The self-referral by the Ugandan government for the situation concerning the Lord’s Resistance Army/Movement in Northern Uganda triggered the first referral for the International Criminal Court (ICC). The purpose of this article was to examine the dimensions of justice, and analyze whether the ICC’s role best serves the needs of the community in Northern Uganda. More specifically, this study investigates several guiding orientations of the ICC, such as the rule of complementarity and the increased focus on victims, and asserts that international third-party actors must consider whether retributive/punitive approaches can deliver justice. Restorative justice is explored as an alternative vision of justice, and one that is already present and practiced by the Acholi people. Given the complexity of issues facing postconflict societies, as well as the strengths of restorative justice to heal the community, the authors argue that traditional or indigenous forms of justice represent the best approach for obtaining justice for victims.

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The post-June War period becomes predominantly, though not exclusively, an ‘Israeli-Palestinian’ conflict rather than an ‘Arab-Israeli’ conflict. What sort of state is the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) wishing to establish? Since at least 1968, The Palestinian leadership has made explicit statements concerning governance, especially in favour of democracy and justice. Why was this ignored? The first aim of this study is not to draw out the situated nuances and contours for a complete description of the Palestinian perception of governance and international law, rather the aim is thematically to examine the Palestinian support for a more democratic form of governance. Secondly, this study attempts to examine the official Israeli record and reaction (or lack thereof) to these statements made by the Palestinians. Finally, these findings will be compared to conflict management and democratisation. The study ends with a question to the reader: what if more energy were placed into supporting democracy rather than managing conflict? Or, said another way, justice rather than peace?

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