staffed and funded: it will not be some sort of entity operating in isolation and in a vacuum. The symposium recognized these political and practical realities and therefore recorded the necessity of the post-transitional Government committing itself to co-operate with and to support any TJRC. Nevertheless, and this too relates to the requirements that it be “ independent, credible and efficient,” a TJRC must operate and must be able to operate without interference from the Government. The closest analogy is to that of judicial courts which cannot exist except within the overall framework of the State and the Government but which in a democracy should never be subject to the undue influence of parliament, president or politicians. It follows that once it is up and running the TJRC must be allowed to get on with its work without constraint, obviously within the broad parameters of its legislative mandate. The symposium also agreed that it was important to record that a new Government should “ give an unequivocal undertaking to 31 implement its [the TJRC’s] recommendations wherever possible” (emphasis added). It is suggested here that civil society needs to develop what its expectations are in these regards, including with respect to the proviso. Certainly a new Government should act in good faith and not seek to undermine a TJRC at any point, including in an ex post facto environment. An example of an important problem that has arisen in other countries is that where a commission has implicitly or explicitly called for the prosecution of perpetrators revealed in the course of its investigation, Government has at that point played the amnesty card. In other words, even if the issue of amnesties has been successfully resisted during transition and up to the establishment of a TJRC, civil society will need to be permanently on its guard against this possibility being raised at any time thereafter. The stronger any Government’s prior commitment to implement findings and recommendations and not to backtrack, the better the prospects for victims’ justice. 31 Summary (Appendix II) p.xii. 19