{"id":47872,"date":"2026-03-27T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/?p=47872"},"modified":"2026-03-27T09:26:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:26:58","slug":"key-words-peoples-tribunals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/law-police-justice\/criminal-justice-prisons\/key-words-peoples-tribunals\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Words: Peoples\u2019 Tribunals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Peoples’ tribunals are grassroots initiatives. They use the conventions and format of the courtroom to publicly stage evidence hearings on rights abuses that formal institutions have failed to recognise or fully address, or where impunity persists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tradition stretches back to at least 1966, when philosopher and anti-war activist Bertrand Russell established an International War Crimes Tribunal<\/a>. Together, lawyers, activists and thinkers investigated US war crimes and foreign policy in Vietnam. For Russell<\/a>, its goal was to compile a comprehensive record of US conduct in the region that would \u2018arouse passionate resistance\u2019. The tribunal exposed the use of cluster bombs against civilians, a finding that helped shape emerging human rights frameworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The model of peoples\u2019 tribunals has since been used in a variety of settings. The Russell Tribunal II on Repression in Brazil, Chile and Latin America (1974-1976) came about when Brazilian exiles approached Italian jurist Lelio Basso \u2013 a member of the Vietnam tribunal \u2013 to examine the role of US corporations and government in sustaining Latin American military dictatorships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basso went on to establish the Permanent Peoples\u2019 Tribunal in Rome, grounded in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples<\/a> (Algiers, 1976). A rare permanent base to support tribunals, it has since facilitated more than 50 sessions worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evidence to action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Other examples include the Russell Tribunal on Palestine<\/a> (2009-2014), which examined Israeli settlement policies and the occupation and blockade of Gaza. The International Monsanto Tribunal<\/a> (2016) evaluated whether the corporation\u2019s use of agrochemicals in Colombia amounted to violations of human rights and environmental law. It subsequently called for ecocide<\/a> to be recognised as a crime in international law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been several tribunals on violence against women, including the Women\u2019s International War Crimes Tribunal<\/a> (2000), which examined Japan\u2019s system of military sexual slavery during the Second World War. In 2025, the People\u2019s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan<\/a> heard testimonies about the Taliban\u2019s violations of girl\u2019s\u2019 and women\u2019s rights. The organisations who had requested the tribunal hoped<\/a> the process would \u2018bear witness, seek accountability, and challenge tyranny and its normalization\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peoples\u2019 tribunals have also been used by trade unions. In 2024, the Ceylon Workers Red Flag Union (CWRFU) convened a tribunal in Colombo<\/a>, on behalf of tea and rubber plantation workers. The findings called for a living wage, the restoration of collective bargaining agreements and new legislation to protect workers\u2019 rights and dignity at work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overdue process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In replicating courtroom proceedings, peoples\u2019 tribunals use a recognisable format to raise awareness of the failures of institutions and existing forms of redress. Law courts or wage boards, for instance, often presuppose a fairness and a level playing field that rarely exists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tribunals make legible the gaps between such ideals and reality, and refuse to allow injustices to become ordinary and acceptable. By treating workers and survivors as authoritative witnesses, peoples\u2019 tribunals affirm collectively authorised knowledge as a necessary condition for social justice.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While findings have no legal status, peoples\u2019 tribunals show what justice might look like if<\/em> power was to be arranged differently. When states and formal legal systems fail the most vulnerable, tribunals show the power of organised civil society to create and enact its own standards of judgement.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite their differences, all tribunals concern prefigurative politics<\/a>. Their political potential lies in how they convene collective solidarity and model and rehearse a justice that has yet to come. As a process of consciousness-raising for those who participate and for larger audiences, peoples\u2019 tribunals show us how more just worlds might look and feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Further Reading<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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