La memoria attraverso il processo. Tecniche risarcitorie e politiche di riparazione degli illeciti storici

Civil liability is assuming an increasingly central role as a tool of compensating for material or immaterial damage, in conjunction with or as an alternative to other emerging techniques such as compensation, memorialisation or restorative apology. There is a subtle continuity between the demolition of a statue, institutionalised memory and the proposition of reparation actions inherent to historical torts, as instruments for the valorisation of interests that are generally prioritised and require political or legal recognition. The juridification of historical events, carried out through private law instruments such as civil liability, presents aspects that are no less problematic than those of the various forms of epistemic repair, and produces a profound reshuffling between different ordinamental logics, such as those of public and private law, of municipal law or of international law. The civil action, despite all its intrinsic limitations, remains an important and at least complementary instrument with respect to other instruments for the reparation of damages resulting from historical wrongs, such as the various compensation plans and memorial policies. It frequently worked as a first step for the recognition of claims that are destined to flow into the reconstruction of victims’ memories or the re-signification of cultural heritage.