Vlok Trial in South Africa - Peace vs. Justice?

The reaction to the trial of former South African Police Minister, Adriaan Vlok [BBC article, in English] again illustrates the difficulties of post conflict countries faced with questions of transnational justice.

The issue is how to best find an equilibrium between the seemingly opposing goals of peace and justice. Common tendency is to focus on either peace or justice. Thus, on the one hand, following today's trial, Mr. Vlok argued for peace and a reconsideration of the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). On the other hand, however, Mr. Frank Chikane, Vlok's former victim, was satisfied with the case that resulted in Mr. Vlok receiving a suspended sentence for admittedly attempting to kill Mr. Chikane. Independent Online has more [article, in English].

Yet, is this really a matter of choice between peace and justice, to the exclusion of one or the other? Rather not! I think the issue is to find an equilibrium between both equally important goals. (*) And probably the Vlok trial is a good step in this direction. While Mr. Vlok listened to reason and admitted his deed, he still had to face trial and a judge. That he received a suspended sentence just shows that the court allowed reason to prevail over revenge. Maybe this illustrates to other still reticent perpetrators that cooperation with the justice system has its merits.

(*) I develop an integrative model of conflict resolution emphasizing the shared responsibility of both the international community and the countries struggling with the problems of transitional justice in my recent law review article Reconciling Peace with Justice - A Cooperative Division of Labor, 30 SUFFOLK TRANSNAT'L L. REV. 271 (2007).