our+big+task+today+is+to+rebalance+power+between+national+sovereignty+and+the+Responsibility+to+Protect+(R2P).+&ots=iqkg9C9hkx&sig=5Sc8Dlxghp5yYf9Jbdh5T0rQblE
29. Torres, F. E. (2021). Revisiting the Chorzów Factory Standard of Reparation–Its Relevance in Contemporary International Law and Practice. Nordic Journal of International Law, 90(2), 190–227. https://brill.com/view/journals/nord/90/2/article-p190_190.xml
30. Triana, H. B., & Galán, E. C. D. (2025). Impunity in cases of serious human rights violations: Three relevant aspects of contention in the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The International Journal of Human Rights, 29(4), 691–712. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2024.2411404
31. Van Boven, T. (2020). Victims’ Rights to a Remedy and Reparation: The United Nations Principles and Guidelines. In Reparations for Victims of Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity (pp. 15–37). Brill Nijhoff. https://brill.com/downloadpdf/display/book/edcoll/9789004377196/BP000002.pdf
32. Vapnek, J., Boaz, P., & Turku, H. (2016). Improving Access to Justice in Developing and Post-Conflict Countries: Practical Examples from the Field. Duke FL & Soc. Change, 8, 27. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/dukef8§ion=4
33. Wesley, M. (2005). Toward a realist ethics of intervention. Ethics & International Affairs, 19(2), 55–72. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ethics-and-international-affairs/article/toward-a-realist-ethics-of-intervention/1B0A2E28F8F68A73FDB2FF5F9BFCD454
34. Yogendran, S. (2017). Did the ICC Fail Child Victims in the Lubanga Reparations Order. Amsterdam LF, 9, 65. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/amslawf9§ion=12
35. Yusuf, A. A. (2024). The Chorzow Factory Case and the Protection of Industrial Property under International Law. In M. Heidemann (Ed.), The Transformation of Private Law – Principles of Contract and Tort as European and International Law (Vol. 2, pp. 193–209). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28497-7_10
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
