The International Criminal Justice System (ICJS) has received criticism for lacking a nuanced understanding of culture. This has presented itself as interpretational issues and ignored socio-cultural norms and beliefs about justice. Through the lens of Recognition theory, this thesis takes on a single case study approach of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Through a qualitative content analysis of the trial transcripts, the thesis investigates the tension between two types of recognition within the ICTR to uncover how the court has managed to recognise the distinctiveness of Rwandan culture in its proceedings as well as the genocide itself as a form of radical non-recognition that needs to be comprehensively addressed. The thesis concludes that, on the one hand, the ICTR succeeded in recognising the distinct aspects of Rwandan culture and language, the formation of distinct identities in Rwanda, and the victims of the genocide. It also succeeded in recognising the genocide itself as a form of radical non-recognition in its proceedings and legal interpretations. However, on the other hand, the lack of clarity and detail in some of the court’s explanation of its consideration might leave it open for criticism in terms of ensuring the equal legal worth of all people, especially in terms of its evaluation of cultural differences and whether some of the observations are misinterpreted as inferiorities or simply assumptions of individual judge.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-67658 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Kärkkäinen, Karoliina |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Institutionen för globala politiska studier (GPS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Malmö Studies in Global Politics |
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