Conceptualising transitional justice in Yemen: The interaction between the formal and the informal in the reconstruction of a justice system

也门经历了数十年反复发生的暴力武装冲突，导致了地域、教派和社区的受害者以及继续影响当前冲突的不满情绪。根深蒂固的结构性不平等和经济排斥是长期存在的。当目前的冲突最终结束时，过渡司法需要处理这些长期存在的不满。然而，在也门的背景下，关于过渡时期司法的学术研究很少。此外，大多数关于过渡时期司法的文献采用了以西方为中心的概念，忽视了当地的情况，如非正式的司法结构。这个博士项目将填补这一空白。基于归纳性方法，该项目将为也门过渡司法的整体、本地化概念化奠定基础。此外，它将审查也门独特的部落和非正式司法结构，这些结构与该国国家领导的正式法律机构相交并相互作用。这些结构可能有助于或破坏过渡时期司法的努力，因此需要认真理解。该项目将利用半结构化访谈来收集人们对冲突的经历、他们的不满、他们对正义的看法以及实现正义的方式的数据。它将与不同的受害者群体和当地领导人接触，如谢赫。该研究项目不仅将解决学术差距，更重要的是将为该国未来的过渡司法提供一个框架。因此，它可能有助于也门的和解与和平。

Yemen has witnessed decades of recurring violent armed conflict that has led to geographical, sect and community victimhood and grievances that continues to shape the current conflict. Deeply embedded structural inequality, and economic exclusion are perpetuated. When the current conflict will eventually come to an end, transitional justice needs to address those long-standing grievances. Yet, scholarship on transitional justice in the Yemeni context is sparse. Furthermore, most literature on transitional justice adopts Western-centric concepts that ignore local contexts, such as informal justice structures. This PhD project will address this gap. Based on an inductive approach, the project will lay the ground for a holistic, localised conceptualisation of transitional justice in Yemen. Furthermore, it will examine Yemen's unique tribal and informal justice structures that intersect and interact with the country's formal state-led legal institutions. Those structures might aid or undermine transitional justice efforts, and therefore need to be carefully understood. The project will utilise semi-structured interviews to gather data on people's experiences of the conflict, their grievances, their perception of justice and ways for its delivery. It will engage various victim groups and local leaders, such as Sheikhs. The research project will not only address an academic gap, but more importantly will offer a framework for future transitional justice in the country. Thus, it potentially contributes to reconciliation and peace in Yemen.