Practice and Theory in Comparative Law

The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up to deal with the human rights violations of apartheid. However the TRC''s restorative justice approach did not always serve the needs of communities at a local level. Based on extended anthropological fieldwork this book illustrates the impact of the TRC in urban African communities in Johannesburg. It argues that the TRC had little effect on popular ideas of justice as retribution. This provocative study deepens our understanding of post-apartheid South Africa and the use of human rights discourse.