Restorative Justice and Criminal Justice: International Developments in Theory and Practice National Commission on Restorative Justice (original) (raw)

An overview of restorative justice around the world

Restorative justice has become a global phenomenon in criminal justice systems. Resonating with, and in some cases drawing from, indigenous conceptions of justice, it offers both an alternative understanding of crime and new ways of responding to it. Restorative processes include victim-offender mediation, conferencing and circles; restorative outcomes include apology, amends to the victim and amends to the community. Restorative interventions are being used by police, prosecutors, judges, prison officials and probation and parole authorities. Restorative interventions have developed somewhat differently from region to region, but in many cases, countries have found it useful to adopt appropriate legislation. Human rights and other objections or critiques of restorative justice have been raised. Due in part to this, the UN has endorsed the Declaration of Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programmes in Criminal Matters. An overview of restorative justice around the world 1 We brought the needle to sew the torn social fabric, not the knife to cut it.

Restorative justice: Perspectives on contemporary theoretical and empirical issues

Hungarian Journal of Legal Studies, 2018

Over the past few decades, a novel approach to crime and conflict resolution has been gaining ground around the world. 'Restorative justice' revolves around the notions that crime is primarily a violation human relationships; the chief aim of the justice process should be to reconcile those most directly affected by the offending behaviour while addressing the injuries they suffered; the resolution of crime-related conflicts demands a positive effort on the part of victims and offenders and the assumption of responsibility by the community. Restorative justice is not a new concept-It was a prevalent justice model in early civilizations in Europe and Asia and remains so among many indigenous communities around the world. This paper outlines the broad philosophy of restorative justice, comments on the differences between restorative justice and other prevailing conceptions of justice and identifies the constitutive elements necessary for a restorative justice practice. The paper then considers contemporary restorative justice practices, presenting information on guiding principles, procedures and goals and identifying concerns that need to be addressed in the design and implementation of such practices.

Routledge International Handbook of Restorative Justice

Routledge, 2018

This up-to-date resource on restorative justice theory and practice is the literature’s most comprehensive and authoritative review of original research in new and contested areas. Bringing together contributors from across a range of jurisdictions, disciplines and legal traditions, this edited collection provides a concise, but critical review of existing theory and practice in restorative justice. Authors identify key developments, theoretical arguments and new empirical evidence, evaluating their merits and demerits, before turning the reader’s attention to further concerns informing and improving the future of restorative justice. Divided into four parts, the Handbook includes papers written by leading scholars on new theory, empirical evidence of implementation, critiques and the future of restorative justice. This companion is essential reading for scholars of restorative justice, criminology, social theory, psychology, law, human rights and criminal justice, as well as researchers, policymakers, practitioners and campaigners from around the world.

International Journal of Law Restorative justice system: A comparative analysis

Restorative Justice generally talks about criminal offences. Basically it is a process which can be used as a method or cure to prevent the conflicts between the parties and build a healthy relationship by the method of communication to repair the harm more effectively and wisely. It seeks to resolve some very basic questions i.e who has being hurt, what are their needs. Restorative questions cannot be answered without the active involvement of the one who is hurt or affected. Involving those affected is the cornerstone of restorative justice. Restorative justice focuses on weakness of offenders, it attempts to draw the strength of these individuals and their capacity to openly address the need to repair the harm caused. It denounces criminal behavior. The concept of restorative justice rests on certain common values such as respect, responsibility, inclusion, empathy, honesty, openness and most important of all accountability. International, National and Local Justice system and correction departments along with victim advocate develop policies to be more responsive to the needs of crime victims and the community. It is basically healing in the process of creating justice and promoting accountability are part of social reform movement that has been developing through the world. This paper is will be discussing the meaning and growth of the concept of restorative justice. What is the international scenario with regard to restorative justice and various treaties dealing with restorative justice. This system is followed in USA, UK, Canada, new Zealand, Afghanistan, Palestine etc. as a indigenous practice. It will also discuss in detail the UN basic principle on the use of restorative justice programmes in criminal matters. Further the paper will discuss the stakeholders involved and their desired comfort level. this paper talks about the functioning of restorative justice which talks about the division of functions between state, victims, offenders and communities and for greater emphasis upon procedural safeguards and substantive limits in the pursuit of the apparently beneficent goals of restorative justice. Thirdly will trace about the need for adopting restorative justice in twenty first century and why the concept of restorative justice has been given an importance now a days moreover why it is to be considered as an effective form of reforming the criminals and fourthly the paper will involve the drawbacks and hurdles which are faced by restorative justice process specially in a country like India. The paper will discuss will give comparative analysis of the restorative justice system as followed in various countries. Specific focus will be on India scenario that is to say how effective the restorative system can be in India.

Current Debates over Restorative Justice: Concept, Definition and Practice

Prison Service Journal, 2016

Since its emergence, restorative justice (RJ) has attracted scholars, practitioners and policy-makers from around the world. At the same time, however, such popularity has also generated confusion and a lack of consensus on what is RJ. Different people have proposed different notions of what qualifies as RJ. This article aims to contribute to such an ongoing debate by providing an overall picture of RJ. In this commentary, consideration is given to three aspects of RJ: concept, definition and practice.

Restorative Justice: Variations on a Theme

This paper is the result of work conducted by the Working Party of Restorative Justice of the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. After a brief history and overview of restorative justice, the results of a quasi-scientific effort conducted by the Working Party to develop a consensual meaning using an email version of a Delphi method is presented. Finally, this paper will attempt to characterize the variety of understandings among scholars of restorative justice as of 1997.

Restorative Justice: Review of Existing Literature, International Norms and Best Practice

2015

This Other is brought to you for free and open access by the DIT Access and Civic Engagement Office at ARROW@TU Dublin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Students Learning with Communities: All of these projects were undertaken in collaboration with community partners and supervised by academic staff members by an authorized administrator of ARROW@TU Dublin. For more information, please contact yvonne.desmond@tudublin.ie, arrow.admin@tudublin.ie, brian.widdis@tudublin.ie.

Handbook on restorative justice programmes

2006

Acknowledgements The Handbook was prepared for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) by Yvon Dandurand, Dean of Research, University College of the Eraser Valley, Canada; Senior Associate, Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice ...