The article examines, from a comparative perspective, solutions chosen by legal systems facing the problem of treatment of past political violence on human beings. The comparison is peculiar in this case as it encompasses balancing the universal sense of human dignity with the need for national reconciliation within different contexts far enough in social and political terms. The analysis comes with an examination of the consequences of each legal solution both for human beings and for the national community as a whole. In spite of the diverse answers offered by States, a common feature can be singled out: constitutional democracy is founded on the quest for truth, either in absolute terms or in relative (or selective) terms.