Restorative Justice and Criminal Justice:  Competing or Reconcilable Paradigms. Ed. by Andrew von Hirsch, Julian V Roberts, Anthony E Bottoms, Kent Roach and Mara Schiff.  Oxford and Portland, Oregon:  Hart Publishing.  2003. 

Restorative justice is not a cut-and-dried system, as Dan Van Ness points out.  It is a range of responses to harmful behaviour:  the more of them a country adopts, the more restorative it is.  Similarly this book contains a spectrum of viewpoints, from advocates of Restorative Justice, (John Braithwaite, Lode Walgrave, Mara Schiff), to academic researchers who find that their data support it (Allison Morris and Gabrielle Maxwell), to candid friends who point out the difficulties it needs to face (Kathleen Daly), to those who have not ‘changed their lenses’ and try to square it with conventional criminal justice values (Andrew von Hirsch and co-authors, Antony Duff).  ( Excerpted from book review by Martin Wright).

Accountability in Restorative Justice. Claredon Studies in Criminology Series. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Declan Roche.

Many countries have recently established restorative justice programmes, in which those affected by a crime attend meetings in the hope of achieving the ideals of reparation, reconciliation and reintegration. To answer concerns that these meetings may degenerate into 'kangaroo courts' in which participants bully and humiliate each other, this book draws upon extensive fieldwork to explore the nature, function and effectiveness of the accountability within this kind of informal justice. (publisher’s descripton). 

Restorative Justice in Context: international practice and directions. Elmar G M Weitekamp;  Hans-Jürgen Kerner. Cullompton : Willan

Restorative Justice in Context moves beyond a focus on restorative justice for juveniles to a broader concern with the application of restorative justice in such areas as corporate crime, family violence and the application of restorative justice in cases of extreme violent crimes. The contexts examined are drawn from Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan. (Publisher’s description).

Youth offending and restorative justice: implementing reform in youth justice. Adam Crawford and Tim Newburn.  Cullompton : Willan 

This book provides an empirically grounded, theoretically informed account of recent changes to the youth justice system in England and Wales, focusing on the introduction of elements of restorative justice into the heart of the criminal justice system, and the implementation of referral orders and youth offender panels. Taken together, this amounts to the most radical overhaul of the youth justice system in the last half century, fundamentally changing the underlying values of the system away from an 'exclusionary punitive justice' and towards an 'inclusionary restorative justice'. (Publisher’s description).

Critical issues in restorative justice. Eugene McLaughlin. London : SAGE 

Restorative Justice: Critical Issues brings together key international writings that trace the development of restorative justice from its diverse beginnings to current global policies and practices. The collection is constructed around the following themes: the theoretical origins of restorative justice; the key principles and substantive practices associated with restorative justice; controversial issues and debates; and future directions and possibilities. A substantial editorial introduction will provide readers with an authorative guide to the critical issues facing restorative justice at the beginning of the 21st century (publisher’s description).

Just school s :  a whole school approach to restorative justice. Belinda Hopkins. London : Jessica Kingsley.

Belinda Hopkins is at the forefront of the development of restorative justice in the UK, and in this practical handbook she presents a whole school approach to repairing harm using a variety of means including peer mediation, healing circles and conference circles. She provides clear, practical guidance for group sessions and examines issues and ideas relating to practical skill development for facilitators (publisher’s description).

Criminology, conflict resolution, and restorative justice. Kieran McEvoy, Tim Newburn. Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan.

This collection explores the intersection between criminology, conflict resolution and restorative justice. It traces the role of criminological discourses in the resolution of conflict at the macro political level (in South Africa and Northern Ireland) and the micro level in settings such as local communities, indigenous justice systems and in the youth justice system. The resulting discourse, drawing upon peacemaking criminology, human rights and restorative justice frameworks, suggests an important symbiosis between the traditionally distinct disciplines of criminology and conflict resolution peace studies (publisher’s description).

Repositioning restorative justice: restorative justice, criminal justice and social context. Lode Walgrave.  Cullompton : Willan.

This book, based on papers presented at the 5th international conference held at Leuven, Belgium in 2002, aims to provide an overview of recent experience of restorative justice in the light of these concerns. The central theme is the positioning, or repositioning, of restorative justice in contexts where it can offer hope to communities both fearful of crime and looking for more socially constructive responses to crime. At the same time restorative justice practitioners seek definition in relation to the kinds of crime it is appropriate to apply restorative justice to, how it relates to different forms of punishment, to rehabilitation, and how it fits in with criminal justice systems and the law of different countries ­ how to reconcile the informal, participatory philosophy of restorative justice with formal legal processes and the need for legal safeguards (publisher's description).

A Kind of Mending: Restorative Justice in the Pacific Islands. 2003. Edited by Sinclair Dinnen, Anita Jowitt, and Tess Newton Cain. Canberra, ACT: Pandanus Books.

This collection of essays grew out of the conference ‘Restorative Justice and Conflict Management in the Pacific Islands’ hosted by the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Project at Australia National University and the Law School of the University of South Pacific. The conference brought together academics, criminal justice professionals, and community activists to discuss restorative justice and its relevance to the Pacific Islands. Two main themes run through the volume: conflict resolution and the issues of “law and order”. Restorative justice is described as a viable option for the Pacific Islands because it resonates with traditional processes and practices. This optimism is reinforced by descriptions of innovative practices used to resolve conflict situations in recent history. At the same time, several writers caution against the assumption that traditional practices or attitudes are automatically restorative (see review).

Restorative Justice: The Empowerment Model. Charles Barton. Annandale, NSW: Federation Press.

Charles Barton uses the principle of empowerment to provide a distinct conceptual framework for restorative justice theory and practice. He puts forward a step-by-step implementation process, which includes restorative meeting facilitation, complete with seating plans and scripted prompts for mediators, keepers, and facilitators. Barton emphasises the importance of each participant in a restorative justice meeting - the victims, offenders and their supporters as well as professionals such as police, social workers and legal advocates.

A Restorative Justice Reader. text, sources, context. Edited by Gerry Johnstone. Cullompton : Willan .

The main aim of this book is to bring together a selection of extracts from the most important and influential contributions to the restorative justice literature and its emergent philosophy, accompanying these with an informative commentary providing context and explanation where necessary. The book includes by both well known proponents of restorative justice, work by some of the key critics of the restorative justice movement, along with work from a number of writers not directly involved in either advocacy or critique of restorative justice, but whose work is crucial to an understanding of it (Publisher's description). 

July 2003