IPP Balanza: 1 januar 2010

Community Justice as an Alernative Method of Conflict Resolution

In many social circumstances legal rules do not guarantee justice. Different standards can offer a possibility to fairness, allowing the parties act on extra-legal normative references.

The concept of community justice is composed of processes and bodies which regulate and resolve conflicts through normative instances. In Colombia, the concept of justice in equity (justicia en equidad) refers mainly to certain forms of community justice in which justice is administered according to the social rules of the community, but also respecting the national legal system. Community justice is thus a path towards democratization given that it is a center of interest for various sectors in society.

The partner organization, the School of Community Justice of the National University of Colombia, aims to reinforce communities across Colombia through the tools of conflict management and resolution. The main activities include teaching, research and fieldwork.

Since 2006 the School of Community Justice has coordinated a community justice project in the municipalities of Arauquita, Fortul, Saravena and Tame in the Department of Arauca, near the Venezuelan border. The process includes promotion of justice in equity, training of conciliators and strengthening support networks. A process of justice in equity, in which local societies recognize their own social norms, is a basic input to finding peaceful solutions to everyday conflicts.

In few hours, we will head to the airport and travel to Arauca. There we will work on the diffusion of community justice and interact with the communities of the four towns, especially with community leaders who are trained in justice in equity and conciliation and who mediate everyday conflicts.