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Join us for our lunchtime seminar as part of the 'Transitional Justice Seminar Series' with Dr Courtney Curran, ‘Tracing a Tyrant's Paper Trail—Exploring the uses of archives in domestic proceedings addressing international crimes: the French Pinochet moment’. When: 1pm-2pm Thursday, 20 November 2025Where: Seminar Room, Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway Dr Curran's doctoral research traces and investigates the pathways travelled by collections of archives as they served as critical evidence of mass atrocity in transnational legal cases. This study brings together the fields of transitional justice and archival theory, showing their interconnections and interdependencies. By analysing the intersection of these fields, this study provides insights into the effective use of archival evidence in transnational litigation addressing international criminality, thereby advancing the universal jurisdiction doctrine. The focus of the lecture will be on one of the researcher's case studies—the French Pinochet moment—particularly the case of Alfonso Chanfreau. This case commenced in Chile and was litigated in France on the basis of the nationalities of four French Chilean victims, who were made to disappear by Pinochet's secret police DINA and the transnational terror network, Operation Condor. The Chanfreau case eventually came before Chilean courts around four decades later, when the context was better primed for accountability of Pinochet-era crimes in national courts. Dr Courtney Curran is an Australia-qualified lawyer with domestic and international practising experience in government and in the private sector. Courtney has worked at multiple investigative and prosecutorial agencies in Australia and abroad and is presently engaged at the Australian Attorney-General's Department as a legal officer in the International Crime Cooperation Central Authority. Courtney’s doctoral research explores the intersectionality of transitional justice and archival studies by tracing transnational legal efforts to address atrocity crimes. This work explores the types of evidence used in cases of this kind and assesses how archival material was identified, explained to and relied upon by foreign adjudicators sitting in third countries. Courtney's work has been published by Routledge and the International Criminal Law Review; she has written for the ICHR's blog and been interviewed for the Human Rights Podcast; and she plans to publish her doctoral monograph as a book soon.

Dr. Anita Ferrara, Assistant Professor at the ICHR, and Dr. Beatrice Canossi, co-editor and ICHR alumna, presented the book " Transitional Justice Archives: Documenting Human Rights Violations in Latin America" on June 13th 2025, at the JEP Colombia in Bogota. The event began with a message from the president of the JEP, Judge Alejandro Ramelli Arteaga, who highlighted the work of the Recognition Chamber and the importance of the precautionary measures it ordered regarding the defunct Administrative Department of Security (DAS) files. The Irish ambassador to Colombia, Fiona Nic Dhonnacha, delivered the opening remarks. Dhonnacha reaffirmed Ireland's  support for the implementation of the Final Peace Agreement in Colombia and noted that the international community wants to understand more about the JEP's Transitional Justice system: "The entire world has its eyes on Colombia because the Agreement is innovative and robust." They were accompanied by Judge Óscar Parra Vera, president of the JEP's Truth and Accountability Recognition Chamber; María Prada Ramírez, former member of the Truth Commission; Folco Zaffalon, former advisor to the Truth Commission and JEP researcher; and Flor Alba Romero Medina, professor at the National University. Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/live/XVEPySK6rQ0

We are pleased to announce the publication of Dr Anita Ferrara's latest article in the Memory Studies Journal titled "When the Past Meets the Present: The Role of Memory Sites in Times of Crisis in Chile." It is available in open access here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17506980241283891 Dr Anita Ferrara is the Cluster Leader of the Transitional Justice and Peace Building Research Cluster (TJPR) at University of Galway School of Law.

Our PhD Researcher and IRC Scholar Beatrice Canossi recently concluded her professional visit at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Costa Rica).  During her three months as ‘professional visitor’ at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Beatrice worked alongside practitioners expanding her knowledge on the jurisprudence and functioning of this key regional human rights body. She had the chance to participate in the court’s hearings, deepening her understanding of the Inter-American system and working on court cases. She is grateful for this excellent opportunity and to all the staff of the Court which have welcomed her with professionalism, creating an exciting and fulfilling work environment. During her time at the Court Beatrice had the possibility to witness the pivotal role played by the Court at a regional and international level. She was particularly impressed by its work interpreting the American Convention on Human Rights as a living instrument to fulfil the Court’s important role in protecting human rights within the region. Watch this video of Beatrice talking about her experience