There is dialectic between public opinion and the enforcement of justice by the competent authorities. History contains numerous examples where international opinion movements demonstrate against judicial decisions, since, either by act or by omission, established jurisdictions sometimes pronounce questionable verdicts or leave unpunished crimes that were committed. These demonstrations take a variety of forms, ranging from the international commission of inquiry to the truth and reconciliation commissions. Among such exercises of citizenship from civil society, the so-called “opinion tribunals” stand out, whose first major initiative was due to Lord Bertrand Russell in the 1960s. Following this tradition, the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal has been very active between 1979 and 2014, organizing deliberative assemblies and pronouncing decisions in a “quasi-judicial” framework. Its critics point a finger at the resemblance of justice used for ideological purposes, but the legitimacy of these initiatives, backed by current international law, is defendable for their capacity to shake consciences and for being a legal innovation at the service of the right of peoples.
OPINION TRIBUNALS AND THE PERMANENT PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL
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Abstract
A Grande Guerra, as décadas conturbadas que se lhe seguem, nomeadamente a década de trinta do século XX, culminando na Segunda Guerra Mundial, e, posteriormente, a Guerra Fria, a seu modo, são momentos históricos privilegiados para se comprovar da impossibilidade de sustentar uma das imagens mais famosas das Relações Internacionais, a de anarquia internacional. A ideia de um estado de guerra ontologicamente permanente, que não fenomenologicamente, é incompatível com um mundo pejado de soberanias. Ora, estas soberanias nunca perderam o controlo político-estratégico das guerras, nem mesmo no caso dos principais conflitos do século XX. Todos esses conflitos foram estrategicamente mediados e nunca deram lugar ao reinado da guerra absoluta.
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How to cite this article
Moita, Luís (2015). “Opinion Tribunals and the Permanent People’s Tribunal”. JANUS.NET ejournal of International Relations, Vol. 6, N.º 1, May-October 2015. Consulted [online] on date of last visit, https://repositorio.ual.pt/handle/11144/1759
Article received on 15 February, 2015 and accepted for publication on 15 April, 2015