Seeking justice for the victims of genocide, mass repression and war in Lithuania and Ukraine: law, history, memory, No. S-MIP-23-41

Project No. S-MIP-23-41      
Project title: „Seeking justice for the victims of genocide, mass repression and war in Lithuania and Ukraine: law, history, memory”
Project duration: from 2023-07-01 to 2025-06-30
Project leader: Dr Monika Rogers

The aim of the project is to analyse and compare Lithuanian and Ukrainian legal strategies that have emerged in the pursuit of justice for victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and political repression, and to propose possible improvements to these strategies. We will also seek to explore the role that historical memory played in the choice of these Lithuanian and Ukrainian legal strategies (and whether it can be considered as a factor influencing transitional justice in both countries). The project will explore legal strategies for achieving justice for victims of organised political and military violence in different periods of the 20th and 21st centuries in Lithuania and Ukraine (crimes committed in the first half of the 20th century, the first half of the 20th century and the second half of the 21st century). crimes committed by the Soviet regime, such as the Holodomor, crimes from the period of the Second World War and the Nazi occupation, in particular the Holocaust, the genocide of the Roma and other groups, the post-war violence against civilians during the years of the Soviet regime and the anti-Soviet resistance, and more recent crimes, such as the January 13th and the events in Medininkai in Lithuania, as well as the crimes of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.) The research hypothesis is that there is a link between law and memory, and that the traumatic memories of certain societies influence their choice of legal strategies.

 

The project is carried out under the Lithuanian Research Council-funded activity “Research Group Projects”.