Florida Journal of International Law, Vol. 21, No. 2, 2009.
This article proposes that transitional justice mechanisms can also encompass regional and transnational efforts to respond to mass human rights violations occurring across societies. This article examines the court in Sierra Leone as well as the truth-seeking mechanisms in Liberia and Sierra Leone and highlights the challenges posed by the failure to take a regional approach. It demonstrates that these mechanisms encountered problems of coordination including legal primacy, information sharing, and access to detainees. The article concludes that adopting a regional approach when designing transitional justice mechanisms in the aftermath of mass atrocity across societies is the best means for achieving long-term peace, stability, and respect for human rights within the affected region.