Lawyers, Conflict and Transition (resubmission)

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CONTEXTThis project will explore the role of lawyers in transitions from violence or authoritarianism. Despite the centrality of the rule of law to the contemporary theory and practice of transitional justice, there is little emphasis in the relevant literature on the role of lawyers outside the courts or indeed as the 'real people' at work in the system. Although the importance of different forms of agency exercised by lawyers in peaceful societies is well established, analysis of their diverse roles in transitions is significantly underdeveloped in the literature. Lawyers are often key actors in strategic litigation or popular mobilisation before transitions, in political negotiations prior to and during a transition, in enacting legal reforms and testing their meaning in the courts, and in shaping the work of past-focused initiatives that address issues such as truth, accountability and reconciliation.AIMTo conduct a comparative and thematic study of lawyering at key historic stages in conflicted and transitional societies and to produce both academic outputs and a range of practical documents designed to be of assistance to local and international actors. The fieldwork will be conducted in Israel/Palestine, Cambodia, Chile, South Africa and Tunisia.OBJECTIVES(a) To explore overlapping themes concerning the role of lawyers in societies either enduring or emerging from violent conflict including the performance of lawyers at key periods (for example of violence or repression), in popular mobilisation efforts, during periods of peacemaking, political negotiation and implementation, and (where relevant) in dealing with the past. (b) To deploy a comparative case studies research methodology involving an extensive literature analysis, fieldwork in jurisdictions chosen to explore the themes listed above, and the development of outputs for each jurisdiction accessible to local and international actors. The fieldwork will include semi-structured interviews based on a bespoke research instrument.(c) To disseminate the findings and related academic and policy outputs through a project website, a major international conference in Belfast and presentations at a range of international and national conferences. Academic publications will include one monograph and four scholarly articles.POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS AND BENEFITSAt the academic level, through the scholarly monograph and journal articles, the project is designed to develop a comparative understanding of the sociology of lawyering in conflicted and transitional societies which can also enhance knowledge of the agentic capacity of lawyers in settled societies. It will construct a bridgehead between transitional justice and the sociology of the legal professions and further scholarship which critiques excessive legalism in the field. Such a restricted perspective has encouraged a world view of legal certainties, moral absolutes and simplistic notions of the professional detached lawyer, none of which chime with the messy real world of societies in or emerging from conflict. Our project is designed to encourage a more holistic understanding of the role of lawyers in conflict and transition based on an extensive comparative study. Such a view will be of direct interest to scholars working in disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, political science, criminology, psychology, history, law and peace and conflict studies. At a practical level, the range of policy-orientated publications (translated into local languages) and the website are designed to be of use to local actors in each of the jurisdictions including practising judges and lawyers, legal collectives (Bar Councils, Law Societies and equivalent), government departments, civil society activists and other NGOs. In addition, the project will be highly relevant to global entities including the United Nations, policymakers and donors, international legal collectives and transnational civil society actors