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Transitional (In)Justice: An Exploration of Blanket Amnesties and the Remaining Controversies Around the Spanish Transition to Democracy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2019
Abstract
“Blanket amnesties” have generally been declared to be incompatible with international law due to the fact that they shield perpetrators of serious crimes from accountability as well as conflict with established principles regarding the applicability of statutory limitations to certain criminal offenses. The repeal of the Full Stop and Due Obedience laws in Argentina set a crucial precedent in the process toward the abrogation of legislation leading to impunity for those responsible for grave violations of jus cogens. Additionally, permitting the prosecutions of Nazi officers Klaus Barbie and Erich Priebke in Europe confirmed the customary principle of the non-applicability of statutory limitations to crimes against humanity. However, for nearly 40 years, Spain's amnesty legislation continues to preclude any investigation or prosecution of the crimes committed during the civil war (1936–1939) and the Francoist regime (1939–1975). Spain's 1977 Amnesty Act has been widely characterized as a blanket amnesty and remains in force today despite allegations of noncompliance with international law and numerous requests from United Nations bodies to repeal it. This article explores the history of Spain's 1977 Amnesty Act, compares and contrasts it with other nations with similar amnesties, and makes the case that a successful transition from an authoritarian regime to a peaceful democracy is feasible without the use of overly broad “blanket” amnesties.
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- Articles
- Information
- International Journal of Legal Information , Volume 43 , Issue 2_3 , Summer_Winter 2015 , pp. 75 - 135
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2015 by the International Association of Law Libraries.
References
Part VI: Bibliography
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