The “Berlin Autumn Talks” conference has in recent years become an integral part of the Berlin specialist scene and is preparing to welcome an interested public for the 23rd time, to debate together current socio-political topics, which shape the dialogue between west and east European countries.

Under the title Justice and Law in Post-Conflict Societies? – European Experiences and Perspectives, against the background of numerous on-going territorial conflicts in Europe, this year’s “Berlin Autumn Talks” focuses on possible ways out of the crises and explore European experiences with transitional justice. The many aspects of this term will be covered, a term which, alongside the legal, includes also the social and historical processing of conflicts, as well as being a term that brings into focus the complex interlinking of criminal prosecution, the establishing of truth, and reconciliation.

Also in Eastern Ukraine, there is the need to already prepare viable solutions for a civil co-existence after the end of the armed conflict. Alongside an introductory panel, experiences from the aftermath of wars in the former Yugoslavia, the Northern Ireland conflict, as well as conflict management in the North and South Caucasus will be discussed. Equally, German experiences after 1945 and the handling of authoritarian pasts in Central and Eastern Europe will be reflected upon. In the closing panel discussion, the role of civil society actors will be covered, based on the case studies discussed, as well as opportunities and limits for the post-Soviet space.