Jus Post Bellum Viewed from the Colombian Transition

Abstract

This chapter aims to connect the previous two. Chapter 1 explored the concept of jus post bellum as the analytical framework for framing the role of international law governing transition from armed conflict to peace. Chapter 2 examined the role played by international law in different areas of the Colombian transition, identifying the relevant legal framework and how it has shaped several transitional instruments in the country. This third chapter assesses the concept of jus post bellum from the perspective of the Colombian experience to identify how theory is reflected in practice and how the Colombian practice offers new insights on the content and the scope of jus post bellum as the normative framework for transitioning from armed conflict to sustainable peace. The main argument of this chapter is that the way in which international law has molded transition in Colombia reflects most of the theoretical elaborations on jus post bellum. As such, considering that no previous work has analyzed jus post bellum comprehensively through a case study, this chapter suggests empirical insights to delineate the definition, the content, the formation, the actors, and the functions of jus post bellum, contrasting the theoretical basis introduced in Chapter 1 to the Colombian case presented in Chapter 2. This chapter thus refers back to the approaches to defining jus post bellum discussed in the first chapter to address whether they work in practice and what definition could be proposed in light of the experience in Colombia. Then, by using concrete examples in the Colombian process, the chapter analyses how jus post bellum is permanently built through practice, because of the dual process of application and creation of law occurring in negotiations and transitions to peace. The chapter also readdresses the discussion on principles of jus post bellum presented in the first chapter to explain why they constitute the substantive content of the concept and to suggest a series of principles that can be identified in the Colombian case. The chapter thus analyzes how the variety of actors involved in the normative internationalization of the Colombian transition shows the broad spectrum of potential actors of jus post bellum, which are not limited to the parties in negotiation. Finally, the chapter assesses the functions played by international law in the Colombian transition, suggesting the potential functions that jus post bellum can serve as