Friction in Transitional Justice Processes: The Colombian Judicial System and the ICC

With the aim of understanding how the International Criminal Court (ICC) affects peace processes, this article examines the Colombian peace and justice processes through the lens of friction. It investigates frictional encounters between the Colombian judicial system and the ICC, in order to reveal the tensions in this relationship. First, we disaggregate the concept of friction and propose three different types of frictional encounters – conceptual, normative and jurisdictional – in transitional justice processes. Second, we investigate different responses to these frictional encounters, such as compliance, adaptation, co-option and resistance. Finally, we find that responses to frictions generate hybrid judicial outcomes, such as a hybrid, intersubjective understanding of justice, a hybrid sanctioning regime as well as hybrid complementarity. The article concludes that the ICC influenced the Colombian peace process, while the Colombian judicial system complied with the requirements of the ICC thereby demonstrating agency, flexibility and innovation and ensuring its judicial sovereignty.