Trust in Transition: Legitimacy of Criminal Justice in Transitional Societies

The criminal justice system is deemed a focal area in the transition to democracy, and in the process of democratization of institutions and civil society. Police and courts are seen as the vanguard of democratic change. It is a significant characteristic of such claims that the legitimacy of criminal justice institutions—the police and the courts—is seen as decisive in securing legitimacy for the transition to democracy, and for democratic government, and thus the contribution of these institutions to the political stability in the transitional environment is of major importance. Police and justice reform is turned into a “problem of trust” as Goldsmith noted in 2005. In which ways does the transition to democracy impact on the legitimacy of criminal justice institutions, and how do these processes affect other institutions in the transitional process? Are there typical trajectories of delegitimization and relegitimization? Which institutional and civil society changes do mostly affect the confidence and trust in and legitimacy of criminal justice?