Defining political crimes: A case study of the South African truth and reconciliation commission

A necessary predicate to South Africa's peaceful transition to democracy was the provision of amnesty for acts committed during the course of past conflicts. Amnesty was only provided for acts associated with political objectives. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Amnesty Committee was directed to consider six factors in determining whether an act was associated with a political objective. Yet the Committee focused primarily upon whether the act was executed on the order of, or on behalf of, the state or an established political organization. This Note contends that the overemphasis of this one factor resulted in a set of decisions that undermined the express goals of the amnesty process and failed, in practice, to provide a viable definition of political crimes that could be used by future countries in transition.