At the annual conference of the Law and Society Association, titled ‘Separate but Inequal,’ Niké Wentholt presented the Dialogics of Justice project and was discussant in a final panel on transitional justice. Important issues were raised by the audience on the thickness of social representations, impeding true justice and recognition, and the colonial nature of […]
Read more12/05/2023 – Legal Research Master Conference. University of Utrecht
Niké Wentholt held the keynote on the 2023 Law Research Master Conference. Connecting the conference themes Responsibility: Past, Present, and Future, she argued that historical injustice cases ask us the same questions as cases of systemic injustice that emerge today. A dialogical approach to responsibility would thus mean to question how to restructure social relations […]
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Historical redress through dialogue: grassroots can change the national conversation about Dutch slavery
Nicole Immler & Niké Wentholt
In the absence of a coordinated national political response, grassroots and civic initiatives can play a key role in pushing for recognition and justice for the colonial past. Nicole Immler and Niké Wentholt, from the University of Humanistic Studies Utrecht, draw on the example of the Keti Koti Dialogue Tables in the Netherlands to show how such initiatives can contribute to breaking down cycles of denial, acknowledgment of the systemic nature of historical injustices and transforming citizens’ engagement with the colonial past.
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How Tort Can Address Historical Injustice
Niké Wentholt & Nicole Immler
Jan 1, 2023 | Netherlands Journal of Legal Philosophy
In this article Niké Wentholt and Nicole Immler explore the role civil courts could play in facilitating the slavery justice movement.
Read more23/09/2022 – Symposium ‘Historical truth and accountability in the post-colonial state’ at Ghent University
The symposium was organised by Prof. Dr. Tine Destrooper, Justice Visions – Human Rights Centre (Ghent University) and Dr. Cira Palli-Aspero, Human Rights Centre, Ghent University to share insights and reflect on accountability for and recognition of (post-)colonial violence and its effects onsociety today. Nicole Immler and Niké Wentholt presented and participated in the rich […]
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Keti koti dialoogtafel is actief burgerschap
Nicole Immler & Niké Wentholt
Some say that talking about the past of slavery polarises. The opposite appears true. At the Keti koti dialogue tables happening all over the Netherlands currently, we talk together about the role of this history in our lives now, and in the society we are part of. This creates a shared narrative: our past of slavery connects us,
Read more25/03/2022 – Twinning Symposium ‘Restorative Justice’
On 25 March we were invited to contribute to the final symposium of the ‘Twinning project: Restorative Justice Suriname and the Netherlands’ at the Faculty of Law at Maastricht University, organized by Jacques Claessen. Researchers and professionals from Suriname and the Netherlands have started a collaboration to extend their knowledge of restorative justice, its […]
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Op-Ed on Court Ruling Birthmothers v The State
03/02/2022 ‘De rechter liet afstandsmoeders in de kou staan. En wat doet de overheid?’ – Trouw
Empathy from the Court is not enough when the State refuses to recognise institutional failures. This opinion piece by Niké Wentholt and Nicole Immler analyses missed opportunities in ruling on Birthmothers v The State.
Read moreBoth Defendant and Partner for Climate Change? Fighting Royal Dutch Shell in Civil Court
Niké Wentholt & Luna Bonvie
In May 2021, the Dutch district court in The Hague came to a long-awaited conclusion in a so-called ‘climate case’, deciding in favour of a group of Dutch plaintiffs and ordering oil-corporation Royal Dutch Shell to reduce its CO2 emissions by net 45% within 10 years. Although the ruling is globally considered as a legal victory in the battle against climate change, its importance can best be understood from a broader perspective. Niké Wentholt and Luna Bonvie wrote a blogpost about the meaning of the judgement from a social-legal angle.
Read more6&7/07/2021 – Conference ‘Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Transitional Justice’ hosted by Loughborough University (UK)
All team members of the Dialogics of Justice project have participated in the two-day virtual conference on Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Transitional Justice, hosted by the Loughborough University Centre for Research in Communication and Culture. The versatile program included panels on Transitional Justice and Politics of Recognition, Transitional Justice and Memory, and Transitional Justice, Human Rights, […]
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