INTRODUCTION

Participatory justice is an area of transitional justice that includes elements of administrative and constitutional justice, but it has recently been viewed as a distinct field deserving focused attention. Although this field could be seen as a cross-cutting theme in transitional justice settings, participatory justice requires separate consideration in the context of child recruitment.

Participatory justice offers an opportunity for children to make a significant contribution to the various processes related to transitional justice. It is every child's right to be heard and to express her or his views and opinions, but participatory justice not only conveys rights to an individual child, it confers responsibilities.

The topic of child recruitment offers a particularly interesting paradox in the field of transitional justice: while child recruitment is defined as a war crime, children themselves may perpetrate human rights violations while serving as child soldiers.

Key legal questions that are considered in this chapter include:

It is critical to be clear about the objectives in the processes of participatory justice. Are we seeking ways and means through which children can recover and reintegrate, or looking for ways to hold children accountable? Do we want to warn future child soldiers against participating in armed conflicts? Or do we want to achieve all of the above? It is in the best interests of the child and the wider society that justice is approached with a view to restore and recover so that child soldiers are able to reintegrate.