Modelli di responsabilità individuale per gravi violazioni dei diritti dell'uomo e giustizia di transizione: il caso delle guardie di confine della Germania democratica

This essay deals with the individual responsibility for gross violations of human rights in the framework of situations of "transitional justice". The idea is submitted that a strict "positivist" approach is not able to solve legal problems arising in such contexts (retroactive application of legal principles). This point is proven with regard to the rich case law (German Supreme Court, German Constitutional Court, ECHR) concerning the punishment of border guards of the DDR. Such case law is compared to the (German) domestic jurisprudence relating to war crimes committed by german soldiers during the Second World War. The theoretical core of the "Radbruch Formula" is against the backdrop of the legal arguments developed by the author.