3. BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA Professor Hans-Joachim Heintze: The Rule of Law and the Duty to Prosecute Professor Heintze gave an overview of the link between humanitarian assistance to victims of conflict and transitional justice, and stated that people in conflict need protection and it is the responsibility of the states/parties to the conflict to provide that protection. Professor Heintze expressed concern about the balance between truth commissions and the principle of the rule of law. The rule of law means that the law binds people and administrations. It is one of the pillars of democracy. There is another notion that people responsible for human rights violations should be held accountable. It is known that amnesties are one possible way of dealing with the past, but one can argue that they are an abdication of the obligation to deal with the past and establish a new society. However, in an effort to deal with violations against vulnerable groups, truth commissions are an excellent mechanism that gives people an opportunity to talk about their experiences and to give a voice to the victims. Apart from truth commissions there is also a need to apply criminal law to deal with all kinds of human rights violations, genocide and war crimes. It is important to combine legal procedures and other actions that are not based in law to address the past. It is not only the application of criminal law that is important, but also the application of human rights law. Professor Heintze noted that there are shortcomings in legal processes for crimes that were committed in the past because criminal law primarily deals with perpetrators and not with victims. This is a very important advantage of the approach of truth commissions as they are more flexible than legal procedures. Legal procedures are bound by obligations, which are written down in local statutes and international treaties. Truth commissions on the other hand can apply case-by-case solutions to meet the requirements of the situation. Professor Heintze concluded that in order to get the best results, both approaches – the legal approach and that of truth commissions – should be implemented. 14 The Second International Conference on Transitional Justice in Zimbabwe