Events & exhibitions
event • Fellows' Presentation
Should Law Foster Forgiveness?: Child Soldiers, Sovereign Debt, and Alternatives to Punishment
Photo by Tony Rinaldo
Martha Minow's current work considers whether and when legal systems and rules should promote forgiveness. When people violate criminal laws, fail to pay debts, or run afoul of immigration laws, should law promote forgiveness by those who have been harmed? When should governments pursue amnesties, pardons, or alternatives to legally authorized sanctions? What should be unforgiveable? Looking at issues within the United States and at international debates over sovereign debt and treatments of child soldiers, the project considers legal, historical, religious, and cultural resources.