It is a well-established lesson that a constitutionally established normal justice system of arncertain state may not afford to be effective in times of post conflict transitional periods. Severalrninternational experiences have re-affirmed this condition. In transitional justice, in turn, it is arncommon practice to establish a truth and reconciliation commission as a transitional institution tornhelp the transition process.rnEthiopia, currently, has established a reconciliation commission by proclamation which seems tornpresuppose that the state is in transition. The establishment of the commission triggers discoursernand studies, one of which might be exploring on how it should operate and contribute for thernsuccessful reconciliation process. Therefore, the paper reviewed 8 commissions out of more thanrn50 commissions that the world has ever seen. Through reviewing the international experiences,rnthe present study recommended potential lessons for the Ethiopian reconciliation commission.