The Gacaca Courts, Post-Genocide Justice and Reconciliation in Rwanda: Justice without Lawyers

This is a timely empirical study and review of the Gacaca Courts which were established in 2001 in Rwanda as an attempt to prosecute suspects involved in the 1994 genocide. Based on the author's original field work which began in 2003 in Rwanda and which has been updated to the end of 2009, it includes responses from within the Rwandan population. Dr. Clark argues that, despite widespread international scepticism, the Gacaca process has achieved remarkable results in terms of justice and reconciliation, although this has often come at a price, especially the re-traumatisation of many Rwandans who have participated firsthand in hearings. This book will appeal to a wide global readership crossing human rights, transitional justice and African studies for its combination of original empirical data with a socio-legal analysis.

Phil Clark is a research fellow in Courts and Public Policy at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford, and convenor of Oxford Transitional Justice Research. He has used his experience and knowledge of conflict issues in Africa and elsewhere to provide policy advice to a wide range of government and non-government actors.